My current living situation makes it difficult to get around on public transportation. I haven't driven a car in over two years so I'm either walking, taking a cab or bumming a ride. Today was my first day, since being out of the hospital that I had to do some real deal travel. They switched all my inpatient providers to their outpatient providers, so I had to be there. I woke up this morning, so I could get there early and grab the Occupational Therapy class but I wasn't able to make it. Turns out that unless you schedule your cab rides SUPER EARLY, you can forget about getting a ride in a reasonable time. I was so stressed and pissed off this morning, cause I thought I was doing the right thing, calling early, being ready and so forth. I finally did get a cab, two hours later and was able to make the bus over to the hospital.
First thing I did was go and follow up with O.T. to make sure they didn't have me down as a no show. Thankfully they're very understanding about my situation. Hopefully if this paratransit thing works out I'll be able to be real consistent. Plus O.T. is very important to help with my quality of life now that everything has changed. I don't want to let any of these services slip through the cracks.
I met my new prescribing provider today, which was very nice. She's a Nurse Practitioner, and honestly I didn't even know they could prescribe meds. I really like her, she really spent her time getting to know me, what I was hoping to accomplish as a whole person. She wanted to know what was going on all around me so that she could understand my "medication" quirks. See I don't like taking a whole lot of medication. I like to take what's necessary for the situation and move through the rest of it. Mainly I like to use food, exercise, stretching, music, journaling, vitamin supplements and a steady routine to keep myself in order. So once I was able to share all of that, she got a good idea about who I am as a patient. Plus she had the opportunity to go over my inpatient notes and talk with my Trauma Therapist. She was very open minded and non judgmental, and let me tell you something, that's very rare - especially for those of us who have seen doctor after doctor after doctor.
I did get a chance to drop by Horticultural Therapy for a few hours. I just love it in the greenhouse. And because the woman who runs the program actually needs help, especially now with all the cultivation and planting that needs to be done outside, I feel so useful. Because I've been there as long as I have, she let's me pick my projects, and that's the best. There are so many neglected plants that I've been able to save from the brink of despair! Some of those things are so root bound and just need a bigger pot to stretch out in. Some of the other plants you can tell other patients just put all together in one pot and the result, six months later is a mess, if it's still alive! So I've been able to clean up some plants, transplant, propagate, start from seed and divide some old messy plants. I spent the last month transplanting seedlings, so I'm glad to be back in the greenhouse, rescuing the struggle plants. The reason it's so important is that for every week a patient attends Horticultural Therapy, they are allowed to take a plant back to their room to enjoy. And if you've been in the hospital for a week or more, you know how sterile, boring and cold those rooms can feel. So it feels good to beautify these plants, knowing that somewhere down the road, someone will receive a little piece of joy having that plant in their windowsill. I know it made a world of difference for me 🌱
I was lucky to find a ride home, and I have to tell you, since I didn't eat anything all day I was starving. So I threw a microwave pizza in for three minutes. I laid across the bed because I was in so much pain. I figured I'd take some pain medicine with that pizza and grab me a shower. I was so tired from all that running around that within that three minutes, I passed out. I woke up an hour an a half later with my shoes on and a cold pizza in the microwave. I ate it anyway. So I'm fixin' to hop in this shower, take my meds and try and find something to watch on YouTube. I don't watch too much regular TV, except for The Blacklist. Man, I love that show. Other than that I'm falling down the rabbit hole of cat videos and alternative lifestyle documentaries. One thing's for sure, I'm gonna sleep good tonight! I'm really looking to tomorrow because I ordered some stuff from Amazon, and "now every time I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself down. 'Cause I just can't wait 'til you write me you're coming around...." Woo hoo! Can't wait! LOL! 👍💃💃💃
No comments:
Post a Comment