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A8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday August 29, 2001 Rehab unit helping patients stand on own fe e t Therapists work to improve quality of life for their patients B y Zita Taksas-R aponi SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER W illiam Card, 98 Former Town Councillor Funeral services w ill be held Friday for W illiam Card, a form er m em ber o f town council and past presi dent o f the O akville Legion. Ward died Sunday at the Trillium M anor Nursing Home in O rillia. He was 98 years old. Card was born in H astings England, in an area called Bo Peep, on Feb. 12, 1903. He im m igrated to Canada with his fam ily at an early age and eventually settled in O akville and later served in the Second W orld W ar with the L om e Scots (Bram pton). Card was interested in ju st about everything, includ ing m em berships in the O akville I.O .D .E .,the V .O .N .,the O akville Yacht Club as w ell as the O ddfellow s and the H orticultural Society. If you wanted the best honey in town you went to Card -- he was a great beekeeper for alm ost 50 years, according to his daughter M argaret. C ard was a lifetim e m em ber o f the Royal Canadian Legion, being President in O akville twice and also a m em ber in Orillia. Card was a m em ber o f the O akville Town Council for many years and served on County C ouncil and as W arden o f H alton County. He later becam e a Justice o f the Peace working with the O.P.P. in O akville. He ran his ow n plum bing business on Reynolds Street for many years. W hen he and his w ife Carrie, m oved to O rillia, he took up his interests again. This tim e he even got involved w ith the Fall Fair Com m ittee. He took great interest in his "H am " radio, and had his Canadian as well as Am erican papers. He still retained his interests with the Royal Canadian L egion in O rillia and with the O ddfellow s attaining one o f the highest levels in the area. He is survived by two sons Edward, o f Utah, and Bernard, o f Dunchurch, two daughters, Frances Webb, o f B rantford, and M argaret Templeton, o f Elora, and nine grandchildren. His wife Caroline died in 1997. A funeral service will be held at St. Ju d e's A nglican Church on Friday. The tim e o f the funeral has not yet been set. Joe d 'Andrea tries out his walker as Rehab Unit staff give encouragement. They include Jennifer Philpott, Physiotherapist; Dr. Stephanie Plamondon, Physiatrist, Margaret Van Harten, Occupational Therapist Ivan English, Physiotherapy Student Kim Logie, Occupational Therapist rehabilitation of patients. Originally established in the 1940's to treat brain injury, spinal cord injury and trauma, the specialty has now broad ened to include the treatment of sports injuries, musculoskeletal injuries (which include back, neck and shoulder pain), arthritis or joint inflam mation. "While the specialty has both a neuro logical and a musculo-skeletal aspect, Physiatrists deal with the person's rehabilitation including therapies such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech pathology. It also includes physical ways of treating the patient including knee braces or prosthetic legs for amputees," explains Dr. Plamondon. For D'Andrea it was definitely a team approach to care. He exercised diligently every day with Physiotherapy Assistant Jeanie Vine, and Physiotherapy student Ivan English to strengthen his legs while Occupational Therapist Assistant Margaret Van Harten helped him with his upper body exercises. Occupational therapists work with patients like D'Andrea to improve their function, espe cially in self-care activities such as dressing, bathing, grooming, eating, and transfers from the bed to the wheelchair. Physiotherapists work on the patient's mobility and strength as well as the safety of their gait. In the case of respiratory patients, physiother apists may do chest physiotherapy to prevent pneumonia and help emphysema patients deal with breathlessness. Depending on the needs of the patient, other team members may include a nutritionist, pharmacist, recreational therapists, social worker, and speech language pathologist. The Rehab Unit was intentionally set up to be a supportive and nurturing environment that encourages patients to return to their every day activities. "Patients here are beyond a certain stage in their recovery and are ready to prepare for home life," said Dr. Plamondon. "With less medical routine, patients get more therapy than they would get on a regular hospital ward. Patients in this unit shower and dress every day. They have lunch in the lunchroom and attend both private and group therapy sessions. It's similar to the home environment they