Former Delmar Center Residents Are Proud of Their Great Achievements

At all skilled nursing facilities across the country, there are so many walks of life who enter these facilities for several reasons, possibly a fall, a stroke, cardiac issues, or being the victim of a certain kind of debilitating infection. Whatever the reason, whether it's for short or long-term care, there needs to be a combination of factors happening together that leads to a successful outcome or a smooth longevity. Two former residents at Delmar Center on Rockefeller Road in Delmar had a strong determination to simply want to get better and go home. Both residents had unforeseen situations that led them to a brief hospitalization and then rehabilitation, they had strong faith and solid professional therapy, and now both are home readjusting to getting back to their lives before this "bump in the road of life".

Meet Akiva "Joseph" Calka from Albany, 64, who feels blessed every day to be married to his wife Lori. Akiva, who is Jewish, found Judaism his spiritual home after he converted from Catholicism, was a Southern Baptist, he even studied the Quaron and the Hindu scriptures of the Bhagavadgita. Sometime in 2025, Akiva will be an Orthodox Rabbi. In his life, Akiva's parents were very supportive of his decisions in life. He and Lori are blessed to have adopted children, and although they are all grown and some are married, this alone defines them as being family-loving people. Akiva worked with kids with disabilities in his time, he also worked in security for fifteen years for the Albany Capital State Police, as well as having an office position with the New York state office of VESID (Office Of Vocational & Educational Services For Individuals With Disabilities).

Mr. Calka was an indirect victim of the Covid pandemic while working from home and in July of last year, the routine that he got used to was taking a toll on him so he had to go to the hospital. Akiva had knee issues for a long time and during the pandemic, Akiva found that working out of his bed with his laptop at home was comfortable. This comfort led to some muscular, back, and leg problems which started happening and he developed at-home bed sores. Akiva gained weight as well and on that July day, he was taken to St. Peter's for four to five days to treat the bed scores and help to start moving about.

On July 21, 2023, Mr. Calka was admitted to Delmar Center on Rockefeller Road in Delmar for physical and occupational therapy. It was painful at first, even to stretch, but the rehab team knew the right road to take for Akiva. He started losing weight, happily 134 pounds, and had a therapy team who understood him, where he came from, and what his goals were. Additionally, Akiva looked toward his faith for spiritual guidance and Lori would bring him Kosher food every day and also received strong support from Administrator Yoni Lautman and Recreation Director Amanda Ford. Akiva spent time on social media contacting families who have been deeply affected by the Israeli-Hamas War and in his heart, his goal- is to get to Israel.

"I'm a lucky man," said Mr. Calka. "I'm lucky in the sense of having a great loving wife who came every day for me, I was lucky to have such therapists who did not treat me just like another patient, but they made it very friendly, goal-orientated, and human as well. It's also my faith where I see miracles in God every day, but sadly some people don't. I feel that all of these things helped me in my journey."

Akiva also bonded with some of the hard-working nursing staff where he pointed out that a particular Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Christine Faust helped him through his time at Delmar Center. On March 1, 2024, Mr. Calka was discharged home and he was very thankful to so many people working at Delmar Center.

Mr. Michael Cage, 49, is also a man of deep faith. Just before the time when things unraveled for Michael in February 2023, Michael was dealing with weight issues but he started walking three to five miles a day in Lincoln Park, losing 100 pounds. But in one weekend in February 2023, things started to change for Michael when he lost his uncle. That weekend Michael experienced a certain pain in his foot that wouldn't subside so he went to an orthopedic who attributed the pain to arthritis. Michael dealt with the pain from March to May and during Memorial Day weekend, Michael's foot gave out and he collapsed.

Mr. Cage, a local handyman who does everything from carpentry and landscaping, lives in a 2nd-floor apartment in Schenectady. EMT's who came to take him to St. Peter's Hospital that day, had difficulty maneuvering Michael out of the apartment, but eventually got him to the hospital to get blood work done. It was finally found that Mr. Cage had an infection called "acute osteomyelitis" in his left ankle and foot. According to the Mayo Clinic, this is a bone infection that gets into the bloodstream and could be deadly if left untreatable. It is caused by staphylococcus bacteria, a type of germ commonly found on the skin and it is often not known how people contract it. Michael's doctor thinks it could have come from a boot that Michael had been wearing. Nonetheless, Michael was put on antibiotics but he needed to get surgery where doctors needed to remove some bone to where the infection was concentrated and swelled. The infection also went into his spine, affecting much of his lower extremities where he couldn’t walk, stand, or hold his balance.

After his hospital stay, Michael was admitted to Delmar Center for therapy on June 14, 2023. Not being able to move much at all, a Hoyer Lift was needed to help him in and out of bed and Michael needed a small team of therapists to help him during the day doing both physical and occupational therapy, but slowly but surely, the pain started to subside and Michael was able to move more and more. Just like in Mr. Calka's case, the Delmar Center rehabilitation team understood Michael's condition and knew the road to take for Michael to get better and eventually go home.

"The therapy was beautiful at Delmar Center, getting PT and OT, tough at the beginning, and I felt like quitting several times, but they (therapy team) worked hard work with me with PT, OT, as well as psychologically," said Mr. Cage. "Together with God, they helped me make great progress and to go home."

At Delmar Center, Michael got close to one other resident, who became a close friend. This other resident was a two-leg amputee and the strength of this particular resident was also an inspiration for Michael to get stronger. That he did and that happy discharge day was on February 29, 2024, after many months of solid rehabilitation and Michael's self-determination.

"A few years ago my mother was in a nursing home so I learned from what she went through and took it a step further to make it better. Yes it was difficult, and I wanted to give up a few times, but the therapists helped him both physically and psychologically."