Case Management Focus: Taking Your Own Advice!   

Sarasota, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) -- A nurse case management friend of mine just had a knee replacement. I called her to see how she was doing. She said she was doing great! She is 75 and still working as an independent workers' compensation case manager.  

Here is her story:  

Mary told me the surgery went well, and her rehab is progressing. She said, "What helped me the most was using my experience to pre-plan what I would need after the surgery.”  She knew her post-op period would be a challenge for her to do herself and this worried her, but she used her skills as a workers compensation nurse case manager to tackle the situation. What was my saving grace is that I put together my care plan and the resources I knew I would need to take care of myself after the surgery.  

She explained that her years of working with people with catastrophic injuries, complex surgeries, and other life-changing situations allowed her to know what she would need to get through the first few weeks. She said her surgeon was great and was open to the various ideas she had.  

She put together her rehab team with people she knew were good. As a result, she is progressing better than expected. Her son was able to take Family Medical Leave from his job so he could be available to her for support. She hired an aide to help her bathe, shop, and cook meals for her and her son.  

Now that she was going out, she hired a driver to take her where she needed to go. This allowed her son to work from her home. She sounded positive and in control of the situation.  

Talking to my friend made me realize the incredible knowledge we gain from our work as workers compensation case managers and how we can use our expertise to help others and ourselves!  

She said that preplanning and having the resources to take care of herself took the burden out of what could have been a very challenging experience.  

Have you had an experience where you could use expertise to organize a care plan for yourself or a family member? Please drop a note in the comment section or email me at allewellyn48@gmail.com  

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