Tourennatrix rolls with the punches

[tourennatrix]

Uh, hi guys! 

I was planning to do a big "Tourennatrix is almost graduated, let's get this done!" kind of challenge, but it seems that's not the most pressing thing right now (even though, weirdly, it kindof is still important? more on that later). 

 

Background en bref: I started with Nerd Fitness a number of years back, discovered the wonderful art of capoeira, grew some sexy biceps, got the balls to quit my job that was killing me, streamed art on twitch for a while, got a new job that was supposed to be temporary, got super depressed, stopped working out, decided to go back to school, and now we're here! I'm trying to not fall into the trap of "2020 what a dumpster fire already!" but legit, over new years I was hospitalized with pancreatitis (do not recommend), then when I was about to start my last term in school and my second-to-last clinical rotation, I came down with an ear infection that laid me flat for a few days, and now... this.

 

I live in a pretty rural area, so the crisis at times feels very distant, and photos and headlines around the major cities just look like eerie film sets. We've been advised to do social distancing, quarantine if we've traveled, etc, but not everyone is really taking it seriously. Or they are, but they're not doing it right. I think this middle-ground attitude is throwing us off- "us" being me and my classmates. In our last term, we are supposed to be doing clinical rotations at physical therapy clinics. Some of us have had our clinicals cancel on us- others have been continuing as normal as possible, but we're all just waiting for the foot to drop. Without our clinical hours, we don't graduate, and without graduating, we can't get take the board exam and get licensed. It all seems so weird to be worrying about that, but these are weird times.

 

So, what am I going to be focusing on during this challenge? Well, for one thing, not calling it a challenge because life is challenging enough as it is! but also:

 

Go outside
Even if we get a Shelter in Place order, this is a rural area where it's easy enough to go for a walk without running the risk of getting coughed on. Even if it's just a walk around the block or checking out the back yard for 5 minutes, try to spend a little more time outside than just what it takes to get from the car to the door.

 

Exercise and Move
Capoeira takes place within a 6 foot distance, so can't really train that easily, but I can still exercise at home and turn some of that outside time into "walking fast" time (because eff running right now). If it gets really nice outside I might get brave enough to try some outdoor solo training.

 

Eat the Veg

I braved the store yesterday and I would like to make it a goal that I don't let those fresh veggies go bad. This is a challenge for me for sure, but I might be able to make it work. Some sort of veggie every day.

 

Don't forget about school

Despite all the crazy, I do still have an online capstone class that I need to stay on top of, which involves writing a paper, doing a presentation, and passing a final exam that takes questions from all the exams from the last 2 years. Even if clinical gets cancelled, this class is still on and it won't extend into summer. Also, y'no, studying for the board exam, whenever that's going to be. I also have to start the license application process even though there's nowhere open that will do fingerprints for the background check. womp womp.

 

A final note on rolling with the punches. This is a skill that historically I have not been all that great at. Over the last couple years, between therapy and school, I've gotten some practice, but this year is really kicking my butt. With the feeling that I'm always being tested at my clinical, the fear of what will happen if clinical is cancelled, and the uncertainty of the Situation At Large, shit's been tough. With the uncertainty of my access to my usual mental health support, I have just decided (as of 2 days ago) to start taking medication to help with this task. And y'no what? It's okay. Shit's crazy, and there's no shame in asking for a little extra help. Pass it on ❤️

 

 

[WhiteGhost]

Roll with those punches!

 

[Mad Hatter]

How lovely to see your face again! Welcome back!

[Love_Of_Snuggles]

Welcome Back! I totally understand where you are coming from feeling like everything is falling apart at the same time. I actually live in Berkeley CA and have been under "Shelter in Place" orders for a week now and still find time to get out and go for a walk. So many people fled to avoid getting stranded here it really is like a ghost town so there really are not any problems running into people. Many students are struggling with classes, especially seniors, but I think most schools will be forced to make allowances amid this situation. Keep on track as best you can and try not to stress too much about what you can't control. (Easier said than don, I know)

 

 

[raptron]

Wooo, get it!

