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With another physical therapy appointment tomorrow morning I was reading the article on Soy Sauce Flavored Icecream with glee. Betray the trust of Gimpy Mumpy? Mwahaha.
I can think of a certain physical therapist who may be getting a 'gift' of this icecream flavor.
"Theatre nurse Mayra Cabrera, 37, suffered a heart attack after an epidural was fed into her arm instead of her spine." From the BBC article, Injection Death Hospital 'Sorry'.
Another case where I wonder since this can happen to a nurse who had worked at that hospital as recently as 2004, then what are my chances of surviving trips to the hospital? And aren't these needles different? If not, shouldn't they be color coded? Something?!
I had a terribly good reader suggestion on how to handle my post-betrayal confrontation with my physical therapist.
Make only one more visit to the PT. Talk non stop about penguins and their attacks on your home and how you feel counseling could solve your problems. Threaten him with an egg whisk. Cross the road to your doctor - be rational, deny everything you have just said and done with the PT.
Home for chocolates and giggles.
Alas, after agonizing over how to handle the situation I ended up going for a straightforward confrontation with a witness (thanks mom!) present. Although a bit more boring than the wonderful suggestion by Cass it was however quite entertaining. I didn't know my therapist could turn so many shades of red!
Today we had a physical therapy session and it is amazing how friendly someone can be once the fear of Mumpy has been put into him!
A new study shows the effects of eating chocolate on "cognitive performance including memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem solving."
Mmmmmmmmmmm c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e!
Today I went to my physical therapy appointment at the hospital feeling very positive. The sun was finally out after weeks of rain and flooding and for the first time ever I was able to coordinate my medical appointments so that I was seeing my primary care doctor immediately after PT. No long wait between appointments. Amazing! It must be a good sign, or so I thought.
I was of course forgetting about Mumpy's Law: anything that can go wrong will go wrong. My physical therapy appointment seemed to go fine until the end when my therapist realized I was going to see my primary care doc today (he thought I was going Thursday) and seemed a little peeved since he said he had wanted to ring up my doctor before I went. I didn't really think anything of this except feeling a bit put out that every time I tell him over and over again when I am seeing other docs he always forgets and acts like it was somehow my fault. I went directly across the road to my doctor appointment where things became interesting. I'm laughing with the nurse when the doc comes in to talk to me. She seemed very serious, but hey when was the last time you saw a doc smile? "Your physical therapist just called me. Did you know he was calling me? He said that he had consulted with another doc over at the hospital and felt you needed counseling, but sounded as though he had never brought this up with you. No, never did? Just as I thought. I know your feelings about counseling. This is very irregular I recommend you confront him about this at your next appointment. I will wait to hear from you as to how you wish to proceed."
Well, that's more or less what she said. What I was hearing though was, "Your physical therapist is a no good dirty stinking liar and a fraud. He just went behind your back AND broke patient confidentiality. Time to shop around for someone else I can trust who will just do the same thing or worse in a couple of weeks or months." I am very, very angry about this and can't help but wonder if this is all because I asked him for an effing icepack last week. Friday's appointment cannot come soon enough.
Bonnie Sherr Klein, award-winning author and documentary filmmaker, is at it again with her brilliant new film SHAMELESS: The ART of Disability. "Art, activism and disability are the starting point in what unfolds as a funny and intimate portrait of five surprising individuals, including Klein herself." The world premiere for SHAMELESS will take place at the DOXA Documentary Film & Video Festival Tuesday, May 23rd.
Bonnie Klein will be one of CitizenShift's featured Rebels With A Cause beginning next Tuesday. While over at CitizenShift be sure to check out the current piece on This Ability "a filmmaking program for adults with developmental disabilities, formed as a partnership of the National Film Board and the Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion."
Unless you are willing to throw an absolutely criptacular gimpy tantrum you may wish to pack your own icepack the next time you visit the hospital.
It was my experience this week that hospitals, or at least the hospital I frequent most, are unwilling to hand out icepacks for patients who need them. My physical therapist put me through an incredibly aggessive workout yesterday and left no time for icing (usually I am able to lay down with an icepack for the last 15 minutes of therapy). I limped out of into the hallway expecting my ride to be waiting for me but she wasn't there. I went back into the physical rehabilitation department desk and explained that I needed an icepack and would be back in two days if they wanted me to return it. "Our policy is not to give icepacks out to patients. Just use some frozen vegetables." WTF? Excuse me but where am I supposed to get frozen vegetables? I am in a hospital not a grocery store! I went on to explain that my ride would be there any minute and that I had an hour long ride home. The woman then proceeded to call my physical therapist who said I could not have an icepack but I could go lay down in the recovery room with one. "But my ride is probably already waiting for me, I don't have time to lay down in the damn recovery room." She then called again and said I was to go and meet my physical therapist in the treatment room (which of course was halfway across the hospital). I quickly limped in that direction getting madder, more swollen and in greater pain with each step. I finally made it there only for my pt to have some IcyHot muscle rub gelly he was so graciously offering me. WTF? (This really is basically what I said to him). He offered up some lame half-baked excuse about gel-packs potentially breaking open and the hospital being at liability. So why can't I just have ice? Is there some potential risk that I might get wet? WTF! I turned quickly (almost falling over) and did my best to stomp away. Hmpf!
At the front lobby I attracted the usual crip attention. This time I took advantage of my haggard state and made a complaint about how the hospital treats it's patients. The lady at the front desk came back with four icepacks! When I asked if I needed to return them when I visited the hospital this Friday she said, "Oh no dear, you can keep those".
