And so I apologize! I have been so incredibly busy out here in sunny California, it has been a blast. I hardly know where to start....how about the beginning?
The Arrival
I departed from LA giddy with excitement for my new apartment and job. I headed north east, with Ugly Monkey pointing the way. Gradually, the stores, gas stations, and houses began to fade. Winds picked up and dust began to swirl. The mountains that are a smoggy mirage from LA began to take shape, and Roxie rumbled with the ascent. Signs warning "avoid overheating: turn off air conditioner" and "radiator water ahead" are probably enough to describe the desert scenery. The trip up the mountains is a slow, long journey. Trucks with their rhythmical flashers perpetually flank the right hand lane. Skeptically, I pushed on the gas ever upwards. When it seemed like the dusty dunes were a trip to nowhere. We crested. And as soon as the road flattened out, we were on our way down. A smile crept across my face. Here is my new town! Here is my new opportunity for knowledge and friendship. Just around the corner. Like Pochahontas, everybody together now, just around the river bend! Here is...hell on earth? Dear God what is this place? Allow me to elaborate. All the eye can see for miles and miles is the patchy quilt of the desert pretending to be bountiful. But I was not fooled. Watertowers and irrigation systems were hardly discernible through the smog. Roxie was descending the mountains as fast as my expectations. The entrance to the flatlands is guarded by oil drills. Tons of them. Slowly bobbing always sucking away at the earth. And much smaller than I had imagined. Even they were disappointing.
Bakersfield, California. Now I understand that look people give me when I tell them where I am headed. Their head turns to the side, a deep breath sucked in through gritting teeth. Eyebrows furrowed. That breath is released with a judging "ohhh...Bakersfield...why?" Yep. Bakersfield. Because that is where I can have that hands on opportunity to work with the complicated population that I find so fascinating.
The Centre For Neuro Skills
Fortunately, in the midst of the 105 degree days, I find solace in the work I have come to love. Brain injury is a sudden and catastrophic change in every patient's life. It can happen to anyone, and it can be totally innocent. So many diseases and disorders in our culture are preventable, detectable, or immediately curable. So many of my patients were simply going through their daily routine when somebody merged to quickly, when somebody was driving drunk, or when their work machinery suddenly fails. Too many cases of the wrong place at the wrong time. And then there are some where you know they will always regret that extra beer, or that helmet that was strapped to the back of his bike and not his head.
Almost every person that I treat should have died. Some twisted fate allowed them to live. Many, after coma and respirators can tell me with their own breath that they shouldn't be alive. For some, this is motivating, and the therapy I provide along with my co-workers is a challenge to live and get better. Some become depressed and wallow in the memory of what they were before the fateful day. Most can say that they are not the person they used to be.
For those unaccustomed to the way of the brain, just remember this: your brain controls everything, therefore anything can be altered. For many people, it is the ability to move their bodies. The motor cortex is susceptible to damage as it is on the outer surface of the brain. Many patients have difficulty with coordination, strength, and control of muscle tone. I provide ways for them to perform their daily activities while healing those deficits and supplying compensatory strategies to live independently. Vision is often disrupted after brain injury. The eyes are controlled by tiny muscles, but muscles nonetheless that can be impaired in the same way as the bigger muscles of the limbs. We treat for poor ocular coordination and strength. We also treat for visual perceptual deficits. A person's eyes may see 20/20, but their brain has to make sense of what they are seeing. The ability to see something and remember what it was, the ability to see letters and interpret them correctly, the ability to see half a picture and know what the rest is are all brain functions that are commonly disrupted. OT has the responsibility of reintroducing these topics and rehabilitating individuals with these deficits for functional use. This gel is toothpaste and you use it to clean your teeth. This is an unsafe situation and here is what could happen. Things we take for granted every day but is as complicated as calculus to some of our patients. Which leads into the patients with injury to the front of their brain, controlling their executive functioning. These people are unable to solve the problems they used to and have difficulty controlling their emotions and desires. Many patients present with inappropriate behaviors after brian injury. Sexual comments are common, there are even who brain injury therapists refer to as the "butt grabbers." But they have simply lost the ability to filter their thoughts and behaviors. Because all of this is controlled in the brain. In the same sense, people lose the ability to regulate their emotions. They cry at an instant and laugh inappropriately. And in some cases, people experience the change in personality.