[Manarelle]

On 3/22/2020 at 8:21 PM, tourennatrix said:

A final note on rolling with the punches. This is a skill that historically I have not been all that great at. Over the last couple years, between therapy and school, I've gotten some practice, but this year is really kicking my butt. With the feeling that I'm always being tested at my clinical, the fear of what will happen if clinical is cancelled, and the uncertainty of the Situation At Large, shit's been tough. With the uncertainty of my access to my usual mental health support, I have just decided (as of 2 days ago) to start taking medication to help with this task. And y'no what? It's okay. Shit's crazy, and there's no shame in asking for a little extra help. Pass it on ❤️

 

Preach it, sister. Here's to the meds helping you out while things go nuts. 

[tourennatrix]

Shit you guys... I have been this damn tired a few times in recent memory - When I was recovering from pancreatitis, when I was recovering from an ear infection, and now with the side effects of these meds. Holy moly.

 

I finished an assignment yesterday, on time despite wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed.

It looks like our small rural hospital has had 2 suspected cases in 24 hours.

Clinical is progressing as normal as possible

Our governor is still refusing that we need a shelter-in-place ordinance

Things are fine!

 

I'm probably going to go to bed as soon as I'm done having Ben Gibbard serenade me with old Death Cab songs

 

[Mad Hatter]

[Manarelle]

Yikes, good luck, and stay safe. 

[raptron]

Death Cab. ❤️

 

[Athena]

On 3/25/2020 at 12:13 AM, tourennatrix said:

I finished an assignment yesterday, on time despite wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed.

 

What a boss move!

I'm going to try to follow your example.

[tourennatrix]

Let's check in:

 

Go outside: ... it's been kinda miserable out all week and I've been exhausterpated so... oops.

Exercise and Move ... uh, see above?

Eat the Veg ... I didn't *completely* bomb this one. I'm still eating like shit, and I haven't been feeling the greatest for breakfast time, but I *have* eaten some veggies this week!

Don't forget about school ... OH BOY.

 

* Today was my last day at one clinical location (my second to last rotation!). I did my final evaluation with my clinical instructor and she gave me full marks plus a couple "with distinction" points.

* I got the 2nd part of my case study back from my teacher (y'no, the part that I wrote while I was trying to adjust to my meds and only wanted to sleep for ev er) and she seems pretty impressed with the progress on it.

* I called my next clinical site because the last few days it sounded like they might *not* take me, but I got to the right guy and he said that as long as school will let me come, I can still get started on schedule! (This is super exciting because this is the clinic my sister and I go to for all our aches and pains, and they already know and love me, but also this makes me really nervous but that's for later)

* I... I applied for my license. Eep.

 

Hopefully the top 3 categories will get a little more love this coming week. I should hopefully be getting better sleep and better weather!

[tourennatrix]

On 3/26/2020 at 11:05 AM, raptron said:

Death Cab. ❤️

 

Omg I'm mostly familiar with the Postal Service and early '00s Death Cab, and some of the songs he's been playing have made me go all Q_Q and now I'm trying to learn one on ukulele.

 

On 3/23/2020 at 1:51 PM, Mad Hatter said:

How lovely to see your face again! Welcome back!

Thanks ❤️ glad to be back!

 

On 3/23/2020 at 6:39 PM, Love_Of_Snuggles said:

Welcome Back! I totally understand where you are coming from feeling like everything is falling apart at the same time. I actually live in Berkeley CA and have been under "Shelter in Place" orders for a week now and still find time to get out and go for a walk. So many people fled to avoid getting stranded here it really is like a ghost town so there really are not any problems running into people. Many students are struggling with classes, especially seniors, but I think most schools will be forced to make allowances amid this situation. Keep on track as best you can and try not to stress too much about what you can't control. (Easier said than don, I know)

Thanks for the encouragement! We're all doing the best we can in this crazy time!

 

On 3/24/2020 at 11:29 AM, Manarelle said:

 

Preach it, sister. Here's to the meds helping you out while things go nuts. 

Thanks, it seems to be getting better already

 

16 hours ago, analoggirl said:

 

What a boss move!

I'm going to try to follow your example.

I've been swinging between extremes of "break it into bitesize chunks of work" and "save everything for the last minute and bust it all out like a baws" so I'm not sure how good of a role model I am, but here we are XD

[Mad Hatter]

9 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

* Today was my last day at one clinical location (my second to last rotation!). I did my final evaluation with my clinical instructor and she gave me full marks plus a couple "with distinction" points.

* I got the 2nd part of my case study back from my teacher (y'no, the part that I wrote while I was trying to adjust to my meds and only wanted to sleep for ev er) and she seems pretty impressed with the progress on it.

