1,000+ visits later

 

It's been 3 months into my first job as a certified occupational therapy assistant. I started a job just temporarily, then got offered a full time position just two days later. It was an unexpected blessing. Since then, I have worked over 500 hours and had more than 1,000 patient visits! 

I still remember taking hours making a treatment plan for just one patient. Those days are behind me now, as I see anywhere between 11-24 patients a day. Although I saw a lot during my schooling, I don't think nothing really prepares you for the real, day to day, life as a healthcare worker. The joy of helping someone returning home. The unexpected grief of losing a patient. 

You will come across just so many different people. Some will test your patience. You will be so tired and exhausted. But nothing compares to the feeling when you help someone walk again and be independent enough to go home. Seeing someone who was paralyzed being able to move their hand again and crying tears of joy. And they turn to you and say "I can move my arm again, because of you". They hug you, and say thank you. Because that's what it's all about. Getting people back to doing life. But what they don't tell you is how it feels when you can't save everyone. Doing everything you are supposed to and still losing someone.

I know my purpose in this life is to help others. It is hard. But it is so worth it. For now, I'll focus on the wins and joys in this job. But I will always remember those I have lost. Their life meant something. 

Signed, 

Lily Stone, COTA/L



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jealousy

Image
Hey Gals! Sorry I didn't write last week! This week's topic is Jealousy. Ever been jealous of someone? Or someone's things? When ever you start getting jealous of something or someone, remember what you have. "Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another." Galatians 5:26 "A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones." Proverbs 14:30 See ya next week!
Read more

549 days later

*This post involves talk about mental illness and self injury, might be triggering for some readers.* 1 in 6 people struggle with self injury behavior. Half of them start in their early teens and continue into their 20s. Self injury is common in those who struggle with anxiety, depression, body dysphoria, and many other mental illnesses. Self injury isn't a mental illness in itself, it is a way people cope with their emotional pain. Today marks a year and a half, 18 months, 549 days since I last self harmed. I've been terrified to talk about these things because people are quick to judge. But telling my truth can help others. I was fourteen when I started using self harm as a way to cope with my anxiety. I remember the first time, I was so mad at myself for not being able to talk to a group of friends at a party. I left early. When I got home, I got so mad I cut my fingers on the back wire of my braces. Whenever I got anxious I would continue this behavior. Eventually I st...
Read more

to my mom

Image
  I remember being five years old and couldn't wait to grow up. I would often tell my mom I couldn't wait to move out be "on my own". I thought being an adult meant more fun than your mom telling you to eat your vegetables and to brush your teeth.  I remember being fourteen, getting ready for my first formal dance. I was so particular I would do my own makeup and didn't want my mom taking pictures of me. I remember stealing my mom's stick concealer, rubbing it all over my face and thinking it looked good.  I remember being eighteen, going off to college, but still living at home. I remember feeling so "lame" that my mom would not want me out at all hours of the night. I desperately wanted to live on campus. I remember being twenty-four. I graduated college and got my first big girl job. I packed all I had known as mine in cardboard boxes to move to the "big city" as five-year-old Lily wished many years ago.  I am twenty-six, in the living r...
Read more