Tuesday: October 28, 2008

Little incident worth noting today, with an above knee amputee patient that I had not been working with but with whom I have worked with previously and feel I have a pretty good relationship with. The male patient was on his way out of the amputee gym at the end of the morning session and made an effort to come and find me before he left.

He told me that he was going straight home and was not going to attend his afternoon session. When I quizzed him as to why he had made this decision, he told me he was having a bad day and also that he had been really down in the dumps since he last saw me on Thursday. The patient also informed me that it had hit him hard recently, that he did not have one of his legs anymore, but also that he was sure he was going to lose his other one. It was the fact that the patient was so upset and was considering giving up rehab goals that made me feel pretty uneasy, especially as he seemingly came to me for help, and I really didn’t know what to do. Luckily my supervisor and other senior physios were there to help me out with the patient. They basically said that he needed to revise his goals and let us know what he came up with so we could help him achieve them, but also that skipping gym was not going to get him anywhere. The patient took a pen and paper away with him, with the intention of making some new goals, but unfortunately he did not return after lunch. This was his decision and there was not much we could do about it, but an appointment with the clinical psych. has been made, so hopefully this gentleman will be back on track soon!

This incident was evidence of why I must consider patients as a ‘whole’ and not just be focused on things like muscle strength and standing balance. There really is much more going on than just the physical aspects, the emotional state is just as important. Not that I was ever really thinking like this, but it is a good reminder of the importance of not becoming one track minded.

Aside from this, I had my first attempt at stump bandaging on a patient and did a ripper of a job – top effort that! Night Night!

Ozzman out!