Usaping Pang-Rehab

May dalawang taon na rin pala mula ng magkaroon ako ng pagkakataon na makahawak ng mga pasyente sa ospital. Kung hindi mo pa alam, isa akong physical therapist (PT). Marahil eh hindi ka pamilyar sa mga kagaya namin dahil hindi naman 'to kasing patok ng mga nurse. Hindi mo kami makikita sa bawat floor ng ospital gaya nila. Madalas eh nasa lungga lang namin kami dahil ang mga pasyente naman ang pumupunta sa amin at lumalabas lang kung may mga pasyente na kelangan puntahan sa ward nila.

Pero ano nga ba ang trabaho ng isang PT? Tanggalin ang ngalay at pananakit ng likod, banatin ang ng mga kalamnan para maitaas ang mga braso at makapagsuot ng tshirt, palakasin ang muscles para mabuhat ang isang bag, turuan maglakad ang mga di makalakad, magpataas ng cardiovascular endurance para mas malayo ang malakad, at kung kaya na, umakyat at bumaba ng hagdanan. Lahat ng yan ng hindi gumagamit ng gamot. Simple lang ang layunin ng trabaho namin, yan ay ang turuang mamuhay ang pasyente ng di umaasa sa tulong ng iba at mamuhay ng kumportable. May mga paraan kaming pinagaralan, pinaghirapan at pinagpaguran sa loob ng limang taon.

Makikita mo ang mga PT sa Rehabilitation Department ng mga ospital. Pwedeng "PT Dept", "Physical Medicine and Rehab Dept." or kung ano pa man na may kinalaman sa rehabilitation. Ngayon alam mo nang pagsinabing rehabilitation eh hindi lang yun nangangahulugan ng mga drug addict na nagbabagong buhay. Sa amin, nagbabagong buhay ang mga lolang may osteoarthritis, mga tatay na na-stroke dahil sa mga kunsumisyon sa buhay, mga businessman na nagka-heart attack dahil sa mga bisyo, mga simpleng nanay na nagpaopera dahil sa kanser sa suso, at mga batang di sinasadyang mabuhusan ng kumukulong tubig or kung minsan eh nadidislocate ang siko kakahila ng mga yaya. Nandyan din ang mga lolong nabaril sa tuhod na nagpapalit ng tuhod, basketbolistang tawa pa rin ng tawa kahit na naputulan ng litid sa tuhod, at mga simpleng tauhan ng kumpanya na sumasakit ang likod at batok dahil sa maghapong naka-upo at naka-harap sa computer na sabay-sabay dumarating pagkatapos ng office hours. Silang lahat ay may karamdaman na kailangan maibsan. At yan ang tinatrabaho ng PT sa ospital.

Bukod diyan, pwede din makita mga PT sa gym nagtuturo ng mga exercise sa mga health buff, sa mga institusyon ng seguro (insurance companies) bilang taga-check kung dapat nga bang aprubahan ang hinihinging reimbursements, at mga eskwela bilang mga clinical instructors at magturo sa mga susunod na henerasyon ng PT.

Masarap ang pakiramdam ng nakakatulong. Masarap ang pakiramdam ng mawalan ng masakit na likod. Mas masarap ang pakiramdam kung mapalakad mo ang isang na-stroke. Yung makita mong mula sa pagkakaratay sa hospital bed ay ngayon andito na sa harap mo, nakatayo, kausap ka hawak ang kanyang tungkod. Yun na ata ang pinakamasarap na pakiramdam na naranasan ko. (Pagkatapos nyan eh aabutan ka pa ng cake, pera at iba pang "HH" o hut-hot. Talaga namang napakasarap ng pakiramdam! Haha)

Sa rehabilitation, kasing halaga ng pisikal na lakas ang tibay ng loob at tiwala sa sarili. Tibay ng loob dahil matagal na panahon ang kanyang kailangang gugulin at hindi mo madalas makukuha ang improvement na iyong inaasahan sa loob ng isang session lang. Tiwala sa sarili na kaya niyang bumalik sa dating kakayahan at makatayo sa sariling mga paa.

At sa mga pagkakataong ito, mahalaga na ang mga pasyente ay mayroong suporta mula sa kanilang mga kakilala. Sa totoo lang, yung ibang pasyente eh kailangan lang talaga ng kausap. Konting usap lang sa kanila, nawawala na pananakit ng balakanang. Madalas, kung walang kasama ang mga pasyente, kami na tumatayong moral support. Kaya madalas, masayahing mga tao ang PT. Para sa mga pasyente. Tsaka kung hindi, baka mabaliw na kami sa mga problema nila at sariling mga problema!

