From the moment Christine Olsen-Lane was admitted to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital 11 months ago, she was determined to get back home to her husband Peter and her pup Harry.
“I fell and injured my third, fourth and fifth vertebrae and it caused me major injuries to my neck,” Christine said.
Christine’s injuries were so severe she was considering the possibility of entering an aged care facility.
“I came in and all I could (do) is just lie in the bed and they would put a sponge in my mouth that I could push up against the roof of my mouth and let the water trickle down my throat – I couldn’t even swallow,” Christine said.
“I then progressed to blowing into a pipe to turn a light on."
11 months on, through immense perseverance, 71-year-old Christine can now stand and was farewelled by the Sunshine Coast Health rehabilitation unit this week.
“I’ve progressed to doing 1500 sit to stands on the evolve chair, we’ve done a few more since then but that was a big milestone,” Christine said.
“I’m going to walk and I’m going to walk in here and give everyone a standing hug.”
During her extended time in rehab, Christine’s newlywedded husband Peter never left her side. When the pair decided to tie the knot, the rehab team were more than happy to assist.
“We had a hen’s party and there were a few old roosters getting around as well,” Christine said.
“I felt really celebrated and so many of the staff came to the wedding as well - it was lots of fun.”
When Christine and Peter returned after their wedding, staff had even gone to the effort of decorating her hospital room.
Sunshine Coast Health Clinical Coach for Rehabilitation Taylor James said when she first arrived, they thought it was very likely that Christine would end up in aged care.
“She was very dependent on us for all of her care, but the fact that she is standing now and able to have a really good quality of life - she’s worked really hard.”
“Even at the start, I didn’t think she’d be standing at this point but she’s done such a great job.”
Ms Taylor said Christine has been a ray of light in the unit.
“It’s really helped a lot of our other patients, the fact that she’s been here so long and they’ve been able to see her progress and that’s pushed them as well,” she said.
“Seeing how many patients have come out to her party today show’s how much of an impact she’s made on our ward. I’m going to really miss her.”