firsts

I have experienced a lot of firsts this week. I have a client who is prone to seizures and is on a lot of medication to try to control her condition. Yesterday I was traveling with her in the mall, working on trailing and two point touch. All of a sudden she just stopped walking and turned toward me as if she was going to ask a question. He husband was with us because he happened to have the day off and wanted to observe what we were teaching her so he could help work with her at home. All of a sudden he stepped up and suggested that she grab his arm and follow him to a nearby bench. That’s when I realized he was seeing something I wasn’t. As we walked around the corner, about 10 feet from the bench her body went limp and she collapsed. It was really scary to see someone who had just been walking and talking and laughing just drop to the ground. I’m sooooo glad her husband was with us, he had to grab her under her arms to keep her from hitting the ground when she blacked out. He was able to gently lay her on the ground and turn her on her side. I know during my internship I’ll never be alone with a client, but say in 2 months when I’m working on my own, if this had happened to me I have NO idea what I would have done. I have no upper body strength what so ever, if I tried to catch her we both would have gone down. Several people in the mall began watching us and asking if they should call security. If I had been alone, I guess the best thing to do would be to ask for help from people around me. So anyway, she was lying on the ground convulsing and twitching with her mouth open. To be honest, it really freaked me out. Amanda was right there with the client’s husband, making sure she didn’t hit her body on anything. I was stood and watched, and after about a minute I sat down because everyone else was sitting and I felt awkward just standing over them looking like I had no clue what was going on. Less than 5 minutes later she regained consciousness and began talking. She was very disoriented and asked us repeatedly what we had done in today’s lesson. She could not remember what skills we worked on or how long we had been at the mall. That’s when I knew the lesson was over for sure, even thought I was pretty sure as soon as she hit the ground that we were done for the day. I had been telling Amanda how nervous I was about seeing someone have a seizure, but it was not as bad as I had imagined. I was glad to be able to kind of sit this one out and just observe.

I also had a student this week who is learning cane skills and wanted to be blindfolded to practice his skills because there is a possibility he may lose more vision in the future. It seemed to scare him to put the blindfold on, possible because he was facing his fear and experiencing what it would be like to have no vision. During the lesson it felt like I was back in the Williams building teaching David. I was able to help my client identify environmental information that helped him stay oriented. Once the blindfold was off, he said he felt better now that he had tried it and experienced that he could do it. I know there is a debate over whether to use or not use blindfolds in mobility and I thought this was a perfect example to sum up my feelings on the matter. My student was anxious about using the blindfold, but he was willing work thought his fear to gain more self confidence. This was his choice alone and we did not encourage him either way. Because he chose to and we didn’t make him, he was willing to work hard and keep trying even after being frustrated. I would never force a student to wear a blindfold if they didn’t want to. Of course I would mention it as an option for those clients’s whose vision is not stable, but that’s all it would be, an option. I feel that if you force a client to do something that terrifies them, they will not be learning.

So it’s been a busy week. Dining in the dark was amazing, I was a seater and the very first thing I did once I walked into the blacked out ballroom was stick my fingers directly into someone’s salad dressing. Joking aside, it was a humbling experience that I think helped me to relate more to my clients. During O&M 1 and 2 I could always take my mindfold off, I know we weren’t supposed to, but knowing I had the option was comforting. In a room where it is pitch black and you can’t make it go away, it felt like I couldn’t escape the darkness. My eyes for straining for some bit of light and there was nothing. Overall I had a blast, and learned a lot for working at the event.