Out in the Field.

This semester's clinic experiences have really given me an idea of what I would like to focus on or specialize in in the future.

Working with Alzheimer patients in Brainbuilder's on Tuesday, I can tell is going to keep me entertained throughout the semester. Have you ever gotten hit on by an old man? Like about 80 years old, old! Just had my first experience last Tuesday. "My my, you're just about the prettiest thing in the room!" and something else along those lines came out of the mouth of one of the clients. How can you not laugh at that! When I told my mum that I got hit on by a 80 year old man, she said: "Aiyo so dangerous! Did it hurt?" I was so confused, and then realized that she thought I was really getting hit/whacked by an 80 year old man. Now that's a sight to be seen! Oh mum!
Talking and interacting with these adorable old men is really worth waking up early for. Hearing them reminiscence about their past and what their life was when they were younger makes me wonder what my story will be like when I get as old as them. Will I have a life as wonderful and worth retelling over and over again just like they did? I'm sure I will, but I wonder what my story will be like. I wonder what pictures would be in my memory book, if I ever did have to make a memory book. I wonder who in my past life that I would remember and who wouldn't. Alzheimer really is a disease that hits close to home since my grandmother was diagnosed with this disease about 7-8 years ago. It is a dreadful disease and I wouldn't wish it upon my worse enemy. Just interacting with these old men, and seeing them work hard to retain their memory and cognitive function for as long as you can really just captures your heart. And seeing their spouses actively taking care of them, makes you really believe in the 'for better or worse' vows.

Wednesday mornings at the nearby hospital for my swallowing placement is even more exciting! This is my first exposure to what a speech pathologist in a medical setting would be doing. This is the one aspect of the field that I always wanted to learn more about, and now I finally have the opportunity to. Learning to read xrays and figuring out what part of the larynx and esophagus that the food is headed towards is really very tough. But damn it is fascinating! Everyday brings a new patient and a new case. Figuring out all the medical jargon and having to remember all that medical terms/diseases is truly a challenge. I wonder, a few years down the road if I will be as good as my clinical supervisor in reading swallowing xrays and pinpointing problems immediately. I hope...!

Friday evenings for this semester are now going to be filled with Teen's Pragmatic Club.. a social club setting for teens on the Autism spectrum. I had my first session today and it was a mess!!! Put 6 teenagers and 5 clinicians into a small room, and really.. it's a mess. 4 teenagers who are boisterous as teenagers can be, cursing, talking really loudly to each other, making dirty jokes about balls, and attempting "Yo mama!" jokes... really really a little overwhelming. And then there's the quiet one in the group that gets overlooked, who only prefers to talk to the clinicians, whose soft voice gets drowned in the noise. And then there's the one who sits in the corner, because there's too much noise and a sensory overload to his system. Now, add about 3 more teenagers to the group... and that will be my Friday evenings! It makes a crazy bunch, but they are all so brilliant and have so much potential within them! They have so much knowledge within them it just blows me away.

It's going to be such an eventful semester!