It is the ultimate challenge to help these people get their lives back. Most who are admitted can not live independently yet, and Centre for Neuro Skills (very cleverly abbreviated CNS as in Central Nervous System) has apartments for these individuals to live in. Rehabilitation assistants offer the amount of support needed and take critical notes for the case managers and rehabilitation staff to use for therapy. CNS offers an incredible system for patients and their families to return to a life ready for society. I have been thrilled to be a part of this system, and the knowledge I have gained from the direct contact would have been impossible to teach in school. With a solid neuro training from Ithaca and the preparation from my previous clinical instructors, I have succeeded in my attempts to gain as much knowledge as I could in 8 weeks about rehabilitation in brain injury.
Bakersfield Living... probably not a best selling magazine
Quite honestly, Bakersfield has been a blast. When I moved in, Ally, a PT from Ohio, was about halfway through her rotation. We had a great time being roommates and we got along with the other staff beautifully. Two times a week we would head to the rock gym and excitedly conquer new bouldering challenges. Of course, since the rock gym went past Moo, we stopped for ice cream frequently. Not just ice cream, but The. Best. Ice. Cream. Ever. Really. Ever. They make their own rediculous flavors. Guiness, Coffee Toffee Crunch. Butterscotch Pecan, Red Wine, Jalapeno Sour Cream. Cookie Monster. Stop Drooling On Your Computer. Yeah, that good. We made "muffins of the week" and went on a hiking/camping trip to Yosemite with some of the work crew. Unfortunately, Ally left me in the dust for home, and I can't say I blame her. Although I have had fun in the valley, I'm aching for the changing of the leaves and apple picking. I even tried on fall jackets at Target today even though it was a high of 95 today. Of all the things that I have come to realize and learn, it is that home is home, and it is pretty hard to change that.
The Weekend Warriors
Of the total of 8 weekends I will have been here, I have spent 2 in Bakersfield. Which is safe to say it is the only way it is tolerable. I have been wine tasting in Paso Robles, camping in Yosemite, and exploring the crevices of LA. Just last weekend I spent the long weekend in LA with adventures that could span a novel. To start, I fulfilled my promise to visit Greg, a college friend who was throwing a house warming party. I drove to Long Beach with excitement to see him and to forget about the stresses of work for a while. He showed me into his house and began introducing me to his friends when a very familiar face appeared around the corner. I can not describe my facial expression except to say every one who witnessed my face when Eric walked out said "You should have seen your face! It was awesome!" What I can describe are my thoughts. They are. . Then, the nausea and loss of balance. Then the fake anger. "You never told me you were on a plane! You said you were at the Tavern in Saratoga! What the hell!?" Then the hugs and kisses etc. Fake angry glares at Greg. And then a great night and weekend. Eric and I spent a day at the beach and playing in the waves.
We met up with other friends and enjoyed the small town feel of the beach colonies. We took our chance to be ultimate tourists in Hollywood, taking pictures with the sign and with stars on the boulevard. We even watched Ferris Beuler's Day Off in a cemetery. I mean really, it was quite a weekend.
Next weekend the Taryn/Amanda Duo adventures resume as we are headed to San Francisco.
From here, I have two weeks left at CNS. I'll be heading to Hawaii (Allooooohaaa!!) to visit my Bubbles! I'm sure our visit with be just that refreshing breath of home that we are both craving so desperately. After, I'll be in L.A. for 2 weeks doing mini-trips and preparation for the adventure home. Home. A word that has never sounded better.
No comments:
Post a Comment