Community Connections – Inlife Blog.

COVID – the long haul virus

Research is coming internationally on the long term effects of COVID-19. There has been an appalling trend for thousands of COVID survivors to remain debilitated by severe fatigue, brain fog, and tachycardia with a resulting inability to return to work. The economic implications of this with huge numbers of the 20 to 40 year old’s unable to work is hard to ignore, this accounts for 10-30% of those affected by the virus.

Amazingly some headway is being made into how to rehabilitate these patients. Unfortunately it is not a quick fix with a pill or a vaccination. The team at Mount Sinai Centre for Post COVID Care have found these people have developed ‘Dysautonomia’ or a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system. Meaning their body is out of balance and struggling to cope with the smallest everyday actions, a bit like chronic fatigue syndrome or an immune disease.

This lack of balance is impacting on heart rhythm, blood pressure, temperature, fight and flight responses and a myriad of other functions such as digestion, cognition and breathing.

So how have they been making a positive change in these people’s lives? Well apart from dietary changes, stress management and individual rehabilitation programs they introduced a new breath management system called ‘Stasis’ which helps to regulate the body with interval breathing practice morning and night. This works to coach the body back into a regular rhythm and start to restore balance needed for them to get mobilising again without shallow breathing and spiking heart rate leaving them bedridden.

Good news for those who are struggling after contracting COVID-19 to get back to work and their daily routines. At least they can put a name to it and know that they are not malingering and seek help from a breath management service.

Therapy Service News

Thank you to all my patients, colleagues and network for being a part of Inlifetherapy Occupational Therapy this year of 2020. Along with everyone else who has had to adapt and change practices I have added telehealth and generic occupational therapy services and minor home modifications to my profile this COVID19 year, which has been a great positive along with all the amazing online learning and meetings that have kept us all connected and supported. Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and see you all in 2021!

Inlifetherapy Telehealth Remote Treatment (now available)

As part of Inlifetherapy’s COVID-19 Response Plan in line with Department of Health and WHO guidelines, strategies for treatment provision will include the following: use of outdoor areas for treatment, social distancing , use of hand washing, cough etiquette, hand sanitiser and use of minimal contact treatment methods / assessment tools have been put in place for home visits. Phone calls will precipitate all home visits to check health status and that an area for treatment that allows social distancing is available. Every referral will be assessed on an individual basis as to what is the best form of contact to be observed.

Treatment at this stage of the escalation pathway will not be provided to confirmed cases in order to protect patients who are not symptomatic.

Privately funded patients who have access to internet connected devices such as a desktop, Ipad, tablet, or smart phone will be able to seek treatment remotely from home without visitation if this is what they prefer.

On the 28 March Medicare Chronic Disease Management (CDM) plans have been approved for bulk billed funding of video or phone telehealth services by Occupational Therapists.

From the 1st April DVA has approved video or phone telehealth services by Occupational Therapists for referred patients.

Instructions for video telehealth can be emailed to you prior to your online appointment. If needed, it might be handy to preempt any difficulties by having a tech savvy family member or friend sit with you when you download the app or attend your first appointment.

Therapy aids will be emailed or mailed for appointments as required.

I am looking forward to this next phase of technical adaptation as a way to further enhance the quality of your health care and continue to help you meet your goals.

Everyday In Every Way I’m Getting Better

Memories are special. The ones you want to hold onto need to be filled with detail to lessen the chance of losing it.

A good memory I have of one of my patients, and friend, is of an elderly gent sitting at his dining room table in a blue checked flannel shirt tightly tucked in, oxygen tubing stretched across his pale creased face, his side burns extra short from a recent “lowering of the ears” ,the skin on these patches almost white. The hair combed back and still wet from grooming himself that morning. His face intently focused on the pen in his hand making sketching’s in his pad of a horse in mid flight racing round the bend at a high stakes meet, all the while talking about his week, the incidences of daily life, the difficulties, the appointments, and then he pauses and looks up and with interest and intent in his eyes he says “And how are you?”

