I am so proud of my husband, Coach Holmes.
It was God's sweet subtle moves that brought us to Candace and David, our across the street neighbors and newest good friends, and helped Mike get started in volunteering at Reynolds, but it was Mike's hard work that got him the job.
He worked harder and longer hours than even some of the paid coaches, not to show off or show up, but to show that he is dedicated. And it paid off. The head coach noticed, and appreciated, Mike's efforts.
Now that he is head JV coach and offensive backs coach for varsity, he is more tired than I've ever seen him but also happier than I've ever seen him, and if you know Mike, you know he's a pretty flippin' happy guy mist all of the time...
He's teaching Honors World History first block. He's got the textbook open and looks over his students' work every night he doesn't have a game. Games are Thursdays and Fridays (except when they're not, story to follow). JV Thursday at six (which I love attending-watching my husband work is a unique perk, not many wives get that opp, right Mir?) and Varsity-Friday at seven. You know I love football but high school people watching (kids AND parents) is so fun.
Not having him home til after 7 most nights and between 10-12 some nights has been a bit of a transition but it's so worth it knowing he's finally doing what he loves. I've been re-learning to cook and have time to actually be a wife (good riddance grad school!)
Reynolds JV is 1-2, Varsity is 2-1.
The most major change in our family as a result of all this is the laundry. The maroon and orange have almost completely been replaced with black and gold!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Ardmore is hilly
Grad school is over! We live less than a mile away from my work! This means...TIME. free time, spare time, hours to kill. I love it. As most of you know, my darling husband turned me into a beer snob. I love craft beer, drinking it and learning more about it.
I also love running. Imagine my excitement when I started following a writer on twitter named TheBeerRunner! He extended a challenge to run every day and drink a beer every day for a week. I decided to give it a shot...
The last semester of grad school plus a 45 minute commute for an 8-5 gig had drastically cut back the # of miles I was running, so I decided this might be a good way to slowly increase my mileage. I ran just one mile most days, no more than 3 once a week. Well, Ardmore is hilly, so while I was not pushing myself mileage or speed wise, I was (unknowingly) pushing myself cartilage-wise, too hard. One Saturday, after a relatively slow one mile followed by our housewarming lunch cook out, I noticed that my right knee looked inflated.
Went to the doc, he suggested rest, PT, then running on flat surfaces. He was convinced it's the hills I've been running that was causing then problem. I walk and stand for 75% of my work day, but I was a good patient and came home every day for two weeks and rested the leg. No running, not even walking. Nothing was changing, if anything I was noticing more short pain twinges than before. Found out PT was going to cost a ridiculous amount of money and decided I wanted more info first. Got an MRI. I have/had chondromallacia patella. All the cartilage under my knee cap was peeling back like paint and it was affecting my patellar tendon. Doc offered surgery as an option, saying that it would be pointless for a 50 yr old but I had a good chance of it actually making a difference (I'll skip the part where this made me realize I'm almost 31...)
Surgery meant at least a week and a half out of work, but he also said it is a "if not now, then later" situation, so Mike and I chose now.
Arthroscopic surgery, no big deal, outpatient procedure under local anesthetic. Got leave for work all figured out (which included two minor breakdowns because of scheduling mishaps and discovering it meant 2 days without pay) and showed up for the surgery. I went by myself at 9am. Outpatient with local anesthetic and in needed to do pre-op before, so I figured I wouldn't actually go back until 11 ish. Mike was at work ( I just had him drop me off on his way to work at 8) mom was in Mississippi, and I didn't see any need for Alan to come from Greensboro so early.
Turns out they took me back at 9:30. Still no big deal, had a friend from work come downstairs to pick up my stuff. Then the anesthesiologist came in and started talking about airways.
(At the hospital, at least twice a week, I do a swallow study on patients who have been intubated.)
It dawns on me that airways are only a concern if you are really knocked out. Slight anxiety sets in and I text mike, "general anesthesia". I was glad that I didn't know before hand because I would have so much more anxious going into it, but the surprise of it wasn't great either. Any who, they set my IV (ask for lidocaine), knock me out, and then I woke up.
I was shaking uncontrollably, like shivering hard, but I wasn't cold. Then I started sobbing. My knee hurt, but not the kind of hurt that makes you cry. Mike and Alan were there with me, but it didn't seem to help to calm me down. The nurse got me a vicodin for the pain (an 8) and shot me up with some demorol to control the shaking and crying. She said it was probably from the versed. Don't look it up, it's kind of frightening. She said I was hyperventilating but I couldn't help it. Having been NPO since midnight, I asked for vanilla pudding (we have the good Hunts stuff at the hospital) but they didn't have any on that floor. And they just switched our Graham crackers from the yummy honey ones to nasty cardboard flavor. But I took what I could get. However, my mouth was so very dry, the crackers turned quickly into dusty paste that I physically could not swallow. Water helped some, but not completely. My voice was so hoarse. Nurse said it was from the dryness because of the oxygen. LIES.
