April Blog

During the last day with my mentor, there were 2 students who were there with me. These university students were aspiring to be real physical or occupational therapists and were going to school to do so. A requirement to get your license is that you have to volunteer in multiple clinics for a # of hours in each one. Both of them were white girls that both had some experiences with horses, but I think these factors are a lot more likely because we were in Norco. Both of them didn't know if they would go into pediatric therapy, but they did enjoy their time there. They specifically enjoyed the ranch and working with the horses. How the workers feel and act in the workplace has a big effect on how the patient and the family feel and respond to what's happening in front of them.

March Blog

April Fools! It's still March 31st.
I met a girl that was disabled and used a walker to walk. What was special about her was that her knee caps were nonexistent. She kinda looked like those half goat, half human creatures in mythologies and it was pretty interesting because she didn't just do physical therapy. She also did occupational therapy, where kids work on doing daily activities, like tying shoes, writing, and listening. My mentor told me even though some kids need physical therapy, she will recommend the doctor to give them occupational therapy because they don't focus enough, or they don't respond. She also said that physical and occupational therapy goes hand in hand a lot of the time.

January Post

I rid a horse for the first time today. Had to wear a helmet and there was a horse handler, so it was perfectly safe. It was a very different experience for me. I was riding along and after I got used to the feeling of a horse, they told me keep my hands off the horse so that I kept myself at balance at all times. Then, I had to close my eyes. It made you feel as if you were going backwards and it was terrifying. I then proceeded to almost fall off when we were going in a circle. The whole point of the experience was to know how the kids feel when they ride the horse. I now have a better perspective of what they feel and how hard it actually is for them to stay on top of the horse.

September Blog

In the place I volunteer at, visitors come all the time to see the patients in the center. It could be wives and husbands, sons and daughters, or even whole families who come to see how their loved ones are doing. Many of the patients are lucid and enjoy the time with them. But many are not. There was one particular woman who was being pushed by a man who I presumed was her husband. She was continuously making noises and the man would always politely ask her to quiet down. She would stop momentarily and then start and second later. The look on his face was utter despair and I couldn't imagine how it felt so to see the one closest to you for most of your life be right in front of you, but just gone. To be honest, I cried that night just thinking about it and it really showed me that I should cherish the moments with the people I'm with because one day, they might just disappear.