Northwoods – Silverdale – Physical Rehabilitation – Good-by – Hello

I’m telling my recent Northwoods story backwards, my outpatient, twice-weekly rehab ends at the Northwoods picturesque, characteristic salt-water rehab pool and into a new beginning.

Other than my first solo horse-packing trip into the Cascades and living through a host of learning experiences, I have seldom learned so much in one week as during my stay at Northwoods, a five star rehab center just north of Silverdale. 

I hope to progress as I should, working out at home and/or in a commercial pool.  The primary goal here is to rebuild the muscling around my arthritic bone on bone left hip in order to pedal a recumbent trike.

One of Northwoods rehab specialist, Jeff, actually got me RUNNING in the chest high water, coming down on my left foot without the old debilitating pain…muscle building safely in the water. 

Incidentally, the second time I ran in the water I felt so Tarzana that when Jeff asked me to sit on the water stool for a series of other exercises; I made a surprising running leap for it… and slammed into it or would have if I’d got that far. 

I began the jump too far out and the side effect was a gut wrenching, breathtaking laugh – so hard I ran out of air and had to focus hard to stop laughing.  COPD is not for sissies – nor are fancied, imagined, graceful gazelle leaps of joy that I could put weight on that left hip. 

Good Physical Therapists cause little moments of joy for the patients they guide into better fitness as we work into better health.

Northwoods has many good or great physical therapists – I am talking a little about some of the people and my latest experience as a patient in one of two Kitsap County five-star rehab centers.

For information, I didn’t qualify for insurance coverage since I had only been at Harrison overnight for observation, yet encouraged by Harrison’s sharp good-by, good luck doctor,   Dr. Mathew Coates the next day,  I decided to give it a couple days…and stayed over a week.

This is the entrance to the Red Barn dining room leading to access to the salty rehab pool.

Antiques – some early Kitsap County settler and his family plowed ground with this nifty tool and a couple good horses – or, maybe it is a thresher – a hay cutter. 

Note the wonderful old artifacts displayed everywhere in the “red barn “ – take a gander at  the two-woman saw on the wall above the staircase. 

Open for dining 

These wonderful items are displayed on the way to the ladies changing room and the pool.  

On my way out, dinner guests coming in…hubby waiting for me to go home    Gorgeous quilts on the upper, left wall

Door to the pool

Roomy shower – kept spotless

The first dressing room/ladies room leading to a pool that I have seen decorated with real hand-worked framed quilt squares on the wall.

Kristi, left, following Jeff’s exercise plan had me run as fast as I could to the end of the pool – stop and walk backwards to the other end and repeat the run…got me laughing when I spotted her ‘running’ alongside.  She moved through the water like a prancing parade horse – head bobbing, smooth and graceful while I plowed through the water using my arms pulling forward – feeling plow horsey running through the deliciously warm water.  Kristi asked why I was laughing.  Her first time running through water, she said, when I told her.  She has a wonderful spirit and I howled…and did not tell her Jeff saved his energy and did not run alongside when he instructed me to run. 

Patients need the lightness of spirit and humor with the serious work they do helping put us together again,…we’re sort of like HumptyDumpty and they help us get back together again and teach us how to apply our own glue.Kristi and Shayla

Thanks Shayla, (PT) and Kristi (PTA) – What a great job you do for us!

Thanks for listening … Sharon O’Hara

Part 1 of 4