This is what they put in me
http://www.anecare.com/Products/images/LMA-brief1.jpg
Only the slightest improvement over actual intubation...sheesh.
The hoarseness and soreness fortunately went away the next day...
In addition to the cartilage issue we knew about, they found three thumbnail size holes in my medial cartilage, which they were also able to fix!
I'm making good progress. We're on day five...
I can't add pictures to the blog from my iPad...
Should be able to see them here
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150282220344436.339800.530494435&l=096e224b2f&type=1
I've been doing PT every day, a little more each day. Needed two crutches the first day to get to the bathroom. Barely put any weight on it. Next day, two crutches with some weight. Third day, one crutch with weight on it. Fourth day, no crutches but a major limp. Fifth day, no crutches and can stand on that leg briefly! I'm amazed at how much it gets better each day. Second day I was worried about going back to work next Monday, but today, I think I could go back early!!
My first real PT appointment is Thursday, so we'll see then!!
Doc says I should be able to run 3 miles a day in 3-4 months! No more every day running for me though...
I also love running. Imagine my excitement when I started following a writer on twitter named TheBeerRunner! He extended a challenge to run every day and drink a beer every day for a week. I decided to give it a shot...
The last semester of grad school plus a 45 minute commute for an 8-5 gig had drastically cut back the # of miles I was running, so I decided this might be a good way to slowly increase my mileage. I ran just one mile most days, no more than 3 once a week. Well, Ardmore is hilly, so while I was not pushing myself mileage or speed wise, I was (unknowingly) pushing myself cartilage-wise, too hard. One Saturday, after a relatively slow one mile followed by our housewarming lunch cook out, I noticed that my right knee looked inflated.
Went to the doc, he suggested rest, PT, then running on flat surfaces. He was convinced it's the hills I've been running that was causing then problem. I walk and stand for 75% of my work day, but I was a good patient and came home every day for two weeks and rested the leg. No running, not even walking. Nothing was changing, if anything I was noticing more short pain twinges than before. Found out PT was going to cost a ridiculous amount of money and decided I wanted more info first. Got an MRI. I have/had chondromallacia patella. All the cartilage under my knee cap was peeling back like paint and it was affecting my patellar tendon. Doc offered surgery as an option, saying that it would be pointless for a 50 yr old but I had a good chance of it actually making a difference (I'll skip the part where this made me realize I'm almost 31...)
Surgery meant at least a week and a half out of work, but he also said it is a "if not now, then later" situation, so Mike and I chose now.
Arthroscopic surgery, no big deal, outpatient procedure under local anesthetic. Got leave for work all figured out (which included two minor breakdowns because of scheduling mishaps and discovering it meant 2 days without pay) and showed up for the surgery. I went by myself at 9am. Outpatient with local anesthetic and in needed to do pre-op before, so I figured I wouldn't actually go back until 11 ish. Mike was at work ( I just had him drop me off on his way to work at 8) mom was in Mississippi, and I didn't see any need for Alan to come from Greensboro so early.
Turns out they took me back at 9:30. Still no big deal, had a friend from work come downstairs to pick up my stuff. Then the anesthesiologist came in and started talking about airways.
(At the hospital, at least twice a week, I do a swallow study on patients who have been intubated.)
It dawns on me that airways are only a concern if you are really knocked out. Slight anxiety sets in and I text mike, "general anesthesia". I was glad that I didn't know before hand because I would have so much more anxious going into it, but the surprise of it wasn't great either. Any who, they set my IV (ask for lidocaine), knock me out, and then I woke up.
I was shaking uncontrollably, like shivering hard, but I wasn't cold. Then I started sobbing. My knee hurt, but not the kind of hurt that makes you cry. Mike and Alan were there with me, but it didn't seem to help to calm me down. The nurse got me a vicodin for the pain (an 8) and shot me up with some demorol to control the shaking and crying. She said it was probably from the versed. Don't look it up, it's kind of frightening. She said I was hyperventilating but I couldn't help it. Having been NPO since midnight, I asked for vanilla pudding (we have the good Hunts stuff at the hospital) but they didn't have any on that floor. And they just switched our Graham crackers from the yummy honey ones to nasty cardboard flavor. But I took what I could get. However, my mouth was so very dry, the crackers turned quickly into dusty paste that I physically could not swallow. Water helped some, but not completely. My voice was so hoarse. Nurse said it was from the dryness because of the oxygen. LIES.
