Tuesday, 27 November 2007

A Nod to OTs

The turf of the Occupational Therapist. By talking about things like managing TBI fatigue and returning to work, I'm going to be treading on it sometimes. But, during my recovery, I've developed a great amount of respect for OTs.

These guys are the masters of problem solving and strategy creating! No everyday life problem brought on by my accident was too much for them. While I still had trouble walking, they made sure I was safe using a wheel chair. They came to my work and chatted to my boss about my return there. They even helped me figure out ways to remember what I'd said to people to save me embarrassing myself by saying the same thing twice.

So I hope this site contributes to, rather than detracts from, the noble profession of the OT.

Cheers,
Mike

2 comments:

Tracy W said...

So how do you avoid saying the same thing twice to the same people? This is a prob lem for people without TBIs - or at least for me. :)

Howtorecover said...

Tracy,

Indeed. My accident lead to me suffering from issues common to many others. But the thing for me is that I'm not used to suffering from them. So, sometimes with help from OTs, I try to work out how to become more as I was regardless of how other people are.

In regard to that particular problem, what 'sort-of' works for me, is to 1) tick-off whole topics with certain groups of people and 2) respond to the tickling feeling that maybe I've said this before to this person. 1 means you need to go to the effort of remembering what you've covered from what topic with which group. And how much you care about your problem will tell you how much effort to put in to 1. But I find trying to do 1 makes the tickling of 2 harder to ignore.

I say 'sort-of' because I don't really care enough about my problem to put enough effort in to 1. But I am confidant that, if I did care enough, I could solve it fully!

Cheers,
Mike