Patients Age: 83
Admission Date: 2/24/2017
Admitted From: Mount Sinai Manhatten
Discharge Date: 6/1/2017
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 12 Days
Reason for Stay: Leg Amputation
How did this patient hear about The Chateau? Lives locally

Details of Experience:

Mr. Irwin Spiegel has been a very special resident at The Chateau at Brooklyn for the last few months. He arrived to our community from Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC, after complications with his diabetes, which unfortunately led him to having his second leg amputated. A few years back, Irwin had his first leg amputated, and due to his younger age and drive, he was able to utilize his prosthetic leg without issue; however, after losing his second leg, he felt more nervous about going home, and decided to admit for a couple of weeks to a rehabilitation center before returning back to the community.

In January, Mr. Spiegel admitted to The Chateau with a below-the-knee-amputation that was failing to properly heal. After recommendation from his surgeon at the hospital and our medical team at The Chateau, he decided to return back for an additional procedure, which thankfully healed very well. Upon his second admission to our community, Irwin was nervous what the experience would be like with an above-the-knee-amputation and how the learning process would unfold. When Irwin arrived to The Chateau, he was warmly greeted by all staff members where he later shared his story of losing his legs and how even though he was 83 years old, he still would not give up and wanted to return back to his life as he knew it prior to his amputation.

The Chateau was pleased to introduce Mr. Spiegel to Todd Schaffhauser and Dennis Oehler, from our signature amputee walking school. Todd and Dennis are Paralympic Gold Medalists with Dennis having a below-the-knee-amputation and Todd an above-the-knee-amputation. Dennis and Todd each spent a great deal of time with Irwin explaining to him the different techniques of walking with an above-the-knee-amputation, which he was not familiar with, while also informing him that all of the therapists at The Chateau were specially-trained in rehabilitation for amputees, reassuring him of his anticipated progress.

After two months of extensive rehabilitation, Irwin is now scheduled to be discharged on June 1st! The Chateau team had the opportunity to connect with Mr. Spiegel as he shared his wonderful experience at The Chateau. “The staff at The Chateau have been great to me throughout my entire stay, but I would like to mention a few specific members of the team who I had the pleasure of working with more often. Tracy, my Physical Therapist, and Erika, my Occupational Therapist, are both amazing; they knew exactly what they were doing and without them I wouldn’t be where I am today. Ms. Young, Stephanie, Ms. Almaz and all of the Nurses are all number one; no matter the time of day or night, if I rang the bell I knew someone would come in to find out what was wrong and what they could do to help me. Ms. Agnes, Kelly and Marie, my three CNAs, did everything without even being asked, when they came to help me in the morning they always greeted me with a smile and made sure to fill up my pitcher with fresh ice water for the day ahead. Denise, the receptionist, comes to say hello to me every day and asks me how I am feeling, which I thought was very nice. And for the management, I want to make a special mention of Dorothy, the Director of Rehab, who arranged everything for my discharge home – from getting me a walker to having a hospital bed delivered to my house she really went above and beyond to make sure everything at home would be taken care of when I got there. M.r Katz, the Administrator, is also an amazing individual, even though he is always busy with a million and one things, he takes the time to stop whenever he sees me and ask me how I am doing, and that everything is going well. Having a gentleman like Jacob, the Concierge, on the staff is unbelievable, he is here all day just to make sure that all residents are comfortable and if there was anything that I ever needed, he always made sure to get it for me. I am so happy to be going home, but I am also going to miss everyone here very much!”

Before Irwin’s surgery, he was totally independent with being able to do everything on his own; however, when he had the surgery he became fully dependant and needed help with all his activities of daily living, even transferring to and from bed. After receiving therapy six days a week for a few months, he is happy to be going home walking with a rolling walker and being able to perform all his activities of daily living without any assistance!

We at The Chateau are very proud to have been able to assist Irwin throughout his journey of healing and rehabilitation, the staff are all going to miss him and his beautiful singing in our hallways. We are happy with the knowledge that Irwin is going back home to his wife with so that they can enjoy their time together with their children and grandchildren in good health and happy spirits!