* I called my next clinical site because the last few days it sounded like they might *not* take me, but I got to the right guy and he said that as long as school will let me come, I can still get started on schedule! (This is super exciting because this is the clinic my sister and I go to for all our aches and pains, and they already know and love me, but also this makes me really nervous but that's for later)

* I... I applied for my license. Eep.

Amazing on all points!

[tourennatrix]

My mom is making masks! I demanded that she let me run errands for her, so I delivered some masks to the post office, one of her friends, and to our local hospital. 

In the afternoon I went out for a brisk walk in a warm and windy afternoon ❤️

 

 

 

[Manarelle]

On 3/27/2020 at 8:14 PM, tourennatrix said:

* Today was my last day at one clinical location (my second to last rotation!). I did my final evaluation with my clinical instructor and she gave me full marks plus a couple "with distinction" points.

* I got the 2nd part of my case study back from my teacher (y'no, the part that I wrote while I was trying to adjust to my meds and only wanted to sleep for ev er) and she seems pretty impressed with the progress on it.

* I called my next clinical site because the last few days it sounded like they might *not* take me, but I got to the right guy and he said that as long as school will let me come, I can still get started on schedule! (This is super exciting because this is the clinic my sister and I go to for all our aches and pains, and they already know and love me, but also this makes me really nervous but that's for later)

* I... I applied for my license. Eep.

 

Eeeeeee, mega congrats on all those. Change is scary but just remember, you worked hard for all of this - you deserve your license.... and distinctions.  Also, love the fabric on the mask. Stay safe. 

[Athena]

Excited for the news & your application.  Not sure how it all works but I don't let that stand in my way haha.

 

I'm sure the errands were done in a brisk tempo, so that's some movement right  Oh that message was from Saturday, the errand run on Sunday. But still. Wooht!

[tourennatrix]

Hey it's April >_>

 

I did exercise on Saturday and have been paying for it since XD So many squats and lunges... and then having to navigate stairs several times the next day... Good job me XD

 

Go outside: I went out for a walk yesterday... and when I had my call with my therapist last Wednesday, I drove out to the park and we did a video chat while I was surrounded by trees (though I was still in the car)

Exercise and Move Today was my second exercise done on schedule in the last 7-10 days, and I did one walk... is better than zero.

Eat the Veg is haarrrrddd. I've rediscovered the simplicity of sandwiches since my roommate brought me a loaf of bread as part of a grab bag from a local food bank a few weeks ago... but so far my sandwiches are literally lunchmeat, cheese, and mayo. At least it's 'natural' lunch meat and not shitty cheese? This time around it's turkey and gouda. At this point, I'm happy to just actually make something that resembles "a meal" rather than just snacking. ((See Steve's recent post about lowering the bar to the floor-- this is where I am with food right now))

Don't forget about school I had about 4 days of "man I really need to work on this paper" and on the 4th day I actually did it and it suuuuuuuucks but I have something to turn in and I can revise it later. Clinical has been interesting though...

 

At my new clinical site, Normally they have 2 PTs and 3 PTAs (physical therapist assistant, what I'm training to be), and if I understand correctly, they pretty consistently all have a patient for almost all time slots throughout the day. That is a lot of people in not a lot of space. Right now they have 1-2 PTs and 1-2 PTAs, and me, so normally there are only 2-3 patients in at a time instead of up to 5. I'm kinda glad for the quieter atmosphere, tbh. I've been averaging about every-other patient so far, with the goal of taking over the full case load by the end of my 5 weeks. One day last week it ended up so that every single patient I worked on had some sort of shoulder problem, which I found highly amusing (though I have yet to run into anyone with my particular flavor of shoulder problem. I should ask the PT about that, given that the clinic I'm working in is the one that treated me way back when...). 

 

I do for seriously need to get to the actual studying for the final exam part of things though...