This is what they put in me
http://www.anecare.com/Products/images/LMA-brief1.jpg
Only the slightest improvement over actual intubation...sheesh.
The hoarseness and soreness fortunately went away the next day...
In addition to the cartilage issue we knew about, they found three thumbnail size holes in my medial cartilage, which they were also able to fix!
I'm making good progress. We're on day five...
I can't add pictures to the blog from my iPad...
Should be able to see them here
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150282220344436.339800.530494435&l=096e224b2f&type=1
I've been doing PT every day, a little more each day. Needed two crutches the first day to get to the bathroom. Barely put any weight on it. Next day, two crutches with some weight. Third day, one crutch with weight on it. Fourth day, no crutches but a major limp. Fifth day, no crutches and can stand on that leg briefly! I'm amazed at how much it gets better each day. Second day I was worried about going back to work next Monday, but today, I think I could go back early!!
My first real PT appointment is Thursday, so we'll see then!!
Doc says I should be able to run 3 miles a day in 3-4 months! No more every day running for me though...
Been a while
Oops...
A LOT has changed since May...
I started my new job and have loved every crazy minute of it. No two days are ever the same. Splitting my time between inpatient rehab and acute care is challenging but it's going really well. I continue splitting time until January, then I'm full time acute care. I should find out in December whether or not I get to keep this job past June.
We found a house in the Ardmore neighborhood of Wisnton-Salem and I adore it. I finally have a fenced in yard for Riley!!!! And a real spare bedroom, and a windowseat. I'm in love and I really hope we get to stay here.
Mike found a job! We live across the street from my supervisor-turned-goodfriend and her husband happens to be a history teacher! He helped Mike get set up to volunteer with the high school's football teams. Once that really got going, the head coach talked with the principal and Mike was able to secure a part-time teaching position (Honors World History). Since he was technically a school emmployee at that point, he could also be paid to coach and the head coach offered him the JV head coach position! Go Demons! Yes, the Reynolds Demons. Slightly scary, but at least the colors aren't red and black. He's loving every minute of coaching and teaching.
So that's us, sorry for the lapse, hope to keep this up!
A LOT has changed since May...
I started my new job and have loved every crazy minute of it. No two days are ever the same. Splitting my time between inpatient rehab and acute care is challenging but it's going really well. I continue splitting time until January, then I'm full time acute care. I should find out in December whether or not I get to keep this job past June.
We found a house in the Ardmore neighborhood of Wisnton-Salem and I adore it. I finally have a fenced in yard for Riley!!!! And a real spare bedroom, and a windowseat. I'm in love and I really hope we get to stay here.
Mike found a job! We live across the street from my supervisor-turned-goodfriend and her husband happens to be a history teacher! He helped Mike get set up to volunteer with the high school's football teams. Once that really got going, the head coach talked with the principal and Mike was able to secure a part-time teaching position (Honors World History). Since he was technically a school emmployee at that point, he could also be paid to coach and the head coach offered him the JV head coach position! Go Demons! Yes, the Reynolds Demons. Slightly scary, but at least the colors aren't red and black. He's loving every minute of coaching and teaching.
So that's us, sorry for the lapse, hope to keep this up!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Babies (not mine)
A dear friend, just had a baby late last night. She and her husband already had three children with no plans to have more, but Beckett surprised them and they are wonderfully happy about it. And in turn, I'm ecstatic for them. I hope to get to visit soon, they live in Charlotte.
Two of my best friends are also pregnant. One is having some minor complications, but has great potential to turn out just fine. It is so amazing to me how this is putting an even deeper hold onto our solid three-way friendship. Sharing such an amazing part of their life with them is so special. I can't express how glad I am that I'm able to be geographically close to them during all this. And I thought the Baptist externship was just good for my career! Oh their bellies are really showing and even though they won't believe me, neither of them look fat. Truth. They haven't gained weight in their faces...just those precious bellies housing a precious Peanut and a sweet Bean. I love touching them, and I'm grateful they don't just let me touch, but that they encourage it and show me where to wait for a kick or nudge. This time last year, I think I was longing to get pregnant...but I truly think that was because it seemed like a way out of grad school. I'm still not ready just yet. I'm so happy for my friends, but I have no desire to be in their position. Mike and I still have some settling to do, but I think the yearn will start to come back soon...
