St. James Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center (September 2018)

Mr. David Mays arrived at St. James Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center on August 7th, 2018, from Stony Brook Hospital. Mr. Mays fell in the kitchen at his home and hurt his back. He was brought to Stony Brook Hospital and stayed there for a month. Upon discharge from the hospital, he developed an infection in his left hand and was not able to move it and grasp anything. He also found at the hospital that he had cancer and found a tumor in his back, which originated from his lungs. He had radiation at the hospital and was able to get rid of the tumor. All this happened in a matter of a month. He was in a lot of pain when he arrived at St. James.

Mr. Mays was in Stony Brook Hospital for one month and then stayed an extra six days in the hospital before getting discharged to St. James. He has been here multiple times in the past 10 years, so he knew he wanted to come back here for rehab because he was familiar with the community and really liked it.

When Mr. Mays first arrived, his private room was ready for him and he was greeted by the entire interdisciplinary team. Within 24 hours, he was seen by nursing, administration, therapy, concierge, and many other staff members. He had two therapists, Joe and Brendan, who worked closely with him every day to heal and get stronger. They evaluated him upon admission and assessed him to figure out what was best for him. He also was not able to use his left hand when he first arrived to St. James. He was able to move about the community, but did ask for assistance on occasion.

Mr. Mays’ first week was painful. He was unable to use his left hand because he had an infection in it and was unable to grasp anything. He was also very weak because of the cancer. He had bandages on his hand and his hand was also in a hand brace. He was able to remove after the swelling went down.

The swelling fortunately went down after two weeks. He was able to take the brace off and start using his hand. It was difficult for him to get around only being able to use one hand. Over the next few weeks, his hand healed after the infection and his swelling subsided. Steven, the concierge, assisted Dave by bringing him food that would get delivered to the community, help bring him to his room, and essentially anything he could do to ensure his comfort. The goal in therapy was to get his hand strong enough to be able to use again, especially when he returning home.

Mr. Mays was excited when he was told about his discharge date. He was very pleased with the services that were offered to him at St. James. He raved about the therapy department, recreation, concierge service, and much more! Both of his therapists were pleased to see him improve and able to use his hand. He was asked if there was anyone in particular who made his stay more comfortable and he said Steven, the concierge. He formed great relationships here and made a lot of friends. He was satisfied with every discipline here at St. James and was happy that he chose this community for his rehabilitation journey.

On October 1st, Mr. Mays was discharged home to his apartment in Lake Ronkonkoma. By the end of his rehabilitation journey, Mr. Mays was able to use his left hand. He was able to wheel himself anywhere he wanted to go and was able to grasp objects with little discomfort. He will be having an aide at his home for clinical support. We, at St. James, are so proud of Mr. Mays for his accomplishments he made here and wish nothing but the best for him in rest of 2018!