Progress, Setbacks & Faith Where I Am Now

This episode is a raw and honest update on my current rehab journey following knee surgery.

After undergoing surgery on my right knee, my left knee unexpectedly gave out, leaving me unable to walk and requiring full-time care in a subacute rehabilitation facility. What has been most challenging is not just the physical recovery, but the mental and emotional impact of being in an environment that does not feel conducive to healing.

I share my experience navigating the healthcare system, including a denied transfer request and an attempt to advocate for myself through the emergency room, which ultimately did not lead to a change in my situation.

More importantly, I reflect on the deeper lesson I am learning in this season: the importance of being still, surrendering control, and trusting God’s process even when circumstances are uncomfortable and unclear.

This episode speaks to anyone going through an unexpected setback, offering encouragement to pause, listen, and seek revelation rather than explanation.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

Right Now with Rhenotha
Hosted by Rhenotha Whitaker

Right Now with Rhenotha is an experience designed to inform, inspire, and entertain. Blending conversation, storytelling, and everyday moments, it captures the energy of what’s happening right now.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Now with Renata, I am so glad you're here with me to talk about my continued rehab journey and what's going on with my health. Thank you so much. So much has happened this week that I just had to make sure I made it an episode. So just a really quick recap. I had surgery, and it's a it's gonna be a lot of noise. I do um apologize for that. I am making do with what I got, and what I got is this lobby right here up in this rehab. So thank you for tuning in. I truly appreciate you so much. And so this week, so much has happened. Quick recap. I had surgery mark six on my right knee. I need surgery on both of them. I got the right one done first, and while I was recovering, the left knee went out. So you know what that means, right? That means while the right knee is recovering, I was in non-weight bearing status, and so that means I can't walk on it, and then the left knee popped, and I can't walk on that one either. So, what does that mean? Wheelchair bound, wheelchair bound, unfortunately. So I had to go to a facility, I went to an acute rehab, but because I could do all the other things, the acute rehab said, you know what? Um, you can't stay here anymore. You need to go to a sub-acute rehab because, right? I can't go home. I got stairs, I can't walk on both knees, I live alone. Who's gonna help me regularly? And by regularly, I mean almost from us almost from waking to asleep. Literally, need someone with me on a regular basis because I cannot walk. My house is not necessarily wheelchair accessible, um, and so I couldn't go home. And that means I had to go to a subacute rehab. But what's a subacute rehab? I mean, I'm gonna educate you tonight. In New Jersey, and maybe mostly all over the country, a subacute rehab also houses senior living. A subacute rehab cannot just be a rehab by itself because it doesn't make financial sense, so they have to couple it with senior living facility slash rehabilitation center, and that's where I'm at y'all. That is where I am, and when I tell you it has challenged me mentally, it has challenged me mentally. This week has been a doozy because this was my first week in the subacute rehab. I I think I knew I think I knew what to expect, but I didn't know what to expect. As as far as being a patient here, I think I've been to a subacute rehab before, and I you know went into the room and you know saw the folks, but did not realize that it was also a um a rehab, right? Um, and so I'm sorry, I went to a senior living facility, but did not realize it was also a rehab. And so when I got to my sub acute rehab, baby, wind knocked out of my sails. Um, I am literally the youngest person here, the youngest person here, and so all I want to say is environment matters. If you know anything about me, you know Renatha Ophelia D. Whitaker is Sunshine and Rainbows. Renatha Ophelia D. Whitaker is um it's gonna work out. Renatha Ophelia D. Whitaker is it's gonna be alright. If you go back to my first episode of Right Now with Renatha, where I talked about um, where I talked about, you know what, it is what it is. I ain't got no choice but to be okay, right? That was when I got started, but now I'm just gonna tell the truth. I'm just gonna tell the truth. It has been challenging, and that's what the setbacks is um about. That set the setbacks part of this conversation is progress, setbacks, and how I'm getting along, right? Mentally, it is something that I totally, totally, totally have to work on. The facility can be depressing, it can be depressing, especially for someone who's vibrant, especially for someone who's always on the go, especially for someone who is zip, zip, zip, zip, zip, and you know, wants to get where she's going and get where she's going now, and not be sitting and waiting. And that is where I am, so much so that I tried to do a breakout. I tried to breakout. Insurance is a doozy. It's all I insurance is a doozy. It should be that you should be able to go wherever you want to go if you're not happy, but that's not the case. I tried to get a lateral transfer. They said no, you can't get a lateral transfer just because you don't want to, just because good night, just because you don't like that, right? You too, just because you don't like it. However, when you are when you are at the mercy of insurance and you are at the mercy of the facility that you're in, you almost cannot advocate for yourself. And it's almost my doctor literally, when they put the transfer request in, my doctor literally did nothing. He got fired tonight, but he literally did nothing. All he did was copy the notes from the acute rehab and and didn't use any of the notes from this rehab to convince my insurance that I am not thriving here. And so I tried to stage a breakout. I tried to stage a breakout because I'm I'm not thriving here. It is literally wearing on my mental health, the environment, because environment matters. Environment matters, especially when you're trying to heal and you're trying to heal in