 

 

 

Oh but today I totally released a couple trigger points on a guy and was all

[WhiteGhost]

6 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

and I did one walk... is better than zero

Very true

 

6 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

every single patient I worked on had some sort of shoulder problem

I mean, who doesn't have shoulder problems  

[Manarelle]

11 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

Eat the Veg is haarrrrddd. I've rediscovered the simplicity of sandwiches since my roommate brought me a loaf of bread as part of a grab bag from a local food bank a few weeks ago... but so far my sandwiches are literally lunchmeat, cheese, and mayo. At least it's 'natural' lunch meat and not shitty cheese? This time around it's turkey and gouda. At this point, I'm happy to just actually make something that resembles "a meal" rather than just snacking. ((See Steve's recent post about lowering the bar to the floor-- this is where I am with food right now))

 

I thought Steve's email was super timely - everyone copes differently and this are wildly unusual times. If you're getting a "real meal" instead of snacking, that's solid work. 

 

5 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

11 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

every single patient I worked on had some sort of shoulder problem

I mean, who doesn't have shoulder problems  

 

Yup, QFT.

 

11 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

That is a lot of people in not a lot of space. Right now they have 1-2 PTs and 1-2 PTAs, and me, so normally there are only 2-3 patients in at a time instead of up to 5. I'm kinda glad for the quieter atmosphere, tbh. I've been averaging about every-other patient so far, with the goal of taking over the full case load by the end of my 5 weeks.

 

Stay safe.... hopefully they have PPE for you? 

[Mad Hatter]

11 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

I did exercise on Saturday and have been paying for it since XD So many squats and lunges... and then having to navigate stairs several times the next day... Good job me XD

Yes, go you!

 

You could do worse than sandwiches. Maybe a fruit would go down easier if veggies are too hard?

[raptron]

11 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

Right now they have 1-2 PTs and 1-2 PTAs, and me, so normally there are only 2-3 patients in at a time instead of up to 5. I'm kinda glad for the quieter atmosphere, tbh. I've been averaging about every-other patient so far, with the goal of taking over the full case load by the end of my 5 weeks. 

Whoa! That seems like a quick ramp-up. Awesome. Hope you guys all stay healthy. 🤞

 

11 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

I do for seriously need to get to the actual studying for the final exam part of things though...

You got thissss. 

[tourennatrix]

14 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

I mean, who doesn't have shoulder problems  

TRUTH!

 

9 hours ago, Manarelle said:

Stay safe.... hopefully they have PPE for you?

While I love this clinic and the people that run it, this aspect has left a little to be desired. We have cloth masks that, as of last week, we are supposed to wear when working closely with patients, but we're not mandated to wear them when, say, we are instructing a patient on how to do an exercise. Basically, if someone walks in with it, our best defense is just to keep washing our hands all the time and thoroughly clean surfaces between patients. *sigh* (this slightly more relaxed attitude is thanks to an obnoxiously conservative governor and a 'surely we're too rural for this to happen to us" mindset, even though there have been several confirmed and several several more unconfirmed cases in the county... yeesh.

 

8 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

You could do worse than sandwiches. Maybe a fruit would go down easier if veggies are too hard?

Tonight's agenda is to turn up the oven and roast a bunch of stuff before it goes bad. If it's already cooked maybe I'll be more likely to finish it...

 

8 hours ago, raptron said:

Whoa! That seems like a quick ramp-up. Awesome. Hope you guys all stay healthy. 🤞

At my last place, I was doing probably 95% of the caseload by day 5 (with lots of help from my instructor). Something about how this clinic is set up makes this a little harder (maybe it has more to do with not sleeping well...), but eventually I think it'll be about 8 patients per day, maybe 9 since each session is less than an hour long...

 

I've had grumpy patients the last couple days (not surprising with the down-turn in the weather, and possibly exacerbated by my own grumpiness). This afternoon I had a patient show up who seemed offended that she was being placed with an assistant instead of a therapist, and I could feel my years of customer service experience kicking in so that I could take the edge off her attitude and also not take it personally. 
This is, unofficially, day 2 of acknowledging small wins

 

[Mad Hatter]

6 hours ago, tourennatrix said:

I've had grumpy patients the last couple days (not surprising with the down-turn in the weather, and possibly exacerbated by my own grumpiness). This afternoon I had a patient show up who seemed offended that she was being placed with an assistant instead of a therapist, and I could feel my years of customer service experience kicking in so that I could take the edge off her attitude and also not take it personally. 
This is, unofficially, day 2 of acknowledging small wins

I'd call that a BIG win!

[Manarelle]

8 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

I'd call that a BIG win!

 

Concur. And good to focus on wins, right now. We all need that boost, I'd say. Sorry to hear they're not taking the virus seriously. Good luck? Stay as safe as possible.