I got a Gift!

Very unusual for me, to get a gift from a patient that is. It's not at all uncommon in outpatient, or even rehab, but when you're in the hospital and you only see patients a few days before they move on to rehab or to home, it's kinda rare.

Well, this patient broke her hip and had to have surgery to pin it back together. She was having a lot of pain control issues so she ended up staying in the hospital for a longer time than most. PLUS she got anxious with her mobility because she was anticipating the pain. She was NUTS to work with. You really needed to have patience with a patient like that, and also continuity is good. The patient will often do more for a therapist she knows and trusts rather than having someone different every day. So I kept her on my schedule as nuts as she made me. She wasn't bad in the sense that she wasn't mean or rude or anything like that. But she had a lot of problems with the mobility because of her pain and also because of her anxiety. It made for a difficult situation, and a session that could have lasted 20 minutes would take an hour and a half, just to get her out of bed and walk three feet to her chair. Trying to get her to walk further was like pulling teeth. It's been a heck of a week.
Other than the fact that she was NUTS, she was a nice patient and her large family was also very nice. They weren't from CT, they were just visiting for the day when she fell and needed to go to the hospital. She left today for rehab (thank goodness!), and they all were saying what a positive experience it was, if it had to happen at all, it was a good environment to have to be in. The hospital is like that. Recovering at the Hilton where patient satisfaction is of the utmost importance. :)

Anyway the family gave the floor a platter of cookies. Not uncommon. Families bring in food for the nurses on the floor all the time. It happens in EVERY hospital everywhere. (and they always get devoured perty quickly) The patient has 3 shifts of nurses and different days and nurses aides and doctors and therapists etc so they get one thing for everyone and it all sits at the nurses station For a short amount of time anyway...), a highly tempting and highly caloric schmorgasboard. (did I spell that right? Oh well)

Anyway, the family had a platter of cookies for the nurses and other staff on the floor... and a platter of cookies for me. ME! My OWN platter of cookies! I was in shock, that NEVER happens. One of the sons told me that I have the patience of a saint to work so well with his mother, and that I was really great with her and helped her so much and encouraged her and all that and they wanted to thank me individually. (And what better way than cookies?) (The husband offered to share his lottery winnings with me if he ever won. :) I'd prefer that!) I was very thankful, it was really unnecessary, they didn't have to get me anything, it was very generous of them. That's what I'm there for. To encourage people to get out of bed. To help them when they're having trouble. To be REALLY patient with them when they are in pain and anxious and making you nuts. I've gotten pretty good at dealing with patients in that state. It's just part of the job. And it works, most of the time. And well this family rewarded me individually for it. It's nice to be appreciated. Even if it is with cookies that I can't eat because I have a wedding dress to fit into. I brought them to another floor for the nurses.

And that was my day. I got a gift. :) It was nice. It's my job and all to help people and deal with them when they're not at their best, so I let it all slide. But it's nice to be recognized all the same. Especially from the ones that drive you to eat cookies! :) YAY for platters of cookies!