Always asking about other’s stories and lives giving pearls of wisdom in the form of his own experiences, he had a focus on optimising his self improvement throughout the course of his chronic illness. He often shared and was deeply interested in the works of:

Emiold Coue a French psychologist known for auto suggestion – every day in every way I’m getting better was the mantra he found helped him.
Maxwell Maltz who was an American cosmetic surgeon and author of Psycho-Cybernetics (1960), which was a system of ideas using self talk that he claimed could improve one’s self-image leading to a more successful and fulfilling life.
and lastly the Serenity Prayer, a source of inspiration that often helped him get through the roller coaster of ill health.

My memory of conversations about his work as a Posty, his interest in bands and the great musicians of his time ….., his drawing and painting of iconic characters, military scenes and horses, a recent interest in one line portraits, all the while scribbling in his drawing pad as we talked, shaping and forming pictures from his minds eye whilst he thought on the issues that mattered most to him; grieving the loss of old friends , and caring for his wife, family and friends. He will be sorely missed.

Mates, Marriage and other Matters

I recently had the sad news that one of my patients had passed away.

He was one of those unique shapes that we don’t see in proceeding generations. Shaped by a young nation finding its feet and thrown into the arena of war this man was a collection of vast experiences from small outback town to the jungles of southeast Asia, back to metropolitan Sydney and then Brisbane.

He was a wealth of knowledge from the mundane to the exotic, layering it with a humourous flair that seemed to defy past trials and leave him with a positive attitude no matter the odds. Tales of mongooses, cobras and monkeys stirred the listeners imagination.

He once explained to me that he never gets depressed simply because he has better things to do with his time.

Blessed with a caring wife, children and grandchildren to treasure.

Always genuinely interested in the small nuances of my weekly grind whilst stuck in his lounge chair with an illness that eventually wore him down physically but never in mind and spirit.

He will be remembered by all who knew him with fondness and a chuckle for the man who had mates, a steadfast marriage, and an engaging genuineness from life’s wondrous travels.

Occupational Therapy Week 2019!!

It is Occupational Therapy Week!!

The age old question of what is an OT has had much written about but to keep it simple after 24 years of being an occupational therapist the easiest way is to ask you: Do you do activity? Is illness or disability preventing you from doing this activity on a regular basis? If you answered yes to both these questions then an OT can help you.

There are many different types of OT’s as there are many people doing different activities affected with many different types of illnesses and disabilities.

I focus on breathlessness and fatigue in pulmonary and cardiac conditions.

I have heard my patients blame old age when I first see them and then they always say “But I’m 80 something (or 90 something), it’s too late you can’t do anything for me”.

We start talking to find the root source of their breathlessness and I then assess their movements and breathing as they do a simple house chore. With my findings we begin to explore new ways for them to manage. They start to see how they can make things easier and keep doing the activities they find rewarding for longer than they anticipated.

I think that is priceless.

From the Horses Mouth

A recent Lung Foundation Seminar at Chermside had two lovely ladies give their knowledgable tips on coping with chronic breathlessness. Thank you to Lyn McDade and Joanne Smith! Have a try of these top 10:

Understand your limits by listening to your body
Go gently on difficult days but keep going.
Connect with peers, friends and support groups
Stress management and meditation
Avoid foods that increase inflammatory responses in the body
Complimentary medicine pathways
Quiet Time and Prayer
Exercise – walk groups, yoga, massage, hydrotherapy
Self care as a prevention tool – layering for cold sensitivity
Avoid ill acquaintances and high risk situations – busy crowds in flu season!

Asthma Week 2018

Asthma Week this year is about busting myths and getting the facts out there as two thirds of Australians are affected by asthma!

If you:

have symptoms more than two days a week
use reliever medication more than two days a week
do less because of your asthma
have symptoms at night or on waking

Then go see your GP for a review as your asthma may not be well controlled.

For asthma support and information call the 1800 ASTHMA Helpline
(1800 278 462)

Retiring Society

Spent the morning at Tricare Mt Gravatt Retirement Village giving a talk on Breath Management and catching up with residents afterwards. Lovely to meet the residents who were talkative, great on the puns and sharing plenty of laughs.

Questions on breathing technique and do we avoid certain movements or modify were the hot topics for the morning.

Thank you for a lovely morning!

Breath Management Class at Local General Medical Practice

I recently ran a breath class at a local medical practice for the purpose of increasing community awareness about breathlessness, how it affects us and how we can manage it. Evaluations were positive as they found many things to relate to and many other things to learn and practice. A great way to engage people that are hesitant to join a regular program in a larger health service.