BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Linda Shelton was never one to go to the pool for fun, though now she comes to the Mickey Pizitz Memorial Pool in the UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Spain Rehabilitation Center two-to-three times each week.
It all started a little more than a year ago when Shelton was diagnosed with polymyositis, a rare disease that causes inflammation and weakening of muscles. The disease rendered Shelton unable to function normally. She couldn’t even walk or feed herself, not to mention care for a newborn baby. She began using the pool for therapy while she was an in-patient at UAB hospital.
“It’s been a tremendous help,” Shelton said. “At first, I couldn’t even raise my arm, but now I’m able to walk again. I’ve also begun cooking, and most importantly, I’m able to care for my 1-year-old. A lot of my recovery has to do with that pool.”
Besides helping her recover physically, Shelton said going to the pool also has helped her emotionally and kept her motivated. Constant encouragement from the therapists and other patients’ improvement inspire her to keep going.
“I look forward to meeting the other people who go to the pool and share their stories of how pool therapy has benefited them and helped in their recovery,” she said. “I thought my situation was bad, but I’ve met people who have had brain injuries and been told they’re never going to walk again, and people who have been told they’re going to be paralyzed. But, then they get in the pool, and they get better. These stories motivate me to work hard. I feel like there’s some hope.”
As Shelton’s story illustrates, the Mickey Pizitz Memorial Pool at the UAB Spain Rehabilitation Center can be an essential tool for patient recovery. Utilization of the pool has increased significantly over the past few years, according to Catherine Newhouse, administrative director of rehabilitation services at UAB. An estimated 200 patients use the pool every week for physical therapy. The existing locker rooms do not support the volume of people using the pool, Newhouse said.
Shelton admits that her only complaint about the pool is the locker rooms. Because of her weak muscles, Shelton needs extra help getting changed before and after using the pool. The limited space in the locker rooms makes the process of changing more difficult and extremely inconvenient.
Recognizing a need for renovation, the Women’s Committee of the Spain Rehabilitation Center, one of UAB’s oldest volunteer groups, raised nearly $60,000 at this year’s benefit dinner. That money will be used to install additional showers in the locker rooms, provide extra private changing space, improve safety features and allow easier access to the pool. The renovations are scheduled to begin at the start of the next fiscal year. Newhouse says that they should not interfere with use of the pool, except occasionally for a couple of days when heavy construction is required.