DIY

Today I completed a Do It Yourself project. A few weeks ago the shifter button (the button you press to change gears in an automatic) in my car broke into several pieces. I was slightly annoyed, but continued changing my gears by pushing in the pieces, which were still functioning. I had an appointment already scheduled at Honda to have my brake pads replaced, so I asked for a price quote... $165.00. I decided to do a little research of my own, found the part on Amazon for $15 and a youtube video to demonstrate. The day after I arrived in Seattle I was at a grocery store ready to head home when the shattered pieces that were still functioning fell apart. I couldn't figure out how to get my car out of park. I used my nail clippers to fish out the broken pieces of plastic and was able to manipulate the inside of my shifter nob to drive home. For the past week it has taken two hands to put my car in gear! Humorous? Yes, but I received the part in the mail a few days ago, the replacement took me less than 15 minutes and IT WORKS! The sense of joy I felt once completed was great, I wanted to call Honda and laugh about the $165 quote. Instead I had a little extra pep in my step and went back to studying.

Although not a DIY project, today I completed my first injection on a patient. And it was easy. I am so grateful my first injection was not on a child who would have been screaming in pain, it was instead on a woman with dementia who sat still and quiet. It was as if I hadn't touched her. I also saw a patient today who attended Kansas State University, I know this because he had a purple mug sitting on his shelf. My Nana and Grandpa live in Manhattan and we had quite a conversation about the school and his accomplishments while there. My favorite part about geriatrics thus far is spending time with patients. Ultimately most of them just want to feel they have a voice and are being heard by someone. Interestingly, my greatest struggle in geriatrics thus far is being heard by patients. Many of my patients are greater than 85 years old and about half are 90+, therefore many of them are hard of hearing. When I speak louder my voice tends to increase in pitch as well (this is a common mistake most people make when speaking to people with senile loss). Presbycusis/senile hearing loss is associated with high frequency loss, therefore even when I speak very loudly, many of my patients still struggle to hear me.

" One of the most valuable things we can do to heal one another is to listen to each other's stories."
 - Rebecca Falls