Men in Tights

Here's how most of my week went last week: I worked a lot. Monday-Saturday from early until late. But Friday was a little different. I worked, of course, but then I went out for happy hour at a local bar with $3.00 cocktails...yummy! Then I met my cousin, Mandy, for dinner and a ballet.

The ballet was definitely the most interesting ballet I've ever seen, not that I've seen many. The company is called Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo and it's an all male company. They do parodies on ballets like Swan Lake and have the guys dance all these really girlie dances (like being a swan or a princess) complete with the tutus and point shoes. It was actually pretty amazing how graceful these 6-foot tall guys were when they were dancing. So, you should totally check them out if you ever get the chance.

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time researching trips to England and Scotland. Hopefully I'll be going in May, but it's going to be an uber-expensive trip and the timing is horrible. I'll probably have to take the boards exam right after graduation, which is when the trip would fall. So I'm still thinking about it. I'll keep everyone updated.

Quinoa Catastrophe

So, I had a bad 24 hours at work. It happens to everybody. I managed to not cry at work, but I did go home and drown my emotions in a caramel sunday from DQ and a cookie covered in buttercream icing. I felt so sick that night.

So it all started with an incredible week last week. At my internship I have been learning so much! I have been able to move from offering opinions from afar to being able to participate in all parts of treatment in just a few weeks. I feel like I've been really "getting it". Socially, I was able to re-connect with some of my cousin's friends that I had met forever ago. I hung out with them on Thursday and Friday night and had an awesome time. Then Saturday I went to game night with some co-workers and I now highly recommend "Partini" and "What's Yours Like?" with alcohol, of course! Then Sunday I went to Zumba and loved it!

So that brings us to Monday. I had an okay morning. Then lunch was yucky, I brought quinoa (which I love) but it was mixed with some stuff that I do not love, I didn't cook it. I definitely think bad lunch started my bad day. That afternoon my CI (clinical instructor, he's in charge of me) and I went over to the hospital to help out, like we do when we have time during the day. We got a new evaluation to do and it was someone with conversion disorder, person who develops signs of spinal cord injury without actually having one. It's caused by stress or life changes and the person isn't faking the symptoms. It was the first one that I had ever seen and I was supposed to lead the exam. Then we had to do the exam with an occupational therapist who was in a hurry. I was beyond overwhelmed. My CI took over part of the exam, I felt like I didn't know how to do anything. So that was frustrating.

The next morning, I had to take lead on an evaluation in our clinic, and, of course, I had never done one of those, either. She had a real spinal cord injury. I had trouble with that exam, too, and there were 3 students watching me screw up. It doesn't sound all that bad, I know, but it was an excruciating hour and a half. After that experience, I went to the bathroom and tried not to cry, regrouped, and finished my day. Not great, but I made it.

Luckily, I had a great day today! I had time this morning to catch up on my notes and prepare for the day. I was able to take lead on several patients, successfully. I got to work on some really tough patients and started to actually get into the rhythm of walking them. I did not have to any evaluations...at all. All in all, a pretty fantastic day.

Tomorrow, I have another evaluation. It's going to be different from either of the other two I've done. There are tests that I have never done before, so I just hope it turns out okay and not anything like my terrible 24 hours this week.

The One Where it All Begins

For those of you who don't know, I am living in Columbus, Ohio with my aunt and uncle until April. I've been here for 3 weeks now and I love almost everything about it!

Likes:

• My Internship. I am working for 15 weeks at a place called the NRN (neuro recovery network), a part of the OSU medical center. We work with patients with Spinal Cord Injuries on recovering muscle strength and walking ability. We put everyone up on a treadmill in a harness that supports some of their body weight and work really hard to make their walking look as normal as possible. To do that, we use 4 people, 1 to work the treadmill, 1 to control the hips, and 1 on each leg using a hand on the knee and a hand on the ankle to move the leg through normally. So we work really hard when there's a patient who can't really move their legs at all. For more info on what we do, check out NRN Info. It's the Sheperd Center website, but it explains everything really well.
• The People.  The people I work with are all pretty young (21-35) and like to hang out and go out, so I've been able to have a social likfe while I'm here. I've been able to hang out with my cousins some and meet some new people through them. Everyone that I've met has been really great!
• Zumba.  I know that you can do this anywhere, but I didn't start going till I was here...and now I love it! I go once a week, because that's all I can afford, but I would go more if I could!
• Swing Dance.  I went to a swing dance mixer last Tuesday and learned a few simple moves then got to try them out. It was so fun! I am really terrible compared to the people who have been danceing for years, but I am a quick learner and could keep up, for the most part. My cousin and her husband help teach a more advanced class on Thursdays that I think I'm going to start attending.
• Vegetarian Food. My aunt loves to cook and she's a vegetarian, so I decided to give her cooking a shot. I love almost everything she cooks! So I am now a vegetarian about 75% of the time. I don't think I will fully make the switch, but I am much more concious of what I am eating.

Dislikes:

• Weather.  It snowed 6 inches right before rush hour traffic the other day...my usually 10 minute commute took 30-40 mins. The next day the temperature dropped to 8 degrees and the sludge on the roads turned to ice and sludge, lovely. On the bright side, I'm getting better at driving on this stuff.
• School.  I have to study for the boards on top of my 40+ hour workweek.
• No Free Anything. At my other internships, they give me parking passes for free and discounts on food. Here, I have to pay $100 to park and zero discounts on anything. I have to pay major money to use any gyms on campus, too. makes me miss the ARK and working out with Rikki.
• No Kitty. Tucker couldn't come with me :( I miss him so much and I'm worried that he'll get so used to living with my parents that he won't want to come with me wherever I decide to move. He also gets fatter when my mom is in charge of him. 
• It's not Chattanooga or Nashville. 

I have a lot more to say about my experiences over the last 3 weeks, but I'll save something for later.