When she had her first knee replacement, Mary Ingleby knew precisely what she wanted to do for physical therapy. Mary knew PT at home would be needed since, initially, she would be homebound, and it happened that she knew a PT from church, Pat Columna, who provided that through a home health agency.
“The first replacement was my right knee so that I couldn’t drive for about six weeks,” Mary says. “It would have been difficult to find someone to take me. So it was nice not to have to go out.”
As a bonus, Pat also offered at-home PT through SCL Health, now Intermountain Healthcare, so even when Mary met her goals and was able to get out and about, she and Pat could keep working together at home until Mary was done with her course of therapy.
Mary’s second knee replacement this summer went much the same, but Pat was no longer working for the home health agency, so Mary started out working with a different PT. Once she met her goals and got out again, she started going into her new PT’s clinic space.
“I didn’t like it as much,” she recalls. “It felt impersonal, having everybody watching you.”
So when her new PT announced she was leaving the clinic, she decided to return to at-home PT.
“Now that I’ve done both, I like it much better at home,” Mary says.
“I love it because I get to spend time with one individual and just be there for them,” Pat adds. “And people always tell me how convenient it is for them.”
Mary’s working with Pat again and has a few more sessions. And she’s realized there are other advantages to having physical therapy at home besides privacy and convenience. For one thing, physical therapy doesn’t just happen when the physical therapist is there.
“You’re supposed to do it all the time,” Mary says. “But when you’re in session using tools and equipment you don’t have, it’s hard to replicate that at home. With Pat, we’ve made a few makeshift PT tools for pushing and pulling regular items around the house. I practice stair stepping on my real stairs.”
And although it’s not all roses - Mary jokingly likens the exercises to a “torture routine” - she’s faithful to making her new knees the best they can be.
“I’m pretty good about following through and doing everything I’m supposed to,” she says. “Being able to do it at home makes it much easier.”
SCL Health Medical Group offers Luna at Home for all patients along the Front Range. Need a physical therapy referral? Ask your primary care provider or find out more.
