Transitioning Home From A Rehab Center
Posted on October 26, 2018 in Rehabilitation
You’ve worked hard to rehabilitate your body after your illness or injury and are now ready to return home. While the hard part of the process is mostly over, returning home may present a few unexpected challenges. The good news is that there are things you can do that will help you enjoy a smoother transition from your rehab center to home.
Expect Changes
Chances are that you now have temporary or permanent limitations you didn’t have before. It may be mobility, stamina, or even a need for assistive devices such as a walker, cane, or a wheelchair. These changes and the new needs you must adjust to may change how you go about your day. If you adjust your expectations accordingly, you’ll find you’re much better prepared when frustrations arise.
Plan Ahead
For those who need assistive devices or have mobility limitations after rehabilitation, physical or structural changes may need to be made within the home. This can be anything from installing grab rails in the bathrooms to moving the location of a bedroom to a lower floor. In some cases, it means that doorways and halls need to be widened to accommodate wheelchairs and/or walkers or that furniture needs to be moved or removed from the home to create extra space. If these changes are made before transitioning home, it will ease a great deal of hesitation or fear.
Arrange to Have Someone to Talk To
Returning home after rehabilitation is exciting, frightening, and an adjustment. Even if necessary changes are minimal, it can be difficult when you can’t simply step back into the life and the role you had before. You may feel that revealing your frustrations to your spouse, children, or other loved ones would burden them unnecessarily, it’s important to have someone you can trust and talk to about your feelings. Consider talking with a trusted clergy member or seeking counseling to help you deal with the emotional toll your new circumstances may take.
Learn to Ask for Help
After a lifetime of doing for and helping others, this may be the most difficult step for you to take. It’s OK to ask for help. In some cases, the only way to get the help you need is to ask for it. You will be much better able to care for your loved ones if you get the assistance you need to do so.
Whether it’s needing help reaching things, rearranging things so that they are easier for you to access, or simply help to get started on difficult days, asking for help is not a burden to the people who love you and want to make your life easier while you’re continuing to recover at home.
Ohio Living Breckenridge Village offers a state-of-the-art outpatient rehabilitation center at our Veale Wellness and Aquatic Center that is fully equipped to help you practice real applications of the new techniques and tools you’re learning. Ohio Living Breckenridge Village is a community that focuses on enriching physical, intellectual, spiritual, and social pillars, we are dedicated to helping you defy expectations and live your best life possible regardless of your physical condition