Ganyan ang PT. Ang kinasasama lang ng loob namin ay yung pagkaka-ban ng mga PT sa Amerika ngayon at ang matawag na MASAHISTA sabay tawa ng malakas! Isang topic lang yun ng aming malawak na kaalaman. Hindi kami nag-aral ng limang taon para lang matawag ng ganyan. Ewan ko ba kung bakit kami kinakahon ng mga tao sa mga letrang iyan.


Uulitin ko. HINDI KAMI MASAHISTA!



(Last year, sa parehong petsa ay nalaman kong pumasa ako ng board exam. Noong isang araw, may mga bago na ulit na PT. Kung isa ka dun, congrats sa iyo!)

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Quarter Life Crisis

Ever felt being in a situation in your life that you can't do anything? Like being stuck, and everytime you feel like your getting out of it suddenly the same shit feeling happen again and the cycle goes on and on. And you feel so alone in all these. Sounds familiar? Probably you're having Q.L.C. or Quarter Life Crisis.

The very first person whom I shared about my rants in life (check my 'About Me' box. Hehe) happen to be in the same situation as I am. He was the one to coin that phrase. QLC is like Mid-Life Crisis, the difference only in the age of the person having the crisis. They say it usually starts in mid 20's to early 30's when questions such as "Am I really happy? What do I want to do? What is my purpose in life?" start to transect the cortex and the answers were just left hanging. Combine these questions with difficulty landing in a job because of lack of experience (because you're a fresh grad or plainly inexperienced) leading you to chose a work not related to the degree you had in college. Then here comes your friend, all so successful and tells you how happy he/she is because of what's happening in his life. You feel so insecure and alone. As if the world works against your will. You know you can do something. But you feel so helpless. You feel that everyones leaving and you are left behind.

I am acknowledging the fact that I'm in that situation for almost five months now. Sometimes I'm good, sometimes I feel that I'm in the lowest part again. Just like what happen to me last week (that's why I started this blog). I do lose myself sometimes but I have to keep going and help regain my center of gravity. Nobody would help me if I won't help myself. I'm used to that.

So here are my personal and unsolicited advices if you're in that situation. First, STOP COMPARING YOURSELF WITH ANYTHING. I noticed that anxiety attacks happen when I start to compare my present life with my past. In terms of emotional and financial state. As if both were getting below the poverty line. And things would probably feel much worse when you compare your life with others. So just stop comparing.

Second, ACCEPT THE REALITY. The school didn't taught us how to be stong against uncertainties. Instead it taught us how to dream, to spread out our wings and reach for the star. Which I find conflicting to the outside world. Its ok to dream but to tell that you can do anything you dreamed of isn't true with everyone. For instance, you dream of having a 25k paycheck each month as a nurse. That can't happen if you know your an entry level applicant. You have to adjust your dreams and turn it into achievable goals. Change your dream job into a call center agent to earn 25k or change your price into 10k and get those syringes prepared. Start dreaming higher once you achieved the other.

Third, START ANSWERING THOSE QUESTIONS. What is my purpose in life? What are the things I want to do? Etc, etc. If you can't answer these, you're certainly in this phase. Start doing things. Experience stuffs you haven't tried. Find your real passion. Find the things you enjoy and try to invest on it. It's a long way and you might find yourself getting in the situation again and again but there's no easy way. I know this sounds opposite the second one but this would help you find yourself. So you can answer those questions. The richest people in the world are those who work but never felt working because they enjoy what they are doing. Isn't that great?

Lastly, LEARN THE VALUE OF TIME AND THE VIRTUE OF PATIENCE. There are things that you can't control just like this one. So you wait. You wait for the HR to call you. You wait for good things to happen. You wait for your turn in life. You'll get your moment, just wait. Be patient.

Talk to someone, look for a mentor, be with someone. Someone who knows you and really understands your situation. Its gonna be a long journey. Better have someone who listens and can give you advices.

And just to let you know, you are not alone. There are much more people if you only knew. Experiencing the same situation that you are right know. Remember, its just a phase. Chose your own battles. Don't fight everything. You'll get exhausted if you do that. Just let time and things will get better. Hopefully.

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