The phone call came on a Tuesday afternoon in March, right as I was picking up my younger daughter. I saw the number of my mom’s dialysis center, where she had been receiving treatment that day, and I knew they wouldn’t call if it weren’t an emergency.
My fears were well founded; it was an emergency. My mom, who had undergone a foot procedure the week before, had experienced complications afterwards, and the staff at dialysis feared sepsis. An ambulance had taken her to Glenwood hospital in Monroe.
It was a fearful week; she was in bad shape, and her orthopedic surgeon did what he could to save her foot — and did. However, because her following surgery was so invasive, she needed rehab.
Extensive rehab.
The care manager at Glenwood called me and discussed options; as an only child and my mom as a widow, she and I both wanted her in Ruston. Neither of us were familiar with the long-term rehabilitation facilities in Ruston — you don’t get familiar with long-term rehab unless you have to.
Luckily, I have a friend who had worked at two of the three local options we were given, and the words she told me calmed my ever-present nerves — and my mother’s.
“You’re not going to choose wrong,” she said. “Even if you don’t get your first pick, all the places in Ruston are great. She’s going to get good care.”
She was correct.
For the past four months, my mom has been at Alpine here in Ruston. She’s definitely been eager to return home (and does so this week), but the care she has received at Alpine has been wonderful.
Several times a week, especially over this summer, my kids and I have shown up at Alpine, donned our masks, checked our temps, and walked down the long hall to see my mom. I knew I would enjoy seeing my mom more frequently, but we’ve had a few unexpected benefits. My girls are interacting with other residents at Alpine — and they’re reveling in it, as are the residents. They’ve befriended some of the Alpine residents and insist on hugging them every time they see them. My mom jokes about going on the “party bus” for dialysis and other medical appointments and how much she enjoys talking with the driver.
Being in long-term rehab was never anything we would have wanted, but it has been nice for so many reasons. I am so grateful to the care my mom and the other residents receive at Alpine. I’m thankful that I’ve never worried if my mom was getting sick or her foot was getting infected. I’ve always felt comfortable knowing she was in good hands.
Surgeries, rehab, medicine — none of it is something we really want. But it’s so good to know that when we have to have it, we have some great options in Ruston.
