Anna Maria Schneider

Until September 18, Anna Maria was living independently at Lafayette Square Senior Apartments on Steubenville Pike in Oakdale, PA with good friends and daily support from her wonderful caregiver, Tina. On the 18th, she went to the emergency room at Heritage Valley Sewickley with a somewhat mysterious severe shoulder pain. The ER docs ruled out the bad stuff – cardiac issues, blood clots, pneumothorax – and settled on some nerve pain possibly related to spinal stenosis, treated her with pain meds and a topical pain patch, and discharged her to skilled nursing for strengthening before returning home. In her first PT session at North Hills Health and Rehab in Wexford, she walked 80'. Each day at North Hills, she experienced increasing leg weakness and inability to stand. She also started experiencing altered mental status. After a week of the facility doctor failing to effectively address the altered status, Anna Maria went back to the ER at Heritage Valley Sewickley, where they diagnosed a raging UTI. She was admitted to the Progressive Care Unit at Sewickley for almost a week for IV antibiotics and fluids. On Friday, October 11, she moved to the Bethlen Home. It is a wonderful facility and a short five minutes from Lauren's house, which means easier oversight of her care. Anna has an upcoming appointment with her neurosurgeon on November 5. In the meantime, we are turning over as many stones as we can think of to uncover the reason for and potential treatment of her leg weakness. At this point, she is confined to bed and wheelchair.