More like Dial-Up than 4G

As our final day of FW quickly approaches, I find myself looking back on what took place in the past 10 weeks. I had BIG expectations for my group and myself. I wanted to make a difference (back then I meant a visible difference). I wanted to help create group sessions that would leave the guys we worked with forever changed J After all those hefty expectations…to be very honest, I think I am leaving fieldwork with my life more impacted than the guys!

Living in a culture of instant gratification, microwaves, fast food, and 4G fast speed networks…we’re trained to want results and want them in a blink of an eye. Forgetting how fragile the human body and mind are…I figured this kind of change seeing them once a week for 10 weeks was possible. Even though the brain is so fragile and complex, it has the ability to change, grow and heal to a certain extent. We didn’t see big changes, but it was the slight changes that stole my heart.

We saw a few smiles from a resident whose flat affect was so memorable for the first 8 weeks. We saw residents (who we were told would never participate) enjoying and our activities and socializing with the rest of the group! We built relationships and rapport with each of them and each week you could see their comfort level grow. And finally, we got priceless hands-on experience running groups with a group of people that will forever have a place in my heart.

I think it is healthy to have high expectations of yourself, especially in a field where you have the ability to impact someone’s life for the better. I think most of us OTA students went into this field because it fit our personality. We are helpers and caregivers at heart. I think we just have to remember that people may not remember what activities you did with them, but they sure will remember how they were treated and talked to. They are impacted just by our presence and our attitude towards them. Even though we didn’t move mountains, I think we walked with them side by side up-hill through the windy paths.

I've included a link in my title that is titled Myths about Head Injury "Recovery". I think it is an insightful way to look at the LONG healing process of a head injury.