Since our last post, dear readers, quite a bit of time has
come and gone. Also for Jules and Alex,
quite a bit of life and the changes it brings have come as well. Jules and Alex have ironically flipped
roles—Jules is returning to school and Alex graduated (finally) and entered the
working world (and finally knows what a paycheck is!). They have also both moved from their cozy
little apartment. Alex has actually
moved 4 times since then—no wonder she hasn’t blogged because she is constantly
packing and unpacking all of her personal belongings. Jules has become an aunt for the second
time. Alex found a new roommate (who is
a guy—gasp) when she got married this summer.
There have also been some adventures in between.
While I (Alex) finished PT classes in Kansas City in December, I still had 5 months
of indentured servant hood ahead of me.
My first clinical was in Marysville,
Kansas. Three weeks before this clinical started I
didn’t know a soul in Marysville and also had no idea where I was going to
live. It seemed like it was going to be
a bleak winter, but God always works things out. Through my sister-in-law’s vast social
network I got connected with a couple who went to school with my brother who
had just bought a house in Marysville but weren’t moving until the summer. Their house was empty but they were willing
to have someone stay in it before they started remodeling. Therefore, I moved into a house for 2 months
that contained a bed, card table, and 3 folding chairs. I brought with me a sleeping bag, clothes,
all the textbooks one may need while studying for a PT licensing exam, and a
few dishes. (I should write a blog
sometime about how to cook with 1 pot, 1 paring knife, an apple slicer, 3
forks, and 2 spoons—I’m not a chef but I can be creative with very
little). During my time there I went on a few home health visits and at one point was struck by how "homey" her house was. I then realized that if felt so homey because it actually had furniture (at least more than a card table and folding chair). I did spend a lot of time at
the PT clinic where I worked- I really enjoyed the staff and many of the
patients. My free time in the evenings
was filled with attending cardio kick boxing class, using the internet access
at the public library, and studying, and more studying if I had time. Marysville is known for its black
squirrels. They are the only place in
the state that has black squirrels and legend has it that they escaped from a
circus passing through. My entire time I
was on the look out for black squirrels but didn’t see any until the last day I
was there I went on a stakeout at the park and finally caught a glimpse of a few.
When I got back to my house there were three playing in the front
yard—where had they been hiding out?
Thinking back, I came away with two things from Marysville. One day I spent visiting some nursing homes
in the area with one PT so I saw all new patients that day and was in new
places. It struck me that evening that I
had spent the whole day only interacting with 1 person who knew my name. This can feel pretty isolating and I
struggled with that that night. As an
introvert sometimes it is exhausting meeting new people all the time. I should have considered that when choosing
my profession but getting to know the people I work with is also one of my
favorite parts. For example that
particular day I worked with a lady who had been the town mayor for 30 years, 2
gentlemen who went to school together in a 1 room schoolhouse and were still
just as mischievous, and another gentleman who served in both the Pacific and Europe during WWII.
While I did feel slightly isolated at times in Marysville living by
myself, I was also very touched by how welcoming everyone I worked with
was. They invited me to exercise class,
took time to teach me new techniques, invited me to join them for dinner,
picked me up when I was snowed in, etc.
While I didn’t know anyone before, I felt like I left family when I was
done with my clinical.
Next I transitioned from living alone in a new place to
moving back in with my parents. This was
different. My mom cooked for me—real
meals and not the same meal for a week straight. There were more opportunities to interact but
also more distractions to keep me from studying for my upcoming board exam—my
mother wanted to talk about planning my wedding and my father wanted to hang
out and do something fun all the time.
My clinical was at a town about 30 miles away so I got a chance to
commute each day. It was at the clinic
where the lady who first got me thinking about becoming a PT works. It was fun to work with her and the others at
the clinic and be in awe of their skills.
I was studying my brains out and had just learned so much in three years
of class, but working in the shadow of these therapists I longed to learn so
much more and get the “magical” skills they had.
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