After a Fall, Energetic Parkchester Man, 79, Beats the Odds, Goes Home

A big congratulations to former University Center resident Thomas Brandt, 79, who thrives on walking daily to stay in shape despite his long-time arthritic condition, was discharged from the 46-bed Grand Avenue skilled nursing facility on November 26. Mr. Brandt, who has been living in the Parkchester section of The Bronx since 1970, was having an eyesight situation in early July as he was looking to have an eye operation at the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System on East 23rd Street in Manhattan to remove cataracts in the left eye due to glaucoma. Mr. Brandt, drafted to the U.S. Army immediately after high school graduation, served in Germany during the Vietnam War from November 1965 to November 1967. Being stationed in Germany, Thomas didn't need to go to Southeast Asia. He has been seeing doctors at that VA Hospital since 1984.

After his successful surgery, he now has 20-10 vision in his left eye; he also wants to have the right eye done. Following his procedure, Thomas stayed overnight, and the following day, as he was making his way out of the hospital, he fell inside the building as he was speaking to the physician. According to Thomas, the rubber soles of his shoes gave out to a newly sticky waxed floor where he was walking. The doctor took him back upstairs, where he could check him out by taking tests and X-rays; everything was fine.

Feeling OK initially, Thomas then started to feel discomfort and a little pain in his toes, ankles, and knees the following day. Mr. Brandt, who has long-standing arthropathies or arthritis in his joints, a condition that he has been managing so well by being active, thought the fall had aggravated it. Throughout the entire month of July, the pain had increased, learning later on that the pain was due to fracturing the left side of his hip at the fall. Now, he needed hip replacement surgery, something that wasn't discovered in those immediate tests following his fall. By early August, with the pain at its peak, Thomas went to the emergency room at the VA Hospital and then to have his hip replacement surgery.

"I thought it was my arthritis, always feeling it in my joints," said Brandt. "This was something different throughout July, and it just kept on getting worse until the day that I had enough and needed to find out where the pain was coming from. At University (Center), I really appreciate everything they've done for me, and the food is good."

Also, due to that fall, where his knee had buckled before hitting the floor, he was eager to get knee replacement surgery. Doctors told Thomas that due to his arthritis, where he has a breakdown in joint cartilage, having knee replacement surgery would indeed help to relieve the pain and improve his mobility, but it won't cure his arthritis. His walking, always important to him, is who he is, an energetic 79-year-old who loves walking and is always on the move.

After his surgery, Mr. Brandt underwent physical and occupational therapy at the University Center. There, the therapy and recreation teams loved Thomas' enthusiasm since he arrived in mid-August. Recreation Director Keisha Bailey had kept up on Thomas' progression and improvements since his arrival from being constricted to a wheelchair and graduating to a cane. Thomas was serious in his rehabilitation; he worked hard on the machines, working one-on-one with his therapists, and always had a positive attitude, all leading to meeting his goal to go home soon.

"Thomas is a model for someone who wants to get better so they can go home," said Bailey. "From the day he came in a wheelchair, to the day when he improved to a cane, working hard on the rehab machines and then walking with a little assistance, he wanted to get better and was strong enough to do so."

Now that Thomas has been discharged, he's interested in moving into an assisted living setting since he doesn't need an apartment as large as he currently has. His landlord has also made his rent unaffordable in recent years. For now, though, Thomas Brandt is considering a timeframe for scheduling his knee replacement surgery, perhaps taking it easy as much as he can tolerate.