Life Update
Ok everyone...a lot has happened since my last update. So here goes nothing...
My project at SMRC is going well. I am working in Cypress Cottage, which is a female cottage with many of the higher functioning clients. A lot of them have psychiatric issues and behavior problems, but I absolutely adore them. They love all the attention they can get and I know that they are enjoying our being there (I am working with Eva, by the way). I pretty much get to take the Wing III clients, the more "total care" clients (meaning that they are less abled than some of their counterparts in the other wings), on walks and help them with grooming, like brushing their teeth and washing their hands, monitoring at mealtimes and of course, LOTS of coloring! It has been so much fun. It is definitely never a dull moment as I have been pinched and kicked by clients, cussed out and of course laughed at constantly. Some highlights include...
1.Taking a particular client out for a walk where she always decides to make a bolt for it and can definitely run faster than I can. Then she decides that it is a good idea to sit on hot pavement and won't get up. She makes me use all that TMAB training so I can hoist her off the ground (with the help of my counterpart, Miss Eva).
2. Exploding diarrhea...let me explain. One evening a newish staff member came asking for help when a client fell asleep at the dinner table, so I obliged and got her up and back to her wing. When I got there, the usual staff lady, Sonya, was on her break, so she asked me if I'd be willing to put her to bed, meaning put on a nightgown and change her pullup. Sure...I was trained at this, but it was my first time. Well, I get pullup #1 off of her, which was totally soaked and after much fighting on the client's part, I get pullup #2 on. Literally the second I get it put on, the said client gets a HUGE smile on her face as she begins having explosive diarrhea. Fortunately for me I got it up in time, but seriously this was my first time and this client was laughing at me and my obviously mortified look on my face. So after waiting a minute to make sure she was done. I took her to get cleaned up in the bathroom, where of course, she fought me tooth and nail and made it difficult to get the damn pullup off. It is at this moment I wonder exactly where my life is going. Who would have thought that I went from writing a thesis to wiping people's asses in a matter of a year? So I am trying to talk to the client, and I told her that since we had this intimate moment, we have to be friends. I have wiped her butt and she has totally made fun of me, so it's time to be friends. The talk seemed to work though because she stopped fighting me and I was able to put her in bed without incident.
I realize after writing this that I have too many stories to innumerate here, so if you want the details, give me a call. I am happy to share. By the way, I can't share clients names, it is against the law (in case you were wondering).
In other news I spent my brief spring break in Ithaca, NY the city which I will call home as of next August, where I will be officially a student of the CIPA program at Cornell. I was definitely overwhelmed by the size of the school but I know that I will get an awesome education and that my classes will be small as a grad student. My mom met me in Ithaca and I have to say that it is a beautiful area and a damn cool city. We spent the whole weekend practically looking at apartments, though no leases have been signed. I am still looking although I found a place I am really interested in (especially after seeing that its current inhabitant is literally the most gorgeous guy I have EVER met!)...too bad he doesn't come with the rent. I am thinking that I will try and secure a place by next week sometime at the latest. So, therefore I demand that everyone come up to upstate NY and visit me (it's only 4-5 hrs. from NYC...eh?).
I also found out that our last Americorps project is in Charleston (yay! a local project is definitely what I wanted) and we'll be working for the United Methodist Relief Center, which builds transportable homes for the elderly, so they can have the dignity of living in their own neighborhood. It is a construction project, which should be interesting considering the southern heat and humidity and of course, my propensity to be rather klutzy (hopefully not so around those power tools). I don't know yet exactly what I'll be doing, but it should be a great experience nonetheless.
Ok...time to hit they hay. Nighty nite!
My project at SMRC is going well. I am working in Cypress Cottage, which is a female cottage with many of the higher functioning clients. A lot of them have psychiatric issues and behavior problems, but I absolutely adore them. They love all the attention they can get and I know that they are enjoying our being there (I am working with Eva, by the way). I pretty much get to take the Wing III clients, the more "total care" clients (meaning that they are less abled than some of their counterparts in the other wings), on walks and help them with grooming, like brushing their teeth and washing their hands, monitoring at mealtimes and of course, LOTS of coloring! It has been so much fun. It is definitely never a dull moment as I have been pinched and kicked by clients, cussed out and of course laughed at constantly. Some highlights include...
1.Taking a particular client out for a walk where she always decides to make a bolt for it and can definitely run faster than I can. Then she decides that it is a good idea to sit on hot pavement and won't get up. She makes me use all that TMAB training so I can hoist her off the ground (with the help of my counterpart, Miss Eva).
2. Exploding diarrhea...let me explain. One evening a newish staff member came asking for help when a client fell asleep at the dinner table, so I obliged and got her up and back to her wing. When I got there, the usual staff lady, Sonya, was on her break, so she asked me if I'd be willing to put her to bed, meaning put on a nightgown and change her pullup. Sure...I was trained at this, but it was my first time. Well, I get pullup #1 off of her, which was totally soaked and after much fighting on the client's part, I get pullup #2 on. Literally the second I get it put on, the said client gets a HUGE smile on her face as she begins having explosive diarrhea. Fortunately for me I got it up in time, but seriously this was my first time and this client was laughing at me and my obviously mortified look on my face. So after waiting a minute to make sure she was done. I took her to get cleaned up in the bathroom, where of course, she fought me tooth and nail and made it difficult to get the damn pullup off. It is at this moment I wonder exactly where my life is going. Who would have thought that I went from writing a thesis to wiping people's asses in a matter of a year? So I am trying to talk to the client, and I told her that since we had this intimate moment, we have to be friends. I have wiped her butt and she has totally made fun of me, so it's time to be friends. The talk seemed to work though because she stopped fighting me and I was able to put her in bed without incident.
I realize after writing this that I have too many stories to innumerate here, so if you want the details, give me a call. I am happy to share. By the way, I can't share clients names, it is against the law (in case you were wondering).
In other news I spent my brief spring break in Ithaca, NY the city which I will call home as of next August, where I will be officially a student of the CIPA program at Cornell. I was definitely overwhelmed by the size of the school but I know that I will get an awesome education and that my classes will be small as a grad student. My mom met me in Ithaca and I have to say that it is a beautiful area and a damn cool city. We spent the whole weekend practically looking at apartments, though no leases have been signed. I am still looking although I found a place I am really interested in (especially after seeing that its current inhabitant is literally the most gorgeous guy I have EVER met!)...too bad he doesn't come with the rent. I am thinking that I will try and secure a place by next week sometime at the latest. So, therefore I demand that everyone come up to upstate NY and visit me (it's only 4-5 hrs. from NYC...eh?).
I also found out that our last Americorps project is in Charleston (yay! a local project is definitely what I wanted) and we'll be working for the United Methodist Relief Center, which builds transportable homes for the elderly, so they can have the dignity of living in their own neighborhood. It is a construction project, which should be interesting considering the southern heat and humidity and of course, my propensity to be rather klutzy (hopefully not so around those power tools). I don't know yet exactly what I'll be doing, but it should be a great experience nonetheless.
Ok...time to hit they hay. Nighty nite!