Two of my best friends are also pregnant. One is having some minor complications, but has great potential to turn out just fine. It is so amazing to me how this is putting an even deeper hold onto our solid three-way friendship. Sharing such an amazing part of their life with them is so special. I can't express how glad I am that I'm able to be geographically close to them during all this. And I thought the Baptist externship was just good for my career! Oh their bellies are really showing and even though they won't believe me, neither of them look fat. Truth. They haven't gained weight in their faces...just those precious bellies housing a precious Peanut and a sweet Bean. I love touching them, and I'm grateful they don't just let me touch, but that they encourage it and show me where to wait for a kick or nudge. This time last year, I think I was longing to get pregnant...but I truly think that was because it seemed like a way out of grad school. I'm still not ready just yet. I'm so happy for my friends, but I have no desire to be in their position. Mike and I still have some settling to do, but I think the yearn will start to come back soon...
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Transitions...
I am SO bad at them! Last night, I had a dream that I was in high school, but my teachers were my grad school professors, and I found out I had to work my new job (details to follow) as a co-op course during 5th and 6th period. Think my brain is a little confused about where I am in life?
Major things first. I got a J O B! I accepted an offer to complete my clinical fellowship at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem. I will be spending at least half of my time in the same department where I was an intern...which I loved, so I am thrilled. No pediatrics, all adults in mostly (hopefully) acute care, and possibly some in inpatient rehab. It's not that I don't want to work in inpatient rehab, I just prefer acute care. But the way they have created the position, I should get some experience in inpatient rehab as well, which is good for me, professionally.
In early April, I took a course to start my FEES certification and am about half-way through with that. The bonus to starting early is that I won't need supervision for as long. I get to wear scrubs (I despise business casual) every day with comfortable shoes. My co-workers are amazing clinicians as well as supportive people. My point is, I'm looking forward to it!!!
Details are still being worked out, so the plan for now is to move all our stuff out of the townhome in Midlothian (starting today) and into a storage space in Winston-Salem by the 16th. We have already started looking for places to live in Winston...we fell in love with a house yesterday, but they are still considering a lease option, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up (despite the fact that I mentally placed all of our furniture in the new house while trying to fall asleep last night). Until we find a place, we'll be living at Mom's, which we are forever grateful to be able to do.
I should start work either the last week in May or the first week in June.
Less major things in this crazy life...four close friends are pregnant. That number should be three...only of those sweet women should have had her baby yesterday, but that munchkin is being a little stubborn. We've been working really hard to give our nephew meaningful gifts (not just toys, he'll get plenty of those) and I hope to be able to continue with these four new babies...but it is hard sometimes! We've gotten our nephew, Jackson, a nice, framed print of the Stonewall Jackson monument in Richmond for his first birthday, a nice toybox for Christmas, and a child sized, real guitar for his 2nd birthday. I'm already running out of ideas (ok, so I ran out of ideas after the Jackson print, Michael thought of the other two). Hopefully, I'll get creative again soon...
Ok, now, I'm just rambling. Time to organize this house before we pack. Michael is thrilled about it. Well, he doesn't know about it yet, but he will be thrilled, right?
Major things first. I got a J O B! I accepted an offer to complete my clinical fellowship at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem. I will be spending at least half of my time in the same department where I was an intern...which I loved, so I am thrilled. No pediatrics, all adults in mostly (hopefully) acute care, and possibly some in inpatient rehab. It's not that I don't want to work in inpatient rehab, I just prefer acute care. But the way they have created the position, I should get some experience in inpatient rehab as well, which is good for me, professionally.
In early April, I took a course to start my FEES certification and am about half-way through with that. The bonus to starting early is that I won't need supervision for as long. I get to wear scrubs (I despise business casual) every day with comfortable shoes. My co-workers are amazing clinicians as well as supportive people. My point is, I'm looking forward to it!!!
Details are still being worked out, so the plan for now is to move all our stuff out of the townhome in Midlothian (starting today) and into a storage space in Winston-Salem by the 16th. We have already started looking for places to live in Winston...we fell in love with a house yesterday, but they are still considering a lease option, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up (despite the fact that I mentally placed all of our furniture in the new house while trying to fall asleep last night). Until we find a place, we'll be living at Mom's, which we are forever grateful to be able to do.
I should start work either the last week in May or the first week in June.
