A funny story

I always ask my teacher friends to tell me the funny things their students say or the funny things that happen during class. I am really hoping that I have some good stories after my work with the kids at the charter schools in Duluth. So far I have one somewhat funny story. We were on the swings (as happens frequently on sunny days) with a student. Two sidenotes: 1) Swings are a great place to strengthen core and extremity muscles, and 2) I am surprised that both schools I go to have swings because they can be a big liability issue. Anyway, the student and I were "racing" to see who could swing the highest the fastest. The kids always know who is winning, and I remember those days. As the student and I were racing to the maximum height allowed by the swingset, he noticed we were swinging at the same pace and shouted, "Miss Lisa! We're married!" I had completely forgotten about that occurring on swings, and I was surprised that kids still said that. It made me laugh. I don't think we were "married" today. It is kind of amazing the difference in the gross motor skills of "normal" kids and kids with delays. Some have a really hard time motor planning jumping jacks, others cannot hop or skip or gallop. They do know what tasks are hard for them and will do everything to avoid performing them.

I am posting some pictures from driving along the Scenic Highway on Tuesday and from the sunset yesterday. (Today I ran along the lake for a bit in shorts and a t-shirt!)

Wednesday update

Although Monday's weather served as a warning of things to come, this week has turned out to be really nice. It was sunny both today and yesterday, and tomorrow could possibly hit 60. When I drove from Duluth to Two Harbors after my day at the charter schools on Tuesday, I drove along the scenic highway. It parallels the expressway I usually drive but it runs closer to Lake Superior. It was gorgeous--the water was so blue. I took a couple pictures, but they just don't do it justice. I might try posting some of them later.

I was hoping to get outside today after I was done at the clinic, but I ended up being at the clinic for about 2 hours after our last patient was scheduled to be done. The last patient has a very interesting and complicated presentation. She initially presented as someone with a disc problem in her low back, but now it looks like she could have some kind of hip or sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Her pain location is consistent, but she also has related neck and shoulder pain... we did quite a bit of testing and tried various things to relieve her pain. To add to the complication, she was injured at work and has the workers compensation system to deal with. We tried some functional tasks with her, but she is so weak in her lower abdominal muscles that she cannot support her back and lift or carry items. It's been really interesting and somewhat of a clinic-wide puzzle. I hope some of that made sense.

Other than that, I don't have too much to report. I have been able to take over some patients and increase my participation in patient care, so that has been good. Now I suppose I will return to watching the World Series...

And so it begins...

This morning as I went out to my car to head to the clinic, I realized it is now the time of year where I need to get up earlier in order to leave me enough time to warm up my car. Last night it rained and then froze, so all four doors of my car were frozen shut this morning. Usually only two of the doors will freeze shut depending upon the direction of the wind, but I guess this is my introduction to life on the Northshore... and it's still only October!

Today I attended two info/marketing sessions with a PT at an elementary school. We (meaning mostly "she") talked with the kids in the class in the morning about what a PT does and also had to redirect them back to physical therapy because they went off on tangets about carnivals and Halloween costumes. We did a few activities with the kids and could target a few kids that might warrant watching over the course of this school year because of possible motor delays. It's amazing how you can get a picture of development through hopping, jumping, and bear walking. Then tonight I went back to the school for an early childhood family education event and talked with the parents about posture and positioning for babies to encourage muscle development. It was interesting. The PT also addressed strengthening for the parents and how to incorporate strengthening exercises into daily life (ie. squatting while holding a child, lifting the child into the air, slowing down stair climbing).

In the clinic today, I saw taping for patellofemoral pain, a few patients with shoulder problems, a patient with some lymph swelling after removal of cancer, and an interesting case of hip pain. I wish my brain was better organized to keep up with it all, but it is a learning process.

The pictures

I realized that I did not put any captions with the pictures...
The first one is of the lighthouse on the point between the two harbors of Two Harbors. The next two are of the northern harbor (Burlington Bay I think), and the last picture is looking over Agate Bay, the southern harbor. I learned that Agate Bay is actually deeper than the harbor in Duluth. Ships that load in Duluth often complete the filling of their holds in Two Harbors where there is less risk of scraping bottom. There's a little museum/historical society down by the docks, so maybe I can learn more about the whole process some day. When Ross and Adam and I were down by the docks last weekend when I moved up here, we saw the Arthur M. Anderson pull out into Lake Superior. That ship is famous because it communicated with the Edmund Fitzgerald, a ship that sank in Lake Superior years ago--but no one knows why. Adam told me about the two main theories involving water getting into the cargo holds, but I can't remember the details. Ross maintains it sank due to aliens and can even sing a song about the sinking of the ship. No bodies have been recovered from the sinking because the lake is so cold that bodies sink; Lake Superior does not give up her dead.
And on that note, it is time for me to do some review for tomorrow.

Thursday

So I am not good at updating this blog thing, but I will try. Today was another school PT day for me (Tues and Thurs)--and today was a bit crazy. When the PTA and I arrived at the school, there were several kids and teachers outside the classrooms having conversations regarding appropriate behavior. One kid was even rolling around on the ground. I guess we should have realized from the beginning that today would not be a good listening day. The first boy was out sick, so we were able to delay the inevitable. The next two boys were off the wall--kicking any equipment within reach, running around, not listening to directions--and in no way ready to be assessed with part of the BOT-2. The afternoon kids were also a bit hard to control, but could be somewhat reined in.

Yesterday