Week 3

Three weeks down! Time for another post.

I haven't been sure what to write about this week, so I guess I will describe a typical day.

6:50 am - I walk across the lawn from my house to CWC. Down in the basement of Murphy Hall, I unlock the  OT/PT room and check my e-mail quickly before heading back upstairs to pick up my first resident.

7:00 am - I try to get to Amanda's apartment early because her caretaker Susan is usually running late. I help  get her settled in her chair and wait for Susan to finish brushing her teeth before we go downstairs to get her ready for work. Amanda blinks yes and no, but we're working on finding a more consistent means of communication. We work with switches and eye gaze while we do her hair, put on lip gloss, or look at hot men in People Magazine. By 8:10 I have her out on the sidewalk, where she catches a bus to work.

8:10-8:50: Paperwork.

9:00 am - Pick up Cassie. Because Cassie has so little function, we present different sensory stimulation and look for a response. We work on feeding or listen to music.She sleeps through most of therapy.

10:00 am - Splinting! CWC has a program where kids from the community come for short stays to address problems or concerns. We do a full assessment, make any gear they need, and present recommendations for their care. Today, my supervising OT, the OTA and I are making splints for one of these kids. We have two hours to make an elbow splint, two resting hand splints, and co-contraction bands. Even though this girl is young, she has deformities in her hands which make creating a splint that will hold her in a good position very difficult. It takes all three of us to hold her in the correct position while the splint hardens. We end up working through lunch, finally finishing at almost 1:00. I rush off to get my next client.

1:00 pm - I mentioned Clarissa last week. Every Thursday we work for an hour on eating. She's had a surgery, so she can't choke on the pudding I feed her, but it's stressful for her. We go slowly. For Clarissa, we think that eating will improve her quality of life. It will also strengthen her neck muscles so she can hold her head up more easily.

2:00 pm - Lecture. One of the OT's presents on a skill we need to know to work with the residents here.

3:00 pm - paperwork. I work on my reports until it's time to go at 3:30.