Bill Richardson should have the nickname “Mr. Positive”.  He has a delightful outlook, no matter what life throws at him and, at 87 years old, 2010 threw him a few curve balls.  Sadly, the year started off with the death of his daughter, who had suffered from Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Bill later found out that he had to have one of knees replaced due to his own disease process.  Misfortune struck again when, before he underwent surgery, Bill fell down a flight of stairs and suffered significant head trauma. He was told by the hospital that he would need to move into a nursing home to recuperate.  This was quite a blow to his independent nature.

Bill had previous experience with nursing homes when he had admitted his mother-in-law in one back in 1995-1996.  Due to several, negative occurrences, he  made the decision to move her to Countryside Care Centre.  That bad experience quickly turned into a positive one and Bill had remembered it all of these years, so when he was faced with a nursing home decision, he knew where he wanted to be. The hospital discharge planners told Bill where he "needed" to go for rehabilitation,  but Bill had another place in mind, he said, “Send me to Countryside.”  He knew his chances to return home were greater if he rehabilitated in a place he was comfortable with.

 Bill was admitted to Countryside Care Centre in October, 2010 and spent 6 weeks recuperating from the head trauma. He states that his experience was far beyond his expectations and he never thought a nursing home could be such a great place to stay. He made a lot of friends and was able to recover successfully, in time to have his scheduled knee replacement. Bill chose to return to Countryside for his knee replacement rehabilitation.  Through his determination and the hard work of both his therapists and himself, Bill finished his rehab in 3 weeks.  His intense therapy also developed into intense friendships with his therapists, Mike and Pam.  The two Countryside therapists made a visit to Bill’s house prior to his discharge to ensure that everything was safe for him and that he had the equipment, as well as, safety training necessary to be safe at home. Bill says, “They had measuring tapes out and everything, making sure I could get around everywhere in my house.”  “The nurses educated me on my medications and in what cases I needed to call the doctor, so I feel ready to make it on my own at home.”

Bill went home on Friday, January 7, 2010 beaming from ear to ear in excitement and pride.  A Navy veteran, this 87 year old success story was ready to tackle life at home on his own and he felt pretty darn great about it. He also said he had some bean soup in his freezer that he made that he could not wait to get his hands on.  The best of luck to you, Bill!  We hope to see you soon---- as a visitor!