When I arrived at the hospital this afternoon, Marc was already in the therapy room. I wandered in to find him with Shannon, manoeuvring around various obstacles with his walker. He had to not only avoid bumping into the obstacles but he also had to demonstrate proper and safe use of the walker.
He then had to manoeuvre through the room around obstacles while locating six small cones that Shannon had hidden. They had a lot of fun with it.
After, Marc worked at completing a puzzle he’d been working on before physio while in OT. He had apparently become frustrated with it and declared it a “bulls&*t” puzzle. Karen, his OT therapy assistant, had found that quite funny and said, “We’ll, at least you’re human.” The “bulls&*t” puzzle became the joke of the afternoon.
I guess Marc rarely complains about the tasks he is given. I know he never complains to me. He loves physio and OT, knowing they are helping him get back his normal function, or at least as close as possible. In fact, I’ve never once heard Marc ask, “Why me?” What he talks about instead is how much better he is getting and what his goals are for recovery.
While Marc was doing the puzzle, his physiotherapist, Catherine, pulled me aside and asked, “Did Marc tell you what I caught him doing yesterday?”
I hadn’t heard a thing. Mr. Innocence was too busy singing "Soft Kitty" and "Happy Birthday" to me.
“I happened to be walking past his room and instead of calling a nurse to remove the obstacles in his path to get to the bathroom, he had his walker sideways and was pushing it past some equipment that was in the way. When he saw me, he pushed the walker through and quickly turned it. He had it backward at this point,” she said.
Despite myself I started to laugh, “I’m surprised he didn’t just lift the walker over his head and sidle past sideways.”
I honestly don’t know how Catherine and Shannon put up with him. Talk about making someone’s job harder. They try their best to keep him safe and give him some freedom and he keeps crossing the line.
Now I realize that there was more to the obstacle lesson than met the eye today. If you can’t beat him (and I’m sure at times they’d like to) join him and at least try and teach him some safety along the way.
Marc is a gambler. Sometimes boldness works - and I'm not sure I'd want to play poker against him.
ReplyDeleteBut every time you give a story like this, I think 'reckless', and it makes me hold my breath from anxiety.