PATIENT STORY: Gerd
In cooperation with Kliniken BeelitzBACKGROUND
Gerd, 70 years, pensioner from Genthin near Magdeburg
Course of Disease
On the 19th May 2024, Gerd experienced a serious emergency.
He collapses and requires emergency medical treatment. At the acute care hospital, the doctors diagnose a non-traumatic spinal hemorrhage (due to ongoing anticoagulation therapy).
The hematoma is pressing on the spinal cord at the level of the 7th thoracic vertebra, causing Gerd to suffer a spinal shock.
In the intensive care unit, he is placed in a medically induced coma and given invasive ventilation.
However, Gerd stabilizes and is able to be transferred to the neurological specialist clinic in Beelitz about a month later.
Use of VEMOTION (mid-June)
Just one day after his admission to Beelitz, mid-June, the team on ward F1 begins mobilization using the VEMOTION system. Despite being on a ventilator and having circulatory instability, Gerd responds very well to the mobilization. On this Friday, Gerd stands upright in the room for the first time again. Although he still cannot feel his legs, Gerd reports a pleasant feeling of warmth throughout his body.
In the days that follow, Gerd receives VEMOTION therapy daily for about 20-30 minutes and, after a few days he is able to sit on the edge of the bed for about 5 minutes for the first time since the incident.
Outcome (End of June)
Today, at the end of June, Gerd can even be mobilized to the edge of the bed after the VEMOTION session and manages to remain stable without the ventilator for increasingly longer periods. He says that he can now feel the movement in his knee joints again during mobilization. “The movement helps me,” reports Gerd while enjoying a well-deserved ice cream at a room temperature of 26°C.
Goals
Gerd hopes to be able to return home soon, where he loves to fish at the Altkanal. Before this incident, he was in the process of renovating his house to be barrier-free, so he could live independently in his familiar surroundings for as long as possible in his later years.
A big thank you to the nursing and therapy team at the Beelitz Specialist Clinic
The neurological rehabilitation team in Beelitz has optimally integrated the VEMOTION system into their daily clinical practice. Their efforts are focused on mobilizing as many patients as possible with this innovative technology. We appreciate their outstanding dedication and look forward to continuing our collaboration