Less major things in this crazy life...four close friends are pregnant. That number should be three...only of those sweet women should have had her baby yesterday, but that munchkin is being a little stubborn. We've been working really hard to give our nephew meaningful gifts (not just toys, he'll get plenty of those) and I hope to be able to continue with these four new babies...but it is hard sometimes! We've gotten our nephew, Jackson, a nice, framed print of the Stonewall Jackson monument in Richmond for his first birthday, a nice toybox for Christmas, and a child sized, real guitar for his 2nd birthday. I'm already running out of ideas (ok, so I ran out of ideas after the Jackson print, Michael thought of the other two). Hopefully, I'll get creative again soon...
Ok, now, I'm just rambling. Time to organize this house before we pack. Michael is thrilled about it. Well, he doesn't know about it yet, but he will be thrilled, right?
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Post-COMPS, Post-Praxis
Well, they are over. If you are wondering "how did you do?", well, I wish I had an answer for you. I'm honestly a little clueless about how well I did. I'll know in four weeks. For the COMPs, I am sure all my information was correct; however, I'm not sure if it was exactly what they wanted or if it was enough info. The praxis on the other hand, there were at least five words I have never seen before in my life. So, surprisingly, I'm less confident about the praxis.
My placement is still going fabulously. I'm getting all my necessary pediatric hours and learning more and more how much I prefer the adult population! Whoda thunkit?
These days I like pretending I'm not in school anymore...I spend time with my husband, family, and friends without guilt over not studying. QT with the hubs is coming back in full force. I'm so blessed that he is so supportive, patient, and understanding.
Training has started back up again too. My foot is back to 100% and I'm aiming for a time goal in a 5k in May. I haven't decided on that time goal just yet. It won't break any records (not even personal ones) but it will be good for my overall performance ability.
My sweet husband has offered to let me pick out a destination marathon so I have something to do when I no longer have school to worry about! I am 90% sure I want to do the Las Vegas Marathon in December. Half of it is on the strip and it is at night this year! How much cooler can you get than running under the lights of Vegas?!?! My only concern is the four and a half hour time limit. I completed my first marathon in May 2009 with no intentions of a time goal and logged 5:29:30. That means I'm cutting an hour off my marathon time. If I had kept up that level of fitness for the past two years, I wouldn't be hesitant. But, I haven't, so I am quite hesitant. I'll see how this 5k training goes and decide by June 5th (before the price jumps up another $35).
I know these posts are sporadic and random, but hopefully I'll get more consistent with them soon!
My placement is still going fabulously. I'm getting all my necessary pediatric hours and learning more and more how much I prefer the adult population! Whoda thunkit?
These days I like pretending I'm not in school anymore...I spend time with my husband, family, and friends without guilt over not studying. QT with the hubs is coming back in full force. I'm so blessed that he is so supportive, patient, and understanding.
Training has started back up again too. My foot is back to 100% and I'm aiming for a time goal in a 5k in May. I haven't decided on that time goal just yet. It won't break any records (not even personal ones) but it will be good for my overall performance ability.
My sweet husband has offered to let me pick out a destination marathon so I have something to do when I no longer have school to worry about! I am 90% sure I want to do the Las Vegas Marathon in December. Half of it is on the strip and it is at night this year! How much cooler can you get than running under the lights of Vegas?!?! My only concern is the four and a half hour time limit. I completed my first marathon in May 2009 with no intentions of a time goal and logged 5:29:30. That means I'm cutting an hour off my marathon time. If I had kept up that level of fitness for the past two years, I wouldn't be hesitant. But, I haven't, so I am quite hesitant. I'll see how this 5k training goes and decide by June 5th (before the price jumps up another $35).
I know these posts are sporadic and random, but hopefully I'll get more consistent with them soon!
Monday, February 28, 2011
COMPs aka my life for the past six months
This Saturday, I take COMPs. Longwood University administers comprehensive examinations to all graduate students, no matter what program they have been completing. For my program, there are three questions: an adult case study, a child case study, and an ethical case study. We have approximately three and a half hours to complete those three questions. It's pass/fail.
Speech-Language Pathology is a broad field. For the past two years, we have been studying material from nine areas. Speech, language (duh), cognition, hearing, social, fluency, augmentative/alternative communication, voice, and swallowing. All of those involve a level of study involving neurology and anatomy at the core. It is not an easy program. I am so grateful (for being laid-off???) that I was able to complete this program full-time.
These COMPs are, well, comprehensive. We must know everything about every area.
In August, I started reviewing terminology and basic concepts. I found old flashcards from midterms and finals, then filled in gaps with new ones. I also started recording myself reading those flashcards. I listened to those flashcards over and over and over again...while I was running, on commutes, anytime I could. I carried flashcards in my scrub pockets, took them to bars during Panthers game in VA, and to tailgates before Hokies games. Every week, I reviewed a different area, each of those nine; some twice.
