Dustin LaFortune

About Dustin’s proposed Rehab program

• Very soon, Dustin will be medically stable enough to participate in rehab.
• The ABI (Acquired Brain Injury) team does not anticipate problems except in areas of stamina and tiredness.
• Dustin’s therapy programs will focus on functional goals, practical skills, activities of daily living, cognition and problem solving.  A section of time will be blocked off so that Dustin can have regular counselling sessions to address psychological and emotional issues.
• Dustin’s schedule will include cognition, memory and safe judgment training & exercises.
• Some of the goals can be met within Dustin’s program, particularly related to ADL’s (Activities of Daily Living) but the cognitive recovery is long term and will continue while Dustin is in the community.
• Dustin will need to stay in rehab until he is safe to return to a more normal life so in terms of mobility Dustin is doing amazingly well and it is expected that he will continue to recover as he gains weight and gets his strength back – he will hopefully be able to do most of the activities of daily living fairly independently.
• Cognitively what is necessary is to hopefully have safe judgment – he is going to need to the help of family and friends for this longer term recovery. The Dr’s experience of 20 years in rehabilitation medicine is that people get better in the real world rather than an institution. It is important to begin to think about planning for what is next and where it is going to take place.
• It may take longer for the cognitive piece; the remembering, thinking and emotional part will take longer but Dustin will not be in rehabilitation for the long term recovery of those aspects. Community and family support will be key.
• The doctors believe Dustin will become independent in dressing, eating and personal care. The key issues will be that of judgment, safety and complex social things.
• The family will need some professional support once Dustin is out of rehabilitation; living with and supporting Dustin 24 hours a day will be the real challenge.
• There is only so much professionals can and will do in these situations – the remainder of the role and support will fall upon Dustin’s informal support network being his family and friends to assist him with his day-to-day living.

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