Families Friends
A Newsletter for St. John's Skilled Services August 2018
stjohnsliving.org
“Being here has gotten me to where I am now. It is nice to be somewhere where people care.” Go to stjohnsliving.org/story/catherinemerrimans-story/ to read the entire feature. Setbacks, failures, and tragedies are a part of life. For Catherine Merriman, it was an unending cycle of sickness and rehabilitation for nearly three years. In and out of the hospital, Catherine felt as though she was a revolving door, continuously going round and round with no sign of slowing down. It all started when Catherine was diagnosed with lymphedema. One day Catherine’s aide recommended she go to the hospital. Although she did not know it at the time, Catherine somehow had acquired chronic sepsis. She spent three weeks in the hospital before being discharged and transferred to a nearby skilled nursing facility. After one year of rehabbing, she was transferred to St. John’s. “I used to work here back in the ‘70s so I was familiar with St. John’s Home,” Catherine states. The roadblocks continued for Catherine and it started to become apparent that she may never return home. Catherine was diagnosed with pneumonia and would spend yet another long month regaining her strength at Rochester General Hospital. When she returned to St. John’s Home, she did not have any mobility. “I was weak. It took me a long time to gain my strength
back,” Catherine continued. “I was set up with PT (physical therapy) and OT (occupational therapy). OT worked with me to regain strength in my arms and PT helped with leg exercises.” Catherine has resided on the Tulip neighborhood since she arrived almost two years ago. Over the past year, Catherine has spent a great deal of time with her physical therapist Traci Morley. “The biggest reward working with Catherine is witnessing the power of perseverance,” Traci explains. “Working in long-term care, it is very rare that someone is able to transition back to living alone in the community after being in a nursing home for as long as Catherine has been.” With teary eyes and a crowd of people, Catherine exited the doors of St. John’s Home on July 12. “Being here has gotten me to where I am now. It is nice to be somewhere where people care; you can get help whenever you need it,” Catherine says. Though Catherine’s journey has been anything but easy, she is an inspiration to everyone battling injury, sickness, or setbacks.