Norman Regional Rehabilitation Patients Build Independence at Patient-Run Lemonade Stand

For patients recovering from a serious illness or injury, rehabilitation is about more than building strength. It is also about regaining the everyday skills and confidence needed to return home and participate in the community.

Patients in Norman Regional’s Inpatient Physical Rehabilitation unit put those skills into practice during a patient-run lemonade stand at Norman Regional Hospital on Wednesday, August 5.

With support from Norman Regional’s rehabilitation team, patients helped squeeze lemons, mix lemonade, prepare cookies, organize supplies and serve visitors and employees. Much of the preparation took place in Candice’s Kitchen, a kitchen used by patients in Norman Regional’s Rehabilitation Center to practice everyday activities in a supportive environment.

While the lemonade stand offered a fun break from a typical day of therapy, nearly every part of the event had a rehabilitation purpose.

“This event gives our patients an opportunity to practice several important skills in a fun and encouraging environment,” said Ben Vandaveer, Inpatient Rehabilitation Program Manager. “Preparing food, organizing supplies, communicating with customers and managing transactions all require different levels of movement, problem-solving, memory and social interaction. These are the kinds of everyday activities that can help patients rebuild confidence and independence.”

Turning Everyday Activities Into Rehabilitation

Norman Regional’s Inpatient Physical Rehabilitation unit serves adults recovering from illnesses and injuries that can significantly affect their ability to move, communicate or complete daily activities independently.

Each patient’s rehabilitation plan is developed around their individual needs and goals. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and other services may all play a role in helping patients regain function and prepare to transition back to their homes and communities.

Activities such as the lemonade stand give patients an opportunity to combine several of those skills at once.

Sarah Tuttle, a speech-language pathologist at Norman Regional, said patients practiced following directions, finding the right words, solving problems and interacting with members of the community throughout the event.

“We did a ton of direction following. You might have heard me say, ‘Take one cookie and put it on the plate.’ That’s a two-step direction,” Tuttle said.

For patient Bonnie Curtis, even a seemingly simple task like following those directions represented meaningful progress.

Curtis has normal pressure hydrocephalus and is recovering after receiving a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, a device placed under the skin that helps drain excess cerebrospinal fluid from the brain.

“For Bonnie, that was a goal that I had written for her at the start of her stay, and she’s very close to meeting that,” Tuttle said.

Preparing Patients and Families for Life After Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation also involves helping patients and their families feel prepared for what comes next.

Curtis’ husband, Lon Mabone, has been closely involved throughout her rehabilitation. Tuttle said Mabone regularly watches his wife’s therapy sessions so he can learn how to best support her after she returns home.

Mabone said the physical and occupational therapy his wife has received have been especially helpful during her recovery.

“If things keep going as they are, we will be discharged on Saturday,” Mabone said.

That transition home is ultimately what inpatient rehabilitation is designed to support. Patients work toward goals that matter in their daily lives, whether that means walking safely, preparing a meal, remembering a sequence of steps, communicating with others or completing personal care tasks more independently.

The lemonade stand brought many of those skills together in one activity while also giving patients an opportunity to interact with people outside of their regular therapy sessions.

For Norman Regional’s rehabilitation team, events like this are another way to make therapy practical, engaging and connected to life beyond the hospital.

For the patients behind the lemonade stand, each glass poured and cookie served represented something even more important: another step toward greater confidence, independence and returning home.

To learn more about Norman Regional’s Inpatient Physical Rehabilitation, visit our services page or call 405-307-3863