Early in February my husband, who is 91 but still very active, began complaining of a bad back ache. After as reasonable amount of time he visited his doctor. The doctor put him on a pill that was a combination muscle relaxer and pain pill, saying it was arthritis. This pill made him sick; the pain persisted and he became more and more miserable. In desperation, he asked me to drive him to the hospital emergency room. We spent an entire day there, had x-rays taken and he was once again diagnosed with arthritis. I wish I would’ve known, but my husband was being prescribed too many pills because I started to notice an unusual disorientation, confusion and weakness in him.

I then decided to call the reception desk here at Messiah Village to explain my situation to the receptionist and ask for help. Very shortly I received a call from Geli Losch, Director of Community Based Services, telling me she would like to visit and talk to us. Geli arrived shortly despite it being a Saturday and the second big snowstorm. She brought along the nurse on duty to help evaluate my husband. Fortunately, Geli knows my husband very well and could tell right away he was not himself. I proceeded to show them his medications and was told by the nurse to cease giving him the pills. They suggested we go to a different hospital by ambulance and get another opinion.

We agreed and after some discussion Geli called the maintenance people to clear our driveway. They were here before she hung up! She and the nurse then spoke with the hospital to inform them of our situation and the types of medications my husband had been taking. At this point I was concerned how we’d get home if we arrived via ambulance. Geli assured me that someone from the Village would be able to drive us home. I took along a list of my husband’s medications the nurse had written for us to give to the hospital staff.

The hospital discovered that my husband had a compression fracture of his lower spine and proceeded to give him correct treatment and got him off the other medications. He stayed overnight and the next day he was brought home by someone from the Village. Geli then worked to get him into Wagner, our rehabilitation neighborhood. He was there a few short days later and stayed about five days, receiving the care and physical therapy he needed.

I definitely feel that the preparation and efficiency on behalf of the Messiah Village employees helped us to get the care and attention we needed. He received out-patient physical therapy for the next week or so. Today he is nearly better and improving every day! Without Messiah Village and all the wonderful help and support we were fortunate to have, I don’t know what I would’ve done. So thanks to everyone involved and thanks to Messiah Village for being the wonderful place it is!

Tags: arthritis, Esther Gregg, fracture, Geli Losch, hospital, Messiah Village, physical therapy, wagner