The Dance

I absolutely loooove to dance.  My current girlish figure makes my dancing look more like a sack of squirrels but I don’t care.  It is good for me and my attitude.

I am not going to write about that kind of dancing tho.  I am talking about the mental dance that I do every day as a home visitor.  I am currently seeing elderly and disabled patients in their homes.  This proves to be very entertaining and requires a lot of mental quickness and skills.  I am serious.  My brain is exhausted when my day is done.   I rarely listen to the radio or talk to anyone between visits.  It gives my brain the quiet it needs.

Here is an example of a typical day and the skills I am talking about.  My first visit of the day involves a patient with three small dogs who apparantly never learned the skill of being house trained.  There are small treasures (turds) scattered around the room.  My job is to complete a thorough assessment, while keeping these gems in periferal vision so they don’t become smashed into the sole of my shoes.  It is much more challenging then you think.  On to visit number two.

This visit involves a patient with bipolar disorder who is currently not on any medication.  He provides a lot of information but none of it is in any type of context. He is easily frustrated with me when I ask for clarification and often is on to another subject before I get the answer to the question that frustrated him.  A fifty five page assessment turns into a two hour visit.  It is definitely a dance to get the infomation I need without ruffling feathers, seeming frustrated or non empathetic.  After completion there is definitely no radio while enroute to visit number three.

Patient number three greets me at my car and asks that we meet outside.  She has a very possesive dog and feels for the dogs sake and mine we should sit on the porch.  Great, except it is 30 degrees and raining.  I know the dog story is likely not the true reason and the bugs crawling out of the medication bag confirm this.  I have self talk that includes,  “you’re almost done”  and “your fingers will be ok, they will warm back up”  “disregard the hues of blue and red, your fingers are still working!!”

I encounter minature donkey’s, 8 day old puppies, a patient who attributes her ability to quit smoking to cocaine and a cat hoarder.

If you ever encounter me and I appear as tho I may have had a mild stroke, have no fear it is just mental exhaustion from a typical day as a home visitor.