Norm had a brain-stem stroke last year and has been bedridden since. In most cases like Norm’s the answer is often to simply keep the person alive in a care home.
But doctors in Invermere have decided to take a much more aggressive approach to Norm.
“They’re behind him because they can see what he can do,” said Kim Harris, Norm’s fiancée.
For someone like Norm, learning to communicate is as important for his recovery as anything, as it will help him to work with doctors and therapists.
But a change in Internal Health’s (IH) programs could mean some of those therapists will not be as available.
IH has decided to cut visits by speech pathologists to hospitals like the one in Invermere from three times a month to once every few months.
“A lot of people have said that it’s not an essential service. Okay, put this in your head: try not to be able to talk to the people who are trying to take care of you,” said Kim.
To fill the gap left by the reduced visits, IH says it will be using video conferencing to bring pathologists to patients via technology.
“We’re trying to work in a way that uses technology more,” said Jason Geisbrecht, IH program administrator for rehabilitation in the East Kootenay. “We’re looking for consistency of care between all of our sites in the East Kootenay.”
He also added that the disciplines of the pathologists will be spread out over other practitioners in the hospitals so more people can help patients on an ongoing and consistent basis.
“We envision a time where we can have more face to face contact with our patients through technology at home,” he said.
But Kim said it is the personal visits of a few dedicated doctors that have made a positive difference.
She said Norm was seen by speech therapists in Cranbrook and Calgary but it wasn’t until the doctor in Invermere saw him and decided to take an aggressive, in-person approach that a simple swallowing test was even done.
“The speech muscles and swallowing muscles, once you lose those it is very difficult to get those back,” said Kim, who admitted that communication is as important for Norm’s psychological and social health as anything, allowing him to be more of a part of the lives of his children and others around him.
Along with helping people communicate, speech pathologists also work to develop swallowing abilities and breathing abilities that can get patients back to taking food by mouth.
IH claims that the move has been motivated by a need to offer a more standardized service for all hospitals in the East Kootenay.
“Face to face is ideal,” said Geisbrecht, “but nationally and internationally we’re seeing that services can be much more efficient if they are combined with tele-medicine support.” Kim is positive that speech pathology is something that has benefitted Norm because of the people around him willing to give a little more of a push for his benefit.
“Norm needs that energy from those around him, he needs that no-holds-barred attitude. He responded to that,” said a frustrated Kim. “I’m just tired of people in these small communities losing these essential services.”