Starting in January, I've been meeting with a classmate and friend. We've reviewed a praxis prep book and then started looking at all the information as a big picture situation. I've read every case study in every textbook I own. We've compiled fake case studies and borrowed case studies from other classmates. We've found case studies on websites. From each, we work through differential diagnoses, analyze assessment data, identify necessary next steps for assessment and treatment, identify referrals, and create treatment plans complete with prognosis, goals, and rationale.
After three straight full days of studying over this past weekend, I've decided I have done everything I can. I was fortunate enough to complete a real pediatric language eval on a child today, and I figure my report will be the best practice I can think of for the child case study. For the adult case study, my reports each day are the best practice of anything, I suppose.
So tonight, I watched House, skyped with some friends (mostly about school), and did NOT study. I will probably read some more case studies later this week (thanks to Carrie for finding some decent ones), but other than that...nada. I truly feel like I have done everything I can. If six months of dedicated and deliberate studying isn't enough, well, then, I'll just have to take it again.
Please send good vibes my way Saturday morning at 8am...then bring a collective sigh of relief with me at noon. My entire graduate school career will have culminated...
(note: I am not proofreading this post...my brain is fried...sorry for any errors)
Speech-Language Pathology is a broad field. For the past two years, we have been studying material from nine areas. Speech, language (duh), cognition, hearing, social, fluency, augmentative/alternative communication, voice, and swallowing. All of those involve a level of study involving neurology and anatomy at the core. It is not an easy program. I am so grateful (for being laid-off???) that I was able to complete this program full-time.
These COMPs are, well, comprehensive. We must know everything about every area.
In August, I started reviewing terminology and basic concepts. I found old flashcards from midterms and finals, then filled in gaps with new ones. I also started recording myself reading those flashcards. I listened to those flashcards over and over and over again...while I was running, on commutes, anytime I could. I carried flashcards in my scrub pockets, took them to bars during Panthers game in VA, and to tailgates before Hokies games. Every week, I reviewed a different area, each of those nine; some twice.
Starting in January, I've been meeting with a classmate and friend. We've reviewed a praxis prep book and then started looking at all the information as a big picture situation. I've read every case study in every textbook I own. We've compiled fake case studies and borrowed case studies from other classmates. We've found case studies on websites. From each, we work through differential diagnoses, analyze assessment data, identify necessary next steps for assessment and treatment, identify referrals, and create treatment plans complete with prognosis, goals, and rationale.
After three straight full days of studying over this past weekend, I've decided I have done everything I can. I was fortunate enough to complete a real pediatric language eval on a child today, and I figure my report will be the best practice I can think of for the child case study. For the adult case study, my reports each day are the best practice of anything, I suppose.
So tonight, I watched House, skyped with some friends (mostly about school), and did NOT study. I will probably read some more case studies later this week (thanks to Carrie for finding some decent ones), but other than that...nada. I truly feel like I have done everything I can. If six months of dedicated and deliberate studying isn't enough, well, then, I'll just have to take it again.
Please send good vibes my way Saturday morning at 8am...then bring a collective sigh of relief with me at noon. My entire graduate school career will have culminated...
(note: I am not proofreading this post...my brain is fried...sorry for any errors)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
I love what I do!!
I've been getting a lot of questions about what I'm doing every day at the hospital. It's a pretty detailed explanation, but I find it fascinating and that means everyone finds it fascinating, right? Of course!
I am 'working' (fo' FREE) four days a week in the acute care department and one day a week in the pediatric inpatient department at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. I follow my supervisor (an ASHA-certified speech language pathologist) around all day and participate when it's permissible.
In the adult acute care setting, we see any patient that has been admitted to the hospital that may also have cognitive, communicative, and/or swallowing concerns. We receive "consults" (orders from doctors) to complete evaluations on patients. The majority of these consults for swallowing evaluations. The next process is called a clinical swallow evaluation ("bedside" for short). We just have the patient take a few bites of food and sips of drink to determine if the patient can at least take in and manipulate food in attempt to swallow. If they can, we do a fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES). This involves my supervisor putting a tube with a camera on the end of it up the patient's nose and down into their throat. From here we can actually watch green dye-tinted food and drink travel from the back of the patient's tongue down into (hopefully) the esophagus. We spend 10 to 20 minutes or so watching the patient's vocal cords and making sure the food and drink goes where it supposed to and not into the windpipe. If you go to this website http://www.med.nyu.edu/voicecenter/resources/video.html and click "abnormal FEES study" you can see an example of what I look at every day.
