TBI unit is awesome!! Week 4

Week 4

Finally, my brain decided to kick in because it only took me till week 4 to realize that I should be writing down all the different interventions we are using and their purposes! I now have a hand-written list of the different games and all the different outcomes that can possible result from that game. My current list includes interventions and games like:

• Finger Labyrinth—guided imagery, relaxation, pain diversion, fine motor control.
• Rummikub—ordering numbers, remembering and creating patterns, color recognition, remembering rules, fine motor control
• Balloon Volleyball—stretching, reaching, paying attention, hand-eye coordination, arm/muscle endurance
• Picture bingo—shape and word recognition, matching, spatial awareness
• Blockus—fine motor control, spatial awareness, problem solving
• Simple woodwork—following directions, gross and fine motor skills with hand and arm, muscle endurance.

I cannot wait to see how long this list gets by the end of the semester! I realize that I will need to make this list more organized. Maybe in an excel sheet? Then I can search for activities that will work on specific areas.

At the end of my practicum hours on Thursday, Alex said how sorry she was for not really giving me the opportunity to jump in and lead some of the activities. I already had a good idea as to why I have not been given the opportunity. We discussed about how low most of the patients have been these past few weeks and how knowledge of how to handle each patient is key. I completely understood why and was never offended by staying in the shadowing position. One of the patients would walk all over me and find ways to direct me instead of me guiding her in an intervention. I was perfectly fine with that as of now. I cannot wait, however, till I do have the knowledge and competence to handle a wide variety of patients’ attitudes and reactions to treatment.

This week I also helped in the STAR superbowl party. Mr. Barret asked patients in the TBI unit to join. I was, at first, a little nervous because the patients were low and in a good bit of pain. Three came down. One knew very little English but had his wife with him. He was very quiet and did not stay for too long. One patient amazed me. I have seen him progress so much in the past 3 weeks. When I first met him, he was not very focused and had his hands wrapped in gloves and tied to his chair to prevent him from pulling the tube from his nose. At the party however, he was polite social, and assertive and accurate with his needs (example: stating how small to cut his food and that he was ready to return to his room). He was so pleasant compared to when he was constantly trying to get “money” and “crack” out of his empty pockets and shoes. Seeing that transformation and progress he has made ensured that I am passionate about this field.

Everyone on the treatment has the same goal of increasing the amount of healing a patient receives and to see that patient leave with as much ability as before the accident. The treatment team works together by being different and working on different goals. I see the treatment team as one body, the eye is just as important as the foot, which is just as important and the stomach and so on. We are different to bring unity. Did that make sense?

Any game or treatment ideas?! I have so much to learn and I cannot wait to try out new ideas! oh any religious practices you think can be turned into a therapeutic intervention will be cool too!

TBI UNIT IS AWESOME!! Week 3

Oky soooo I haven't really kept you guys up on my life. A) My major is Recreational Therapy  B) ITS AWESOME  C) we have to complete practicum hours (40hrs) and then internship hours (600hr) in order to receive our diploma. Well in practicum class we have to write weekly reports on what has happened. I decided for your knowledge and to kinda share my passion the next two posts are of week 3 and week 4 of my hw :) The joy of this is hw is that it does not have to be very professional! :D

Week 3

This week was really exciting! Well actually only one day really stood out. Thursday I learned a new and hopefully upcoming therapeutic intervention! It is called Finger Labyrinth Relaxation. Basically the roots of this intervention come from Buddhist/eastern religion practices. Labyrinths were used for relaxation. A person would basically walk around loops till he or she reaches the middle of the labyrinth then turn around and walk back. This form of maze only has one path to take and not multiple options so the stress of trying to make it to the end, picking the right path, or getting lost is not evident. The relaxation, felt by participants, is mysterious yet this walking labyrinth technique has been used right before the birthing process of pregnant women. The finger labyrinth however is a much more scaled down relaxation technique for patients who cannot get out of the unit or bed. Alex (my RT supervisor) had a model labyrinth to show me. Basically it was a transparent plastic board about two feet by two feet with the labyrinth engraved into the board. There are many different ways to facilitate this intervention. The most common and currently most researched method is very similar to and includes guided imagery. Because the labyrinth is engraved, participants can easily follow the maze with eyes closed. The therapist ensures that the placement of the board is in a comfortable position for the participant and while the participant is following the board, the therapist can direct deep breathing, or guiding imagery.

I loved it! Alex gave me a paper copy of a finger labyrinth for exam period but I loved the 3D version so much I attempted to raise my paper copy with 3D glitter glue! It looked awesome…until the 3D glitter glue flattened out. I am going to try pipe cleaners next time! Multiple break throughs found by Alex included: increase attention span, diversion from pain, relaxation technique, and fine motor control. Alex used it on a patient who was open to this technique before his second attempt to pass a swallow study and he was moved up to a wider variety of liquids and solid foods!

A problem I saw associated with this technique was problems I have foreseen in other relaxation interventions. Some people are not open to relaxation techniques like guided imagery or finger labyrinths. Interventions with the purpose of slowing down and relaxing are basically counter cultural. The man who participated in the relaxation technique was a practicing Buddhist before the accident so he was very open to the intervention. When Alex and I introduced the idea to another patient, she participated but was not very open. She completed the maze twice but felt not change and did not want to do it again. I feel some people are more open to other methods of healing besides medicine while other people feel, from experience, that medicine is the best and quickest form of healing. “Better living through chemistry,” as my chemistry professor use to say. It does not mean the those people are wrong and arrogant, it just provides therapists a challenge to motivate and to teach patients that pills can only do but so much as well as harm you. I have found myself thankful for being a part of this field because I have learned and opened my mind to interventions that some people treat as vodo like hypnosis.

            One goal I have created for this practicum is to discover other interventions that were created from other religious practices.