Horizon Health and the most excellent after care

Thank You to my Amazing Hospital Care Team with a big shoutout to the Physiotherapy Team!

I really want to thank the incredible team at Horizon Health and St. Joseph’s Hospital. This whole experience was so much better than I could have imagined.  Recovering from a total knee replacement isn’t exactly a walk in the park… however, everyone I encountered — from Dr. Kerr and the surgical team, nurses and PT treated me with such professionalism, skill, and genuine kindness. 

The experience

I had a few things that caused me concern.  First was getting discharged from the hospital and thinking I was going to be kicked to the curb without support.  Only this didn’t happen.  Horizon Health has a new program of aftercare for Orthopaedic Surgical patients… called SeamlessMD.  This is an app that provides daily inspiration on what to expect, information on what you should be able to do, asks questions about how you are and then provides an area for your feedback. This is supported with direct access to nursing care that specializes in orthopaedics as required. 

This is where you get to express any concern that you may have, even attach a photo of your surgical wound or ask related questions.  This support took away the fear of what if something were to go wrong and I had to go the ER post op. And put my mind at ease that what I was experiencing was, in fact, normal and to be expected.  Most importantly, I felt supported through my recovery process.  I felt safe, heard, and cared for every step of the way.

Relief and disbelief

My second real fear…stairs.  How on earth would I ever be able to get up the few stairs to get into my house upon discharge the next day.  I figured that once I got home and into the house that I could just stay there. Like forever! 

The hospital Physio Therapists (PTs) had other plans and had me up walking and climbing up a few steps the day of my surgery. Talk about addressing that fear right out of the gate. I actually cried from both relief and disbelief. 

I’m not going to lie

I knew that this surgery was big and that the recovery would be challenging. It was more than I was mentally prepared for.  It took way more time to get to the point where I am now. Apparently I expected to be jogging after a month or something.  And at 4 weeks I was almost not joking when I asked if I could have my old knee back.  

Misery loves company (Ha ha)

I want to give a special shoutout to St. Joe’s physical therapy team Kristy and Amber that worked with me. I joined a PT class under their care and it was both unexpected and oh so valuable.  This class was just the thing I needed and provided an opportunity to chat with other knee replacement patients about their experiences and when things started to feel better. And we had many laughs along the way as we moaned our way through the exercises.

This team knew exactly how far to push me (even when I didn’t think I had much left), and they managed to do it with a perfect mix of patience, encouragement, and just the right amount of tough love. They made the hardest part of recovery feel achievable and empowering. 

I’m recovering well, moving a little easier every day — and that’s thanks to the people who made a difficult experience feel safe, supported, and even a little inspiring.

I graduated from my PT Classes this past Thursday. At my last class, I told them that with what I do is to make the world a prettier place one painting at a time.  But what they get to do is to really make a real profound difference in the lives of their patients.  So very much appreciated.

Thank you all for doing what you do so well.