will eventually return to. "Sometimes, as physicians, we are so focused on treating the disease, we forget about the patient's home environment," added Dr. Plamondon. "They have to reach a certain level of independence before they can return to their previous life and activities. This is all beyond what medications they require for their underly ing illness." "Basic activities like walking, dressing and going up the stairs may be a challenge," she added. "The beauty of the Rehab Unit is that it simulates the home environment. Patients can work on basic skills, relearning them if neces sary, so they have the confidence and physical ability to cope when they are discharged." By mid-March, after weeks of exercises, they started to see the benefits of their hard work. D'Andrea was able to kick his foot up for the first time. He had reached the first milestone on his road to recovery. In preparation for D'Andrea's return home, his therapists visited his home to determine what needed to be renovated in order to accommodate his special needs. Slowly but surely, as the therapy continued and his back healed, D'Andrea's legs and upper body strengthened. Then in April, just before Easter, he stood up for a count of twenty. He had reached another major milestone. By June 6' when he was discharged to a home well equipped for his needs, D'Andrea was able to use a walker to get himself across a room. It was a happy good-bye. "The quality of the staff is tremendous. I don't think I could have received better care anywhere else," he said. "Now, I look forward to the day when I can rid my house of all the assistive devices and walk up the stairs by myself. It might take longer than I expect, but now I know I am going to get there." Z ita T a k s a s -R a p o n i is a P u b lic R e la tio n s A s s o c ia te w ith H a lto n H e a lth c a re S e rv ic e When Joe D'Andrea arrived on the 39-bed Rehabilitation Unit at Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) site of Halton Healthcare Services after spinal cord surgery, he was barely able to wiggle his toes. D'Andrea (or Joe, as he prefers to be called) has Chronic Multiple Myeloma, a form of can cer. f Prolonged use of one of the medications pre scribed for this condition caused a build-up of fatty deposits in his thoracic spine, which put so much pressure on the nerves in his spinal cord that he lost the use of his legs. Last February, D'Andrea underwent an unusual back surgery at Toronto Western Hospital. About a week after his operation, he was transferred to OTMH, his community hospi tal, to recuperate from his surgery. Although the surgery was deemed successful, the most prevalent question in everyone's mind was 'Would he ever walk again?' "Not all my doctors agreed but I was deter mined. Someday, I knew it would happen. 1just knew I had it in me," recalled D' Andrea. As he settled into his room on the third floor Rehabilitation Unit at OTMH, D'Andrea quick ly realized that this was not a typical hospital ward. "It was a very positive, upbeat atmos phere- no feeling of unwellness there," he explained. "I didn't expect such a caring and pleasant environment. The nurses were great! I felt very comfortable." After a series of tests to determine nerve response and muscle strength, a multi-discipli nary care team including Physiotherapist Jennifer Philpott and Occupational Therapist Kim Logie and professionals from Nursing developed a personalized rehabilitation program for D'Andrea, under the guidance of Dr. Stephanie Plamondon, Phsyiatrist at OTMH. Physiatry is a medical specialty within the division of Internal Medicine that focuses on the Historic walks end in Sept. The Oakville Historical Society's has two popular Walking Tours, The Main Street of Old Oakville and The Houses of Old Oakville. The Main Street, a walk along Lakeshore from Navy to Trafalgar focuses on 66 buildings constructed between the 1830s and 1939. This walk continues on Sept. 9. The Houses of Old Oakville tour covers the residential areas between Navy and Reynolds south o f Robinson, which 13 buildings dating back to the 1830s and nine from the 1850s and 1860s. The last tour date is Sept. 23. All walks, with tour guides, begin at the Oakville Historical Society office and archives at 110 King St., at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10, call 905-844-2695 or visit www.oakvillehistorv.org. Yellow Pages Directories B C oaches N e e d e d (C o -e d & G irls O n ly L e a g u e s ) S n a re y o u r tim e a n d c o a c h in g ta le n ts w ith O a k v ille 's y o u th . Y volunteers m a k e the difference. C o ach es m ust b e 18 y e a rs o r o ld e r. In t e r e s te d ? 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