On December 27th, 2019, my mother suffered a significant CVA on the right side of her brain while at home alone, leaving her with full left-sided deficits. She was at an in-patient rehab prior to coming to MediLodge of Gaylord. Although she made progress there, her significant improvement started at your facility.
The person in charge of intake, Della, worked very hard at getting her into MediLodge of Gaylord and kept our family updated on the status of her intake. When she arrived, she had little to no movement on her left arm, and on the day of her discharge (2/22/19), she was able to play cards, hold things with her left hand, and walk with assistance. More importantly, she has hope that she will lead an independent life again. Anyone who has ever had their independence removed from them goes through depression and a period where they wonder if their life will ever again be the same. Dealing with this frustration and keeping a positive attitude is not easy.
The staff at your MediLodge of Gaylord encouraged a positive attitude and made her feel comfortable. Every day that I visited, I would hear wonderful stories about the staff that was making an impact on her life at MediLodge. I would hear about how Ashley, her physical therapist had worked her so hard in therapy that she could barely move, but how much fun she was and how much more fun she made therapy. I heard how her CNA, Nicole, was always helping her with the little things like getting dressed and using the restroom with dignity and other daily things. Your nursing program made sure that she was taking her daily medication on-time and was always evaluating the need for more and/or less.
The weekly care meetings that family was included in were very well done, where my mother was asked what was working and what was not. She was asked if there was anything that MediLodge of Gaylord could do to make things better for her. She enjoyed the daily activities that aided her physical therapy, like the balloon game and bingo! I firmly believe that the environment created by staff and residents alike contributed greatly to her recovery and forward progress.
Although the road to complete recovery will be long, I believe that your facility and staff have laid a stable and firm path to build on and our family is very thankful that she [my mother] was at this facility. From the entire family of Diana Salyers, we thank all of you for creating a safe and nurturing environment that has allowed her to go home. Your staff should all be very proud!
Sincerely, Pete Nicholson and the rest of Diana Salyers family!