Philip Y. Kao PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

Ryan began complaining more about his foot. He expressed a concern that his condition
would not allow him to be ‘good at socialising with others’. He thought that therapy
could be a good idea, and I asked him if meant physical or mental. To this, he did not
respond. I asked him if he wanted to get more therapy, and he said yes. We both agreed
to take a small trip to the therapy department. We made a stop in the gym and watched
people on treadmills. All the therapists were busy with their residents, and so I initiated
a small game of catch and throw with Ryan using a sponge-like ball. One of the
therapists noticed us and directed us to see Erin in the main therapy office. Erin was a
bit surprised to see us, because we did not have an appointment. I told Erin that Ryan
wanted to seek out some therapy sessions for his legs and feet. Erin looked at us and
said, “Well, since Ryan is on Medicaid, he doesn’t qualify for PT treatments unless he
pays extra. If he had an injury and had to be hospitalised for more than three days, then
that would be covered.” We left the office, and Ryan said, “I think I feel better. I’m still
glad we came down.”
For Ryan, his feet were certainly part of the problem. Because he couldn’t walk or stand,
and he was too heavy for his wife to assist with his transfers, Ryan had to move out of
his house. In addition to his post-polio and the dementia brought on by the stroke, he
was condemned to limbo at the health and rehabilitation centre. Ryan was growing
more disappointed and frustrated. He wanted to be with his wife at home and help her
with the housework. Although she is not in a wheelchair and can still move about, Ryan
felt guilty and told me that he wanted to, “Work on getting better, so the building will let
me leave.” When I discussed things with Deena, the social worker, she said that they
have already tried having him move back home. She said, “The structure of the house
and the narrow doors and passage ways won’t allow Ryan to move about easily in his
wheelchair. We tried another option, but there are financial loopholes as well, so he’ll be
staying on the second floor of the health and rehabilitation centre.” She told me that
before I came to Tacoma Pastures, people had already been working with Ryan on his
foot obsession. Deena informed me that, “Ryan gets caught up in these unhealthy
associations, and as a result gets depressed. We had him working with a psychologist
when he started revisiting the whole foot ordeal. He is working with a psychologist
now.” Since my time with Ryan, I only witnessed one occasion when a social worker
with a brown cardboard clipboard asked him a few questions one afternoon. Even
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