Neuro

Spent a day volunteering at the hospital (in the neurological unit's physical therapy department). The department I was assigned to deals almost exclusively with patients with neurological damage caused by head trauma. Many patients had long irregular scars with sutures across their scalps. Some were noticeably unaware of their surroundings while others were mentally present.

There were about a dozen physical therapists in the hospital's gym, guiding the patients through their physical rehab. My role was to help the therapists with whatever they needed.

So - I fetched sheets, towels and pillow covers, I disinfected machines, beds and heart/oxygen monitors, I pushed patients around in their wheelchairs, I carried oxygen tanks, I followed the patients around as they struggled to walk, I kicked a soccer ball back and forth with a patient who could barely stand up by himself, I threw a ball back and forth to another patient who was learning how to balance, and I stabilized tables and chairs and other structures as patients leaned on them for support.

I also got enormous blisters on my feet which made it quite hard to keep up with the patients ambling about in the hallway. It seemed kind of inappropriate to complain about blisters in this company though, so I had to work through the pain - which I did heroically...