Non sequiturs are my middle spoon

This morning I got to observe an OT at the local pediatric hospital, working in unit that handles children [usually babies] on ventilators. I specifically asked to observe him because if I want to work with just little kids, I need a lot of skills and exposure! Plus, I'd like to volunteer in that unit some, so I wanted some exposure to vents.

The first little baby we saw was absolutely adorable. He is just learning peek-a-boo and he is the biggest flirt you have ever seen. Everybody near him got some peek-a-boos. But if he gets ignored long enough, he's figured out how to unhook his vent so that the alarms go off and he gets some attention! His vent came off his trache a few times and I was like AUGHHHHHHHHHHH but the OT always put it back on immediately so it was fine. We also saw a baby that wasn't very fond of weight-bearing, a little girl with A MILLION issues, and a little boy that had a closed head injury and didn't have a very good rehab prognosis. : All on vents. It basically turns out that from a volunteer experience, it's just one more tube to be aware of…although a GIANT important one. LOL.

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Tomorrow morning Meg, Katy, and I present our research poster to our research mentor, for a grade and as a dress rehearsal for next week's big research symposium. We all feel pretty confident that we know our stuff, but it's still a little nerve-wracking! I think I'll probably head to St. Jude to do WEE-FIM stuff afterward …hmmm

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The other day I watched House…the really really bizarre episode involving a bus crash. After participating in that airplane crash drill, it was kind of eerie watching it…seeing the familar make-up, all the milling emergency officials, the sirens and lights…wow. Can you imagine how traumatizing it is? It's one thing to play fake victim….but to go through a traumatic event and then deal with all the lights and noises and chaos and fear….scary!!!

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I have thought about blogging a lot lately…although haven't followed through. It's not so much that I'm lazy, just that I have sooooo much going through my head that it is hard to figure out something to focus on. I feel a strong urge to write a book…although I don't really think I have enough material until I've been practicing a few years…but I want to write it NOW….patience is a virtue…I dunno. Plus I have a lot to share that isn't OT or healthcare related, and I want to do some other completely random writing projects, and well, there just aren't enough hours in the day to do all those things…I feel the creativity crawling through my veins with no release…I either lack the skill or the time or both….

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I'm going to stop now…my brain has emptied…professional development evaluations, two research presentations, a paper on diversity, a bunch of assessments for Tai Chi, and then perhaps that's about it left…at least off the top of my head. The next few weeks also include a few special events including watching my friend Allison do a triathlon, helping out at a family day picnic for an alzheimer's center, going to my friend Sarah's high school graduation, going to Nashville to meet my visiting Norwegian host family and then entertain them in Memphis a few days, going to my landlord's birthday lunch party, and then just the normal stuff like errands, working out, seeing friends, blah blah blah. Now it's time to set up for work. GOOOOD NIGHTTTTTTTTTTT

PS: I'm thinking about changing the name of my blog slightly…anyone have any thoughts on that??

May 14, 2008 | Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none