peace. And this environment is just not conducive for me to heal and heal in peace. And so I went to the emergency room. Someone gave me some advice. This person said, go to the emergency room. If you go to the emergency room, they can they can allow you to go where you want to go. Not no more, not anymore. So I went to the emergency room, maybe 10 o'clock at night. I get there, I'm like, so hey, I'm in pain. I'm in pain. My knees are in pain, which is why I'm in rehab, because I cannot walk unassisted, and I'm in pain. So I went to the emergency room, and they were like, Okay, so what do you normally do? I says, Well, I don't normally take anything because I want to feel that I'm getting better. But she says, Well, you know, the only thing we can do for you right now is to just give you some pain mess. I said, Okay, so what do they give you? I said, Tylenol. So they gave me some Tylenol. Uh maybe an hour went by. Hey, how are you feeling? I'm still in pain. I don't think I can go back to that facility. I don't think I can go back to that facility because the facility is not conducive for my healing. And they were like, Well, oh well, we have to send you back there. I said, No, I can't go back there. I said, it's not adequate, it's not wheelchair accessible, the bathroom isn't wheelchair accessible, my room isn't wheelchair accessible. There are some cracks and crevices that need to be without disparaging. There, it's just not sufficient. Have a good night. You two have a good night. It's just not sufficient, and so they did not care. The emergency room was like, okay, well, we're calling transport. They did not care. Trust me when I tell you, they did not care. They called transport. I got transport, got to the ER, and transport said, Well, we're here to pick you up. I said, I'm not going. I'm not going and you can't make me. And I said, I'm still in pain. You can't discharge me while I'm in pain. And the doctor came in and was like, Yes, we can, because you're in the rehab for treatment, and they're getting they're gonna give you treatment when you get there. So, ma'am, you're discharged. So I get I just give up. I just gave up. I got back in that, I got in that ambulance, and they brought me back. They brought me back. And so the conversation is what's the lesson? What am I being told? What am I learning? And it's be still, it's literally be still and let me work it out. Let the Lord work it out. Literally get your tail and sit down. This week was my first week in this facility, and it was jarring, but it took the whole week for me to be like, I okay, Lord, no problem. That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna go ahead and sit down and wait on you, and continue to tell myself that the Lord does everything well. Continue to tell myself that I got this, continue to tell myself that um, you know, I can get through this. Continue to tell myself that on a regular basis because of this environment that's 24-7. I'm talking about waking up in the middle of the night. I'm talking about waking up every hour, going to bed at 12, waking up at 1 because the person across the hall is screaming, waking up at 2 because the way I have to sleep makes me uncomfortable is uncomfortable because of my braces on my knees, waking up at 3 because staff is right outside my door being loud. And I'm like, really, Lord? Be still? Be still. You want me to be still and sit down in this environment that is just not conducive for healing? So, yeah, be still and hear me. Literally, is what he's saying. Be still and hear me, and pay attention to my voice. So, while I tried to break out, and it didn't work. Um it didn't work. After that, I was like, ah, I will. I will. And so I surrender. I surrender. Um, I am on the get some win to sit down bandwagon. And I'm and I am waiting. I'm just gonna wait and hear what the Lord wants me to hear and work on the things that He wants me to work on. It is not by having stance that both my knees went out at the same time, both of them leaving me wheelchair bound. Never have I ever thought that this would be on my bingo card in 2026. I did not see it. And so I'm listening, and I want to encourage you to do the same thing. You may not, some things might be happening in your life that you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, explain. You know, some things might be happening, but it's not about receiving an explanation, but it's about receiving a revelation, but you have to be still and hear what that revelation is in order for you to be able to move forward and have some peace, and so I want to encourage you that if something's happening, you know, don't look for an explanation, don't try to figure it out, you know, just be still, listen, and then move, right? Just be still, listen, and then receive the revelation that the Lord wants to give you in this moment in time. I'm so grateful for the folks who have been holding me down. I'm so grateful for how God uses each and every one of these folks in my life who have been holding me down and getting me through this because it is definitely something that I have never experienced in my life. So thank you, thank you, thank you. You guys know who you are from keeping my spirits lifted to praying with me, to calling me, to coming to see me, taking thank you so much. This is not easy, and I'm just being transparent. It is not easy for someone who is always sunshine and rainbows. I am never like this in this moment, this smile is real in this moment, but sometimes in this environment, until the Lord wants to move me himself, it can be Dawn Team. But I have to remember who I am and whose I am because the first thing that I said, I'm just gonna have to get through it. I gotta remember that because guess what? He only tests the strong, and so Ted, I'm it two knees at the same time. What? He only does that to people who he knows he can trust that can get through it, and so I'm just gonna remember that I'm her and he has made me, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. So, again, thank you for tuning in. This is right now with Renata special episode regarding an update of what's going on with my knees and high rubber later with meniscus and how I am getting on, how I got on this week. Definitely was a challenge, but the Lord does everything well. Thank you for tuning in to Right Now with Renaka. We will see you next week. Good night.