Life Care Center of Omaha helps COVID patient regain independence

COVID-19 hit Doramae Lowrey hard. When she contracted the disease and an infection in early 2022, it left her dependent on others.

Therapy at Life Care Center of Omaha, Nebraska, changed that outcome for her.

When Doramae arrived on Feb. 4, she was unable to walk or stand up and needed a mechanical lift to get in and out of bed. She needed total assistance with grooming tasks like brushing her hair and teeth and extensive assistance with bathing and dressing. She even needed moderate assistance with bed mobility.

Physical and occupational therapists started working with Doramae to help her achieve her goals. Slowly, she was able to use a sliding board, and then a special stand-and-pivot piece of equipment to get out of bed. She started walking with a walker and then a rollator. For her self-care tasks, adaptive equipment such as a reacher helped her do more on her own.

“Doramae made baby steps each day with hard work and dedication,” said Erika Scholtz, occupational therapist. “She was able to reach all goals to walk again and be independent with her basic and instrumental activities of daily living.”

Doramae returned home on April 13.

“Therapy helped me to walk, gain strength in my arms and legs and gain confidence in myself,” said Doramae. “The food was great, and therapy was great.”