HEALTHY LIVING
REASON TO RISE
Rehabilitation teams help patients find the motivation and movement to achieve recovery goals. BY ANASTASIA PENCHI | CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Winona Health physical therapist Valerie Mullen helps a patient work to regain range of motion in the knee.
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hroughout the Coulee Region, teams of professionals are helping the physically broken rise again. Whether the setback is temporary, due to a procedure like a knee or hip replacement, or because of a chronic condition with ongoing issues like stroke, Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis, these medical cheerleaders expertly guide us to do the work needed to get back on our feet. Dr. Christine Brose, a rehabilitation doctor for Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, says rapport builds between patients and professionals due to time spent together. She sees patients at the time of the initial emergency, and is likely to do so every two to three months after it passes. A physical therapist might see patients two to three times each week. Trust builds as the patient successfully meets goals. They might Dr. Christine Brose, work with a rehab doctor, physical rehabilitation physician, therapist, speech therapist and/or Gundersen Health System occupational therapist. Sometimes social workers join the team, too. And talented healers are in demand—Dr. Brose is typically booked out six months.
“I love what I do,” Dr. Brose adds. “A lot of other specialties don’t get to know people that well.”
Valerie Mullen, physical therapist, Winona Health
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER When tragedy occurs, it can literally knock a person off their feet. In emergency rooms, patients start in a bedridden state. In order to walk again, a good medical crew figures out the inspiration needed. Is this person a grandmother who wants to get back on the ground to play with her grandkids, or does she want to crochet again? Maybe she
wants to return to work. “You definitely need to know your patient, because different patients need different things,” Dr. Brose says. One local woman in her 40s had a stroke and wanted to return to work. She went from being paralyzed when Dr. Brose first met her to going back to work full-time thanks to lots of physical therapy and special braces she now uses to help her walk. Dr. Brose begins with the diagnosis, but she gets pulled in as needed for pain management and insurance issues. On the day of this interview, she is helping someone with a spinal cord injury as his physical therapist reported new pain.
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