First, I knew it wouldn't be easy to find...up a hill, with many round-about parking lots in tiers one above another. The only instruction I'd received was "don't go to the main entrance, go to the first building on the right."
Which was wrong of course. I was lucky that a woman was coming out of the locked door who said, nope this isn't it.
So I drove round and up and up and up until I passed the main entrance...in a long line of connected buildings. What did it say on that sign? I drove back (on a one-way road) and was finally able to see, "this entrance out of order."
Well I hadn't wanted it in the first place, but as I was about to turn around the right direction, I found a man walking from the parking lot who worked there. He didn't know where occupational therapy was, but thought it must be in the outpatient building. So just go all the way around the hill to the first building on the right.
Ah ha. But even with it being sighted, there was the problem of parking. The entrance had a nice driveway where folks could be dropped off, and there were 4 disabled parking spots, all taken. There was no way I would go further down the hill in that parking lot, as I figured I could just barely make it up a slight slope from the non-parking spot that I took, on the end of the row.
I ended up going inside to where you check-in, and was panting. I was out of breath for a few more minutes. But I was in the right place and actually on time!
There's my car, illegally parked. Did I mention it had been raining most of the time, lightly.
This gives you an idea of the hill.
Then I waited for a while, and realized I was the only one there by myself. Lots of more disabled people were waiting with their care-givers (wives/sisters, etc.) It made me feel a little embarrassed at having been out of breath. But also I felt all alone. If I'd had a care-giver, they could have dropped me off then gone to park way the heck in the boondocks.
As I waited for my 11:00 appointment (10:30 was to fill in forms) each other couple was greeted cheerfully by a therapist that they knew, and started chatting with. I was the only one left, which gave Warren no choice but to determine I was the OT patient he got to work with.
We discussed the cramping situation when I was pressing/working with my fingers. He went through all kinds of gadgets that are designed to help...I had to laugh at the Klingon type knives.
I demonstrated with a regular knife and fork, how the way I worked on that dry chicken breast at a restaurant had made both my hands cramp, and I had to ask someone else to cut it for me. I sawed away on that piece of red putty, as if it were meat. And I realized I do point my index fingers down both the fork and knife to do most of the pushing.
You can skip all of this, because I'm going to record for my own purposes, what I remember learning from him. This was one of the first things. I could actually grasp the fork and knife with my whole fist, and reposition things and have much more strength going into the "tools." That was a nice ah ha moment. I could feel my right shoulder was the source of the movement pushing on the knife...since my wrist wasn't involved, nor my fingers. I mentioned it felt like the Chi was flowing through my arm.
We moved on. I mentioned I wanted to strengthen my fingers so the cramps between my knuckles on each hand, including the thumbs, wouldn't happen. We slowly got to 2 new things I can do. One is to find a rubber band and push out with all my fingers and thumbs. The other is to squeeze my finger tips together with some putty which he gave me to take home. Thumb to index, thumb to middle, thumb to ring finger, thumb to pinkie.
And though I had no arthritis listed as a diagnosis, I indicated that one joint of my little finger has skewed sideways in just the last year. It won't bend back either, and is swollen.
He said he'd offer something which would make me feel blissful. I asked how did he measure that?
He showed me how to use the hot paraffin treatment for arthritis. I had my hands inside mitts for a few minutes after they had both been immersed in 120 degree wax. I was a bit surprised to see how red they were when I peeled off the wax. Goodness gracious...my hands had so much blood flowing to them...but I hadn't had any particular loss of pain, which I understand arthritis patients have. I said I felt a level of bliss about a 7. And that was in comparison to orgasm which of course is a 10.
I said an 81 year old woman can talk about orgasms without embarrassment. He had a beard, but I think he had a bit of a flush however.
Later I admitted I'd worked as an activity director for a senior center. He said that was how I was able to have so much fun.
We agreed I didn't need to come back. I'll continue the ball squeezing to keep my finger strength up. Doing the rubber-band is a great opposite for that. Will try holding knife and forks in different manner, as well as carry a serrated knife with me. Hey women have carried knives for centuries! He showed me different implements of knife/fork/spoons with cushioned enlarged handles which would make it easier to use them. I said I didn't feel ready to purchase them at this point. Our hour together was billed as an evaluation.
Working with clay is my aim, and he supported doing the pinching that I want to start with.
It was a lot easier leaving than arriving. I went home, had some lunch, and fell asleep.
Today's quote:
"Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor."
Sholem Aleichem
