Healing Towards Home: Persistence Brings Success to A Montowese Resident
NORTH HAVEN, C.T. — Nashon J. was living independently in the community in a multi-level condo with his family. At the age of 38, he was independent with all activities of daily living and home tasks as a 38-year-old person would be. However, in October of 2021 an unexpected and traumatic fall in the community led him on a healthcare journey he would never have predicted.
Following his debilitating fall in the community he was admitted to Yale New Haven Hospital with a diagnosis of bilateral quadriceps tendon tear, which is an injury in the tendons that connect the quadricep muscles to the knee. During his time at Yale New Haven Hospital, he underwent open repair of the quadriceps tendon ruptures and had a bilateral external fixator placement done.
When Nashon arrived at Montowese Health & Rehabilitation Center, a place he never thought he would be at age 38, he required total assistance for his self-care, showering, toileting, transferring, and was incredibly weak due to being hospitalized for a month. He was non-weight-bearing when he arrived at the North Haven skilled nursing center. The bilateral fixators in place were also causing him discomfort when he would attempt transfers, so he mainly remained in a supine (laying down) position requiring a mechanical lift to transfer in and out of bed for repositioning.
After an initial assessment was done upon his arrival at the center, Nashon began skilled therapy services seven days a week and was placed on a prescribed exercise regime for strengthening, bed mobility, adapted self-care techniques and pre-gait strengthening.
Through these exercises and working with the skilled team of therapists, Nashon had a small victory and was able to transfer out of bed and into a wheelchair with assistance for a short period of time. This small victory of mobility led to other larger ones. With more hard work he was able to sit longer in a wheelchair and eventually self-propel in the wheelchair himself.
“Nashon has had a remarkably positive attitude despite the many hardships he faced throughout his incident,” said BreAnna Rygiel, Rehabilitation Director. “He faced a very long, arduous path to recovery. Nashon justifiably had some difficult days, but once he was able to get involved with rehab, he began to be more motivated as he saw the positive results of his efforts.”
Once the external fixators were removed more victories occurred. He was able to participate in weight-bearing exercises to help with transfers and improve his gait. With the assistance of two therapists, he began ambulating using the parallel bars and as time went on, he eventually transitioned to a walker and required less support with daily tasks.
It took Nashon nearly two years to gain back all his strength and he is fully able to climb flights of stairs, walk independently and complete self-care tasks. Now at the age of 41, he is on a functional maintenance rehabilitation program at Montowese and is working with state agencies on securing a home in the community. He is also enrolled at Colorado Technical University online program completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.
The Nursing and Recreation team, along with all the departments at Montowese Health & Rehabilitation Center played a role in his recovery.
“Nashon’s attitude and bright outlook played a huge role in his ultimate success of reaching his therapy goals and preparing to return to the community,” said Rygiel.
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