Feature: Broken femur leads to time in wheelchair

 by Joshua Labrecque 

She screamed in horror and cried out in the ambulance, ” What’s going to happen? I’m I ever going to walk again? I can’t feel it at all! Ow, it hurts!” Diana Kearney was 68 when she tripped over the carpet at church in 2016.

At the hospital it would take an 1 1/2 hour  operation to fix her broken femur, but it would be years before should could begin to walk. She would spend 9 months in the nursing home receiving almost daily physical therapy and when she left she was put in a  wheelchair. She looked upset as she looked at the doctor in disgust when she was told. She knew this had to be done but hated wheelchairs and did not want one.

At home her doctor had her do exercises like she did at the nursing home. These included lifting her leg up as much as she could and bending it. Then every other day he would have her put weight on it and see how much she could stand on it and for how long. 

After about a year of these exercises, she began to slowly start walking short distances again. She could move around the house to do some work but that was about it. She still couldn’t fully walk and needed the wheelchair when she went out. She went into a depression not being able to. She started to slow down on her exercises because she thought it was doing nothing.  It was only helping a little but not enough. She told her Physical Therapist about this and he immediately pushed her to go back to work telling her it takes time to heal. After some reassurance from him, she went back to it. 

Kearney was able to go out and do normal things,like eat and go grocery shopping,but still had to use the wheelchair. Her husband would help her around everywhere they needed to go. He said, “It can be a real pain in the neck pushing her around everywhere but i’m glad she is making great progress. It makes me happy to start seeing her happy again.”

In early 2020 she has made so much improvement. Diana Kearney still has to be in the wheelchair but she can put all weight on the leg and can walk longer distances. She said, “I’m so happy I had everyone supporting me in this. I’ve made so much progress and I feel so much better than I did a year ago today.” Kearney said that she belives by the end of 2020 she will be able to walk again. 

Journalism student Joshua Labrecque wanted to say he hopes everyone is staying safe in these times of crisis and that he is doing well.