If for some reason, the patient will not tolerate a FEES or we need more information, we can do a modified barium swallow study. This involves taking an x-ray of the patient while they eat and drink stuff with barium on/in it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf2kRD85zvc This is an entertaining version of what the MBSS looks like.
Once we have all our diagnostic information, we make recommendations about what a patient can and can't eat or drink, as well as make recommendations about therapy exercises. We are also consulted to do Passy Muir valve evaluations for patients with tracheostomys. A PMV is something a patient can use to produce voice with the trach. It's a really neat gadget. The company's website has fantastic videos. http://www.passy-muir.com/
We also work with patients who have had laryngectomees to learn how to use an electrolarynx. There is also a level of counseling we provide for these patients pre- and post-operatively.
We also see patients who have had brain injuries of many varieties for language and communication deficits. We have some short standardized testing we can do, but mostly our evals for these patients are short and informal, due to their medical state. Even these informal evals give us a lot of information about possible intervention for the patient related to language and cognition.
Whew...there's more. I'm doing all that four days a week. Once a week, and soon, two or three times a week, I'm with the pediatric inpatient SLP. Half of those days involved MBS studies with children of all ages, including preemies! The rest of those days, we do feeding therapy and oral motor exercises with the babies in the NICU and IMC.
I absolutely love this placement. I am learning so much and every bit of it fascinates me. It's challenging and interesting. Every day is different. I'm so grateful for this experience.
I have decided to start applying for this type of position. If you know of any hospitals that might have openings and especially if you know anyone I can talk to in the Speech and Hearing Departments, I would greatly appreciate the contacts! My resume is ready to be sent out!
I am 'working' (fo' FREE) four days a week in the acute care department and one day a week in the pediatric inpatient department at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. I follow my supervisor (an ASHA-certified speech language pathologist) around all day and participate when it's permissible.
In the adult acute care setting, we see any patient that has been admitted to the hospital that may also have cognitive, communicative, and/or swallowing concerns. We receive "consults" (orders from doctors) to complete evaluations on patients. The majority of these consults for swallowing evaluations. The next process is called a clinical swallow evaluation ("bedside" for short). We just have the patient take a few bites of food and sips of drink to determine if the patient can at least take in and manipulate food in attempt to swallow. If they can, we do a fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES). This involves my supervisor putting a tube with a camera on the end of it up the patient's nose and down into their throat. From here we can actually watch green dye-tinted food and drink travel from the back of the patient's tongue down into (hopefully) the esophagus. We spend 10 to 20 minutes or so watching the patient's vocal cords and making sure the food and drink goes where it supposed to and not into the windpipe. If you go to this website http://www.med.nyu.edu/voicecenter/resources/video.html and click "abnormal FEES study" you can see an example of what I look at every day.
If for some reason, the patient will not tolerate a FEES or we need more information, we can do a modified barium swallow study. This involves taking an x-ray of the patient while they eat and drink stuff with barium on/in it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf2kRD85zvc This is an entertaining version of what the MBSS looks like.
Once we have all our diagnostic information, we make recommendations about what a patient can and can't eat or drink, as well as make recommendations about therapy exercises. We are also consulted to do Passy Muir valve evaluations for patients with tracheostomys. A PMV is something a patient can use to produce voice with the trach. It's a really neat gadget. The company's website has fantastic videos. http://www.passy-muir.com/
We also work with patients who have had laryngectomees to learn how to use an electrolarynx. There is also a level of counseling we provide for these patients pre- and post-operatively.
We also see patients who have had brain injuries of many varieties for language and communication deficits. We have some short standardized testing we can do, but mostly our evals for these patients are short and informal, due to their medical state. Even these informal evals give us a lot of information about possible intervention for the patient related to language and cognition.
Whew...there's more. I'm doing all that four days a week. Once a week, and soon, two or three times a week, I'm with the pediatric inpatient SLP. Half of those days involved MBS studies with children of all ages, including preemies! The rest of those days, we do feeding therapy and oral motor exercises with the babies in the NICU and IMC.
I absolutely love this placement. I am learning so much and every bit of it fascinates me. It's challenging and interesting. Every day is different. I'm so grateful for this experience.
I have decided to start applying for this type of position. If you know of any hospitals that might have openings and especially if you know anyone I can talk to in the Speech and Hearing Departments, I would greatly appreciate the contacts! My resume is ready to be sent out!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Hacked?
I tried to sign into my blog this morning and got a notification that it had been removed. After a short panic, I logged straight into my (old) email and discovered it had in fact been shut down for "suspicious activity". I have no idea what happened, but if something sketchy happened on my blog, or if anyone received sketchy emails from my old email address (with my maiden name) I apologize profusely!
Post to follow about what I'm doing at the hospital!
Post to follow about what I'm doing at the hospital!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
DESTINY
This was part of a holiday letter from an old boss of mine. She is someone I admire professionally as well as personally and I really appreciated her sharing this. I decided to try and put myself up against these verses and see what I learned...
God knows that you have desires. You just have to endure so that you can reap them
and do not be limited by your sight. Just trust Him and allow Him to instruct you. Then new things that have not existed before will come your way. And when you say yes to Him it will start all over again.
D- desires (Ps. 37:4) Well, I certainly haven't been delighting in the Lord. Traveling has kept us from church and laziness has kept me from the Word. Shame on me to expect a loving God to give without receiving.
E- endurance (Heb. 12:1) Sheesh, I haven't been enduring or actively pursuing anything (spiritual, academic, or physical) since my last final. I have let laziness take over in most aspects of my life.
S- sight (2 Cor. 5:7) I am desperate to *SEE* an answer to our family's job situation, for both of us. I am struggling to just believe that the right things will happen, even though I've experienced that a number of times, specifically related to jobs.
T- trust (Pro 3:5) Hard to actively trust when I don't interact.
I- instruction (Pro. 8:33) Can't hear something if I'm not listening for it.
N- new (not existing before) (Lam. 3:23) I have to add verse 22 to that. Here comes the encouragement. It doesn't matter what I haven't been doing. (v22) "The STEADFAST love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end." I've got to get back into that mindset. He does His work. The only work for me to do is talk with Him and be open to doing His work.
Y- yes (Matt. 5:37) This passage is about taking oaths, making promises. The verse says to just come out and be straight about whatever it is. For me, I made my promise to God (however faulty) that I would be His child and work for His glory. Well, I seem to have forgotten my "YES" and settled for a "when it is convenient or easy".
My major struggle right now is routine. I've blogged about this before...I need structure, deadlines, and to-do lists. Things don't get done without those things. This goes for everything in my life, running, school work, cleaning, and spending time in the Word. I'm seeing now (again, for the millionth time) how this affects my whole life. Time to get cracking on being real with myself again. Laziness over. Prayers would be appreciated for perseverance, an open heart & mind, and faith. I'll ask for prayers for the specific stuff later, once I get back on track with this mess.
God knows that you have desires. You just have to endure so that you can reap them
and do not be limited by your sight. Just trust Him and allow Him to instruct you. Then new things that have not existed before will come your way. And when you say yes to Him it will start all over again.
D- desires (Ps. 37:4) Well, I certainly haven't been delighting in the Lord. Traveling has kept us from church and laziness has kept me from the Word. Shame on me to expect a loving God to give without receiving.
E- endurance (Heb. 12:1) Sheesh, I haven't been enduring or actively pursuing anything (spiritual, academic, or physical) since my last final. I have let laziness take over in most aspects of my life.
S- sight (2 Cor. 5:7) I am desperate to *SEE* an answer to our family's job situation, for both of us. I am struggling to just believe that the right things will happen, even though I've experienced that a number of times, specifically related to jobs.
T- trust (Pro 3:5) Hard to actively trust when I don't interact.
I- instruction (Pro. 8:33) Can't hear something if I'm not listening for it.
N- new (not existing before) (Lam. 3:23) I have to add verse 22 to that. Here comes the encouragement. It doesn't matter what I haven't been doing. (v22) "The STEADFAST love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end." I've got to get back into that mindset. He does His work. The only work for me to do is talk with Him and be open to doing His work.
Y- yes (Matt. 5:37) This passage is about taking oaths, making promises. The verse says to just come out and be straight about whatever it is. For me, I made my promise to God (however faulty) that I would be His child and work for His glory. Well, I seem to have forgotten my "YES" and settled for a "when it is convenient or easy".
My major struggle right now is routine. I've blogged about this before...I need structure, deadlines, and to-do lists. Things don't get done without those things. This goes for everything in my life, running, school work, cleaning, and spending time in the Word. I'm seeing now (again, for the millionth time) how this affects my whole life. Time to get cracking on being real with myself again. Laziness over. Prayers would be appreciated for perseverance, an open heart & mind, and faith. I'll ask for prayers for the specific stuff later, once I get back on track with this mess.
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