A case of the Dizzys

Have I mentioned that I love being a physical therapist?

Not only do I have a pretty killer knowledge of the human body and how it works, I love that as a profession we can do so many different things to help people. I also love that when I am broken, I can turn to my coworkers to fix me.

I can teach someone who's had a stroke to walk again, and rehab someone from a surgery or illness.

When my back is out of alignment, I can count on getting it fixed at work. It also comes in handy to be able to provide my family members and friends a quick fix.

When I have a new running pain, I can usually trouble shoot my way through it with some help from a coworker. Last winter we did ultrasound and kinesiotaping to my shin to help with knee pain (opposite knee, go figure).

And this morning, when I woke up at 3:30am and the world was spinning, I knew I had to get to work to get fixed. It was Vertigo. 

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How could I tell? I've never had it before, but the room was spinning like crazy and was positional with head movements like rolling, especially to the right side. All those signs I learned to watch for in other people during PT school, I was unfortunately experiencing. I tossed and turned much of the night, knowing I had a 6 mile run planned for the morning. Finally, at 5am I woke Kevin up to get me a puke bucket.

After getting up, I felt a little better. I managed to shower, eat breakfast, and get ready for work. Normally, I would stay home, but a few things were dragging me in. Every thursday, I have Springfield College PT students that I have to organize their learning experience, I also had a home evaluation for a patient in the afternoon, and thoughts that my coworker may be able to fix me, dragged me in.

She did her work, treating me with the Eply Maneuver. I vomited. The room spun. I wanted to curl up and die. I vomited some more. Thank goodness hospitals have those nice pink basins perfect for getting sick in. The third time doing the maneuver, I felt significantly less dizzy. I did still feel incredibly nauseous, probably due to the vomiting. I went home, and have been sleeping on/off since.

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How lucky am I that this stuff is normal to me. If I worked in a business office, or at the mall, I'd probably have no idea what to do with BPPV. I am so thankful that I'm in the business of fixing people. Not only do I get to help so many people, which is amazing, but it also helps me to get the help I need. Thanks Springfield College!

Needless to say, I missed that 6 miler this morning...

Wish me luck on banishing the dizzys!

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Three Things Thursday!

1. This week has been not very good with workouts, after getting in a killer ride on the trainer while watching the Bachelor Pad season finale tuesday, I have not worked out since. Food either, seeing the junk I ate tonight, YUCK! Back on track tomorrow! Marathon training starts monday & I am excited/nervous! I toasted myself with with a tiny glass, 2 huge glasses of red wine in my Disney Half Marathon 2010 wine glass. Man I love how big that thing is!

2. I need some help picking out new goggles! As you read in my race report HERE, I lost my goggles coming out of T1, so I need a new pair! Any recommendations of your favorites?

3. They are building us a brand new Hospital at my work!!! I am so excited that in a little over 2 years, we will have a beautiful, brand new place to work, with new equipment, electronic documentation, and space to treat my patients. We've been begging for one for so long, we can't believe the day is coming that it will actually happen.

Bed time, hopefully with a run tomorrow morning!

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when boredom strikes...

My long run this week.... nonexistent.

I headed to the gym sunday morning since the wind chill was ridiculous, with a goal of 8 miles. I wasn't feeling it before I even got there. At the gym every TV had either sports or CNN type shows on and a guy watching it intently. I jumped on, and it was sucking. Boredom, and lack of drive were killing me, and my back was bothering me. I said to myself "Ok, screw 8, do between 3-5." What do you think I made it to? 3 of course. Oh well....

Ride on the trainer last night, and a skipped run this morning. My eating has been a little better. I've been tracking with the WW Iphone app the past 2 days. My goal is to keep it up until I leave for Disney!

The Princess Half is almost here!!!

I know Courtney @ RunCourtneyRun is having a blogger meet up, but it is thursday, before I arrive. Does anyone who is going have any interest in a quick meet up at the expo on saturday? Today I picked up my goodwill throwaway clothes in case its chilly! I won't ever make the mistake of leaving those at home after last years marathon weekend.

On an off note from training, my job has been killer lately. We have 1 girl leaving this week, and another leaving in April. Unless we can find ourselves some PTs soon we may be screwed for the summer, which will mess with my vacation & racing plans!! So if you know any physical therapists in the massachusetts area looking for a job, shoot me an email! Another coworker and I have been looking through job listings elsewhere too, we'll see if anything comes of it. 

If you haven't yet checked out my Fundraising Raffle, please do so HERE! 

There are a TON of great prizes up for grabs from some fabulous companies. It was recently pointed out to me that the minimum donation per the website is $10, so I have adjusted the fundraising page. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!

I really hope that you can help me support the troops that defend our lives every day. The ones returning back to us injured especially need our help, so please, check out the raffle HERE & make a donation & win some great prizes in the meantime!

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Why rehab is worth it.

I am a little more than halfway through: The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete. In case you missed my last post, Matt is a marathon runner & ironman, who gets hit by a truck and impaled by his bike post, breaks multiple bones, and destroys his entire abdominal cavity. The book chronicles his recovery & return to endurance sports.

I knew this would have an impact on me as a runner.

I never thought it would have such a huge impact on me professionally as a rehab physical therapist.

Even though I specialize in strokes and brain injuries, I love me a good multi-trauma. As weird as it sounds, when someone like Matt is on the list to come in, I get excited. Not excited that they injured themselves so badly that they need my help, but excited to work with interesting problems, troubleshoot through the tough stuff, and help someone get back to living.

Reading about Matt's struggles with his therapists, reminded me of struggles I go through with my patients regularly. 

They're tired

It hurts

It's hard to see the progress

Embarrassment and frustration at their current status

I'm the person that can't care if you're tired or it hurts. I'm the person that tells you it's time to get off your ass and go for a walk even though you haven't in 8 weeks. I'm the one that pushes you to do what you think you can't, all so I can help you get back to your life.

There have been plenty of times when I cried after one of my patients walked for the first time, or climbed a flight of stairs. I cry especially when the ones I've really pushed to get where they are, have progressed enough to get home.

My job in many ways is so satisfying. Working with a patient like Matt (even though he does give his therapists a hard time), makes my job worthwhile. 

A few years ago, I had a 21 year old guy fall asleep at the wheel and hit a tree. He showed me pictures of the car, I was surprised he lived. He broke his pelvis, his arm, his leg. He was only allowed to use 1 arm. He stayed at the hospital for almost 2 months. The day he was allowed to use his legs & walk, I cried. The day he was able to use his arm to try a break dancing move the biggest smile was on his face. A year later he auditioned for So you think you can Dance, and made it to the Vegas round. He told me he made sure the cameras knew how awesome his physical therapist was. so. worth. it.

It makes me think about training. There will always be times when we feel too tired, too much pain, or not good enough. Having someone to tell you that you can, and push you to succeed makes all the difference.

Happy training!

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