Occupational therapists provide new hope for bedbound elderly скачать в хорошем качестве

Occupational therapists provide new hope for bedbound elderly

Taiwan''s population is aging fast, and there are now nearly half a million seniors who need round-the-clock care. The traditional approach to supporting bedridden seniors has simply been to reduce their discomfort. But one foundation is making the case for a new approach, one that centers on rehabilitation. Three years ago, it sent occupational therapists into the country to help bedridden patients walk again. Today in our Sunday special report, we check in on some of those patients, who show us their miraculous progress. Driving up this windy mountain road, occupational therapist Wang Chih-yuan is headed for Mrs. Su''s home, where he is to carry out an important mission. A media crew is following closely behind, hoping to take a look at how 79-year-old Su''s recovery is coming along. Wang Chih-yuan Occupational therapist When we first came here, Mrs. Su was utterly immobile on the bed. She''d had a fall and her back was in great pain. The first time I came here, she couldn''t even turn over. She''d turn for five seconds and then have to turn back around. She just stayed like that, stuck on the bed. Mrs. Su At the time, I found it hard to be cheerful. I would think about how I could take another fall and just end my life. I didn''t want my son to have to spend so much money. One unexpected fall brought Mrs. Su''s life to a new low. After being bedridden for so long, she could hardly separate day from night. Even worse, being bedridden accelerated her body''s degradation, giving rise to one health problem after another. Wang Chih-yuan Occupational therapist When you are lying down, your muscles go into a relaxed state. Some research has shown that after lying down for a week, a person''s muscle strength will decrease by 10% to 12%. After being bedridden for a month, it''s possible a person will only have half their body strength remaining. After two months, only one-quarter of their strength will remain. Also, she says she has muscle atrophy in her legs. It just confirms what the science shows about bedridden patients. Bedridden patients lack stimulation from the environment, and their body functions slowly degrade. When someone has been bedridden for two months like Mrs. Su, they don''t only experience muscle atrophy in their legs. Even defecation becomes a challenge. Wang Chih-yuan Occupational therapist The longer one lies down, the worse it will be. Someone who initially could eat on their own, after lying down for a long time, may not even be able to swallow. After that, maybe the nasal and stomach pathways, and then all the pathways, will be inundated or even clogged by glycerin globules. Defecation will only be possible by excavating the bowels. So, when we visit someone at home, the first thing we need to deal with is the patient''s bedridden state. According to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, there were over 400,000 care-dependent people in 2017. Each year since, that figure has risen by 20,000 people. It''s a significant rate of increase. Researchers have concluded that on average, a person in Taiwan will require 7.3 years of long-term care. Aiming to curb this trend and to reduce the duration of long-term care required, the Bjorgaas Foundation launched a program three years ago to help older people in their own homes. Deploying occupational therapists and a range of assistive devices, the foundation helps elderly people leave their beds and begin walking again, so that they can return to a life that''s as normal as possible. Wang Chih-yuan Occupational therapist For her recovery, the most important thing will be for her to get out of bed. So we are using an electric adjustable bed, using its electric functions to reduce the need for her to rely on her own body strength. This will help her get used to sitting up. In his first session with Mrs. Su, Wang asked that she sit up for at least 10 hours. After a week of sitting up, Mrs. Su''s body strength showed an obvious improvement. The next step was her to leave the bed. A transfer board and padded wheelchair were important assistive devices in this second stage of recovery. Wang taught the family how to use a transfer board to move Mrs. Su to her wheelchair. Once on the wheelchair, she was moved to the living room to watch television. There, she napped on the wheelchair when tired. In this way, she spent her first day away from her bedroom, away from her bed. Mrs. Chang, 92, had a stroke in September last year. The stroke left her paralyzed on the right side of her body. Lin Mei-ling Mrs. Chang''s daughter-in-law Her condition has gradually worsened. In the beginning it was her legs, and then when she was in hospital, she discovered that she could no longer lift her arms up