The QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax is working to give patients at the rehabilitation centre more independence, with the help of technology.
Sarah Mather has been calling the QEII home for over three months.
The 38-year-old is living with a condition where her immune system attacks the body and nervous system directly.
“That kind of shut everything down,” says Mather. “All my muscles and strength, so I lost all motion, I was paralyzed for a while. So that's why I'm here (in the rehabilitation centre) because we're building my strength up so I can re-enter the world.”
Mather says her recovery has been slow, but it's going well.
“Coming to rehab from the hospital is amazing because it's all geared around helping you do as much as you can with what you have right now,” says Mather.
While her mobility is very limited, Mather does have her voice – a tool that is helping her regain some independence with the aid of a new environmental control unit.
“These are basically a computer tablet that have a back box on it, that allows you to interact with things in your environment,” says Kim Parker, a rehabilitation engineer at the QEII.
Parker says the technology has a broad range of capabilities.
Patients can control the TV and lights, as well as make hands free phone calls. It can also be customized to match the user’s abilities.
“So someone who has very limited access, like only their eyes, can actually use eye gaze and can actually interact with the tablet to communicate,” says Parker.
These basic tasks may not be a priority to someone who is sick and in acute care, however, program manager Joanne Comeau says that it becomes a priority for patients once they are medically stable and reach the rehab centre.
“That’s stuff that they’re at a stage that they want to be able to do,” says Comeau. “They’re not so sick that that’s not important to them. Those are basic things that are very important to them.”
Mather mainly uses her device to control her television and lamp, tasks which previously required the help of a nurse. She says her regained independence has made her ‘feel like a person again.’
“It’s just great because, it’s like ‘oh, I did that myself. I don’t need help for that,’ says Mathers. “Needing help for one less thing is huge at this point, because it’s very slow and little steps, but these little steps are massive in what they can do in changing your daily life.”
Parker says the technology is also a good introduction for patients on what they can implement in their own homes, once they are out of the hospital – many things, such as lights, doors, and locks, can be controlled through smartphones.
Mathers says she plans on using some of these tools when she is back in her own home, so she can focus her energy on recovery.
