Beginning Week 2 of Rehab

I am such a nerd. I love inservices. I loved going to all the inservices last quarter, and I was totally excited when I was unexpectedly herded into an inservice for ALS today. The hospital is opening up an ALS Department so everyone needed a refresher/crash-course. Me? I needed this mini-Praxis review! Sweet!

Shortly after, we got back on track with our crazy schedule. Dude, I put a Passy-Muir Valve on a trach patient today. Considering I wasn't mentally prepared for it, I did alright. I even got pop-quizzed (put the oxymeter on, read vital stats, count respirations/min old-skool style). The cool thing is that we helped this person temporarily speak! ;)

Later, I went to see a hypothetical patient (said the almost graduated grad student governed by HIPAA). We chatted a little bit before starting therapy. This hypothetical patient is the "type" that I've read about but never met before -- the "kind" that doesn't let a severe disability hold him back. He is an inspiration to many. He is a young guy who used to be pretty athletic in his hey-day, got a full scholarship to a local university, declined b/c he was afraid he wouldn't be able to cut it, went to another college to major in Math and Physics, and dreamed about becoming an astrophysicist before his disabilities took over his dreams. Still, he didn't let that hinder him. He laughs about how he is now a greeter at a local chain super-store, but in all seriousness, it's awesome to see him inspiring people everyday, even just by saying hello.

The thing that really got to me was our discussion today. During all the time that I've seen and worked with him, we've been all jokes and laughter. He took his cap off (one of our "strategies"), but this time, he explained why he always wears a hat. He turned his head to the side and showed me his scar. One that I, of course, didn't think was so big...but then agreed that the scarred is always more self-conscious (heck, I think my scars on my feet are like six inches long when they're not).

The potential astrophysicist said to me, "I wear a cap to hide my scar. There is a stereotype that people with brain damage are dumb. Just because you have brain damage doesn't automatically make you dumb. I don't want people to think I'm dumb. " I can't quite remember what I said, but I'm sure it wasn't anything smart. =P Or maybe I saved myself by bringing up how I heard him talking to the OT about quantum physics. I really can't remember. Seeing a glimpse of his sadness and pain was the saddest part of my day. A close second was not getting to say good-bye to Rehab's Favorite Returned Customer.

Although this experience has been awesome for me, there are moments of deep emotionality that are hard to describe. I see another hypothetical one about twice a day. This hypothetical pt has global aphasia and apraxia. I just about broke into tears when I was leaving today and she (laboriously) said to me, "Thank you so much." Not once, but twice. :*)