It's been almost a whole month since my last entry. I was kept busy with my clinical placement, which is the best one yet.
A lot of things have happened in the past 2 months.
For starters, Rod and I broke up. I'm okay!!!
It took a while to get better but hey, it is a process that almost all people would have to go through after a break-up. I am much much much better now and life is treating me really really good! I guess my mama was right when she told me a very very very very very long time ago that one should never fight against life because there is no point in doing so.
I don't intend to divulge any details of our break-up on this social media platform and I doubt I will be revealing it anywhere else either. All I can say that is that it was an amicable break-up, and no I didn't suggest nor initiate the break-up. Period.
Once again, I emphasise: I AM ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As of yesterday, I completed my second last clinical placement and YES!!!!!!! It feels bloody awesome to finally be done with this placement!
Not that it was horrible or anything, in fact this has been one of my best clinical placements yet! I love it and I don't mind doing it again, sans the school lecturer observation, tutorial sessions and evaluation
It was so bloody tiring (not that I am complaining about it!).
No joke to push a wheelchair with a patient in it, with a 15 litres oxygen tank attached to the wheelchair, carry my bagpack that has 2 batteries for portable oxygen concentrator (each one weighing at about 1.5kg?) and two other separate hand-carry bags (that I hooked onto the back of the wheelchair because I obviously couldn't carry them in my hands!!) - one of which contains my patient's personal items and the other carried my DSLR.
At one point in time, I even had to lug the portable oxygen concentrator which kinda looks like a luggage and has those wheel-y things that allows you to roll them around, and it was insane because the damn concentrator is freaking heavy!!!! I think it weighs about... ok I can't tell lol! But it is incredulously heavy!!!!! I almost lost control of the wheelchair, had to shout for the therapy assistant who was ahead of me to come back and help me >.< SO MALU!!
One last rant about this outing, I officially hate the flooring of the Flower Dome because it was so damn bumpy and do you know how hard it is to push all that stuff (as mentioned above) across a bumpy floor?!?!?!??!!!
You've got to try it to know it! ROAR
Anyhow the outing was good. The patients enjoyed it, and that's all that matters!!
This patient was my first at this placement. She graced me with love even though I was a complete stranger.
When I first saw her and asked her, "What would you like to do during your time here?"
She replied, "Colouring!"
Me: "You mean colour pencils colouring????"
Her: "Yes!"
Me: "Er... Okay."
And so I passed her my own colouring pencils and for the subsequent weeks, I was on "print colouring pages" duty. LOL!!!
Can you see the tree? Can you see the hole in the tree trunk and this weird # sign in the hole?
The # drawing is actually a man sitting on a bench that is behind this tree, and the man (and the bench) can be seen because there is a hole in the tree trunk! #complexmuch #lol
The music for this game is so freaking kiddy, annoying, loud and attention-seeking, but because she likes it, who cares about the starers? They're just jealous and envious that they don't get to play this fishing game LOL!!!! #selfdelusion
By the way, the music is Old Macdonalds Had a Farm, Hokey Pokey... and some other nursery songs. It is played in a really pitchy tune which is what attracts even more starers!
SUPER AA (attract attention)!!!
It was so awesome. Reminiscing with the therapists from the palliative care team about all the hilarious incidents that occurred over the past 2 months. Working with them was so enjoyable, that I didn't mind dragging my feet to work even though I was feeling blue and upset over my recent break-up. They and the patients made everything feel so much better and okay (:
The therapists didn't know about my break up until the last week of my placement. I remember how my supervisor stared at me with her mouth opened for like 2 seconds before she threw her hands up in the air, and yelled "WHY YOU NEVER TELL ME?!?!?!??!!!!!!?!!?!" and then showed her concern by asking if I was okay and stuff lololololol!
Despite her dramatic yelling (which I honestly and sincerely appreciate and love), I actually think that the moment was very funny!!! Part of the reason why I was able to shuffle my feet to work everyday was because my supervisor was so freaking awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Best supervisor yet (and probably ever!!!)
I'm gonna miss her charismatic personality and laughter!
Honestly if it wasn't for her, I doubt I would have kept myself on my toes in order to prevent myself from receiving any possible screaming from her direction if I should ever forget to push back a wheelchair and have it locked after using it, adjust back the bed height of my patient's bed after raising it (heh!) and etc etc. Ok la, must give myself some credit... I would have done all that but her presence did contribute to my improvement lol!
She was ever-ready to share her experience with me, take time out to teach me and most importantly, she helped me with all of my patients who wanted art and craft!!! I don't know why but from the moment I joined, I seemed to have attracted all the art and craft grannies hahahahahaha!
My brain was imploding from having to come up with art and craft ideas. There was an occasion when she took 2 days of annual leave and one of my grannies wanted art and craft so badly! On one of those two days, I opened up the 'art and craft' cupboard 4 freaking times and stared at the contents in the cupboard, hoping that one of them would pop up at me and give me some sort of 'art & craft' epiphany.
Unfortunately, the cupboard provided me with no epiphany but only gave me more awkward silence as I stared deep into its narrow shelves. Lol!
This placement has been a great experience and the lessons that I have gained from it, are lessons that I will carry on with me throughout the rest of my life span!
XO,
soph
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