Judith's Story
Judith Lacho, 82, leads a busy life. This independent mother of two and grandmother of four enjoys spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren.
However, years of wear and tear on her hip joint caught up with her, and Judith faced increasing hip pain. She finally decided to have surgery.
After her right hip replacement and a couple days’ recovery at Avala Hospital in Covington, her doctors recommended Northshore Rehabilitation Hospital for recovery.
Upon arriving at Northshore, Judith was assessed by her physician-led multi-disciplinary team. She was unable to walk or do any of her own self-care such as toileting, brushing her teeth, getting dressed or grooming. She immediately set a goal to get back on her feet and regain her mobility.
“I’ve always had a can-do attitude, and I look forward to reclaiming my independence,” Judith said.
With her enthusiastic spirit, Judith jumped right into physical therapy where her therapists focused on increasing her strength and balance. It was clear Judith would get back to walking soon. She started with leg exercises using therabands, which provided the resistance she needed to gain back strength. Later, with the support of her care team, Judith made it to her feet for standing exercises, which helped increase her balance. From there, she progressed to walking with a rolling walker.
In occupational therapy (OT), her therapists worked on her arm strength using free weights, therabands and the arm bike—upper body exercise equipment which strengthens patients’ arms and shoulders through pedaling. The OT team also taught her safety techniques for getting in and out of bed and showering, including the appropriate body positioning. To extend her reach and increase her independence, Judith practiced with adaptive tools such as a reacher and sock helper to help her get dressed.
Judith stated that the improvement she saw every day motivated her. Judith’s family was by her side to motivate her as well, and they participated in the hospital’s Care Partner Program for training on how they could properly assist her when she transitioned home.
After 14 days at Northshore Rehabilitation Hospital, Judith was walking up to 150 feet with a rolling walker and supervision, and able to perform all self-care tasks at a near-independent level. She looked forward to returning home with her family’s support and continuing to build strength through home health therapy.
Judith happily shared her insights on Northshore for those seeking rehabilitative services: “If you can get here it makes all the difference in the world. It’s just such a pleasant place to be,” she said. “They get things done, but they do it in such a positive way.”