But for now the 53-year-old Daytona Beach resident is working with physical therapists at Florida Hospital Peninsula Rehabilitation in Ormond Beach to regain the ability to walk.
For the last year, Howard said he has been paralyzed due to a spinal cord infection. He arrived at the rehabilitation facility two weeks ago in a wheelchair, unable to walk. During a therapy session last week, Howard slowly placed one foot in front of the other while a harness attached to the ceiling kept him from tumbling over. He leaned on two therapists for support as they circled around the room. The device, called a track system, is part of a $3 million renovation Peninsula Rehab completed this month.
"You feel safe because you aren't falling, and when you get older you have that fear of falling," Howard said about the track system. "You can focus more on learning the technique and sending the right messages to your legs to get them to move," he added.
For patients who have suffered trauma, strokes, spinal cord injuries, hip fractures or neurological disorders, the key to a quicker recovery lies in technology and skilled physical therapists, said Howard Perch, executive director of rehabilitation services at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach. In addition to the track system, patients can now use iPads with dictation applications for speech therapy, and electrical therapy helps stroke victims regain movement in their arms and legs or swallow.
"Technology can help achieve faster recovery times," Perch said. "But you can have all the bells and whistles in the world and it's really the skills of the physical therapist who make a difference."
This month Florida Hospital also completed the renovation of patients' rooms and the gymnasium, where patients attend physical therapy sessions. The rehab unit now has 40 private rooms, compared to only two private rooms before the renovations. One large gymnasium replaces two smaller gyms that had been previously separated by a wall.
"This is for the community," Perch said. "We wanted to give patients more privacy and the ability to do physical therapy exercises in the comfort of their own room."
John Roseboom has already benefited from the new track system. Nearly two weeks ago, the 54-year-old Ormond Beach resident could not take a step on his own, but last week Roseboom walked across the gymnasium, using a walker for support.
After suffering respiratory failure and septic shock, Roseboom was found unconscious in his home recently. He lost his ability to walk and perform basic motor skills.
"He has made a tremendous improvement," said Roseboom's physical therapist, Pat Murphy . "When he first arrived he needed total assistance and couldn't get out of his wheelchair."
Florida Hospital is also embracing electrical therapy to speed up recovery for stroke victims and those with spinal cord injuries. The Bioness electrical therapy device attaches to a stroke patient's hand or leg and uses electrical stimulation on muscles. A device called Experia, by VitalStim Therapy System, releases a small electrical impulse to a patient's trachea to help stroke victims regain the ability to swallow food and liquids.
"We want to invest in technology that helps patients see results right away," said Perch. "If we can help make a patient's muscles work faster, they can start walking and see themselves on the road to progress."
Florida Hospital Peninsula Rehabilitation Center is the only licensed, inpatient, medical rehabilitation center in Volusia and Flagler counties. But residents will soon have more options for local rehabilitation services when Halifax Health Medical Center opens a 40-bed inpatient unit on its Daytona Beach campus in September. Last year, Halifax and Jacksonville-based BrooksRehabilitation partnered for the $12.8 million project.
For Howard his daily physical therapy sessions are often painful and challenging. Regaining the ability to walk requires him to push himself every day.
"It's a journey, and I'm up for the challenge," he said. "You got to keep trying so you can get back and walk by that lovely ocean again."
(Source: news-journalonline.com)
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