She had a spinal infarct (stroke) that left her unable to walk. They put her in rehab in Reno for three weeks, where the treatment was very good. They had her in a wheelchair and doing strengthening exercises from very early in the program. She had home PT after the rehab, and the home therapist took one look at her and said
“it’s time for a walker.” She’s been using the walker now for about 10 years. She can’t walk without something to hang onto (walker or counter) and has lots of other issues, but at least she is out of the wheel chair.

What you describe sounds antediluvian. Can you get a second opinion about the use of a walker?

Something I learned right away is that you lose muscle strength very quickly when you are inactive, and it can take weeks of concerted effort to get it back. Now, I go to a gym three days a week, and have a few exercises I do at home between trips to the gym. If I go even for a week on vacation, I can tell the difference at the gym when I get home, even though I feel like I am pretty active on the vacation.

They should be working all his muscles as much as possible, and not just the ones he uses for walking. Upper body muscles are important for using a walker, or even a cane. His Parkinsons won’t get better, but if he loses muscle mass at the same time, it is a double whammy that is hard to come back from. Conversely, if he can improve his muscle strength, it can help compensate for the Parkinsons, at least to some degree.

When my wife broke her hip, she was in a rehab facility for eight days, to learn how to walk steps again. I was disappointed in the amount of actual rehab they did. When I asked if I could work with her myself, they said, “Um, sure, I suppose.” So, every day we worked together on walking.

Though how that might apply in this case, I wouldn’t know.

However, it might be time to get stuff in writing from the nice folks running the facility.

During each of my hospital stays including one with a fairly severe leg problem, my PT daughter who specialized in neurological/spinal injuries, was there to get me moving almost immediately, with her monitoring at first, but not interfering. Soon, I could walk solo as I chose. The staff was a little protective at first; but they soon let me go on my way. (I was not in Rehab facilities.)

My daughter’s mantra is ‘movement is medicine’.

The point is, what you describe certainly does not fit the current thinking in rehab. Are there local or state regulations that govern what they do at the rehab you are involved with?

I worry (and I know you do, too!) that even just ten days of this kind of physical immobility and emotional frustration could be very hard to recover from, for someone of his age and condition. He might be better off at home, if there’s any possibility of hiring aides for a little while. Or maybe there’s another facility, if you could find one that would assure you up front that he wouldn’t receive this “treatment.”

A lawyer myself, I concur with the other commenters who’ve opined that this facility’s main concern is its own exposure to liability, with the actual rehabilitation of its clients a far distant second. I’m so sorry this is happening to your ex, and to you. It must be a huge source of anxiety and energy drain for you, not to mention awful for him.