My husband has been through both inpatient, outpatient and at home rehabilitation. He was doing great after he had his hip repaired. He has taken a long time to heal. He doesn't seem to want to give the wheelchair up now.
I know he has to be self-motivated and that no one can force him to do anything. I support him in doing his exercises, which he does, sometimes. I think depression may be playing a role. He was active before the fall (he fell out of bed).
I may ask him to speak to his doctor to see if he will adjust his medication. We've had conversations about the subject. We've gone through how he feels about everything, how he's feeling, and consequences of his not continuing to work on his walking skills. I know it's not my job to do it for him.
Anybody face a similar situation?
I found with my brother, after his rehab, that the more I kind of nagged at him the more stubborn he got about NOT doing the balance exercises that had so helped him in rehab. He honestly never did do them and the poor balance returned. He DID however, walk more, and managed to correct for it. I think that with aging and impairment it is all so much to deal with, and there's such a depressing lack of "control" that it becomes all very personal. You have given us an excellent profile rightup and it sounds the two of you are very close. Be honest with him as in "Am I nagging you too much; do I need to step back and let you make your own decisions now?" and see what he says. I think he will be touched that you are even asking that.
Best of luck to you both.
Given more time, he could gain the confidence to get out of the chair more.
But, if he feels uncomfortable giving up the wheelchair, I wouldn't push him.
Have an honest talk about what you are willing to do (and not do) to accommodate him in a wheelchair bound state.
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