In late March, Allan Meeks’ journey at Monteagle Care & Wellness Center began; however, this was not the beginning of his story. Before coming to Monteagle, Allan spent time at Erlanger Hospital, Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation and a skilled nursing facility Red Bank to regain enough strength to go home. Unfortunately, on the day of Allan’s return home, he experienced a fall and broke his leg. Allan once again had to go to Erlanger Hospital to undergo surgery before coming to Monteagle Care & Wellness Center for physical rehabilitation.
When Allan arrived at Monteagle, he was unable to put any weight on his leg. The simplest tasks that we take for granted became a huge ordeal. Allan could not walk, stand or perform daily self-care tasks without significant assistance. Mechanical lifts had to be used to get Allan in-and-out of bed. His life became very difficult, and Allan became frustrated. Allan was down, but not out. Allan focused his frustration towards working hard in therapy, and slowly started making functional progress. Allan gained strength in his arms and legs, began to perform more self-care tasks by himself and eventually started standing for a few seconds at a time. These seconds became minutes, and eventually Allan began to take steps. Allan is now able to walk down the hallway, perform self-care tasks without assistance and participate in leisure and community activities.
Due to his hard work, Allan is returning home where he belongs. Allan has shown that with determination, we can reach our goals, one step at a time.
