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People recovering from 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), especially those who have been on a ventilator, may need the specialized care and attention of an occupational therapist to relearn the basics of caring for themselves. Maura Regan, OTR/L, an acute care occupational therapist at 做厙TV Langones Rusk Rehabilitation, has been helping recovering patients start to walk, talk, and do other basic tasks before being safely discharged.
A lot of the patients that Ive been seeing in the intensive care unit have delirium once theyre more alert, and they also have very profound generalized weakness, Regan tells the New York Post. Its very easy for healthy people to get up out of bed, go to the bathroom, brush your teeth, get dressed, but for someone whos recovering from COVID-19, that requires a lot of their energy, and they might feel extremely fatigued after doing those basic tasks.
Regan remembers one particularly powerful moment with a patient who, using an alphabet board, told her he liked Frank Sinatra. Regan put on some music, anddespite his difficulties with movementthe two of them danced.
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