|
|
|
|
 |
|||
|
"Our House" Most adults would not think twice about their ability to bake a batch of cookies or do a load of laundry. For people such as 20-year-old Kirk Branderhurst, however, being able to accomplish such everyday tasks is a sign of great progress.
That's where "Our House" comes in. The bright, new facility looks like an efficiency apartment – complete with a functional kitchen, bathroom, washer and dryer and living room (and even a simulated car) – but is actually part of Holland Hospital's Neuro Rehabilitation Program. Occupational therapists use the facility to work with patients on ADLs – shorthand for activities of daily living. "It's where the rubber meets the road. We have cognitive, occupational, mobility and vestibular (balance) therapy, but how does it work in real life?" says Scott Southard, counselor and promotions coordinator for Holland Hospital Rehabilitation Services. Our House lets patients practice the intricacies of everyday life that may pose challenges for people who have lost certain functions due to neurological problems. Therapists work with them to maximize their abilities and even visit them in their homes to assess their needs. Our House opened in January as part of Rehab Services' move to the Lakeshore Medical Campus (LMC), off Riley Street in north Holland, from its previous location on Waverly Road and Eighth Street. The Neuro Rehab Program is now located in building C, next to the Brain & Spine Center offices of neurosurgeon David Lowry, MD, and Shelley Freimark, MD.
The overall goal is "independence as much as possible," explains Care Manager Barb VanderPloeg. "We get patients to the highest functioning level they can achieve, and help them learn ways to compensate for things they can't do." Interviewed 10 months after his brain surgery, Branderhurst has recovered most of his abilities. He has graduated from physical therapy and continues to work with speech and occupational therapists. One day soon he hopes to return to college, where he was a business major before his injury.
|
|||
|
|
||
In April 2006 the Holland resident was found
unconscious on the floor of his home and rushed
to Holland Hospital, where he underwent an
emergency craniotomy to repair a ruptured blood
vessel due to an aneurysm. The brain surgery was
successful, thankfully, but Branderhurst's road to
recovery has been long: He has had to re-learn
how to walk, speak coherently and do things he
once took for granted.