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Battling cognition problems with memory rehab
"I tried to eat it with my right hand and I'm going, wait a minute. My right hand's not working anymore," she said. "I had to learn how with left hand."
After some urging from medical professionals, she began memory rehab at UP Health System Rehab Services. Memory rehab offers occupational and speech therapy for patients struggling with cognition problems. which can come from a variety of conditions, including dementia, stroke and Alzheimer's Disease.
Most patients begin with a diagnostic assessment. They're taken into a kitchen with several hazards, and they have to identify and fix each hazard. The test helps determine which areas need improvement.
For Sally, those areas included balance and hand-eye coordination. She does exercises to build muscle and new neural pathways. She also works on fine motor skills.
"It's practices. It's repetition," said Rachelle Connon, an occupational therapist with UP Health System Rehab Services. "It's getting that detail down, and that helps with functions such as doing your buttons, putting in your earrings and picking up pills."
After just a month of occupational therapy, Sally's family said she was improving.
"She doesn't see the improvements because it's so gradual day-to-day, but a lot of people have said that what she's done in six months usually happens in two years," said Dale Weingartner, Sally's husband.
The goal of memory rehab is to help patients live their lives as independently as possible. It takes time, but many people can go back to doing what they love, whether that's cooking or crocheting.
"I've been knitting again and I've tried to do a little crocheting, but I'm going to wait until after my hand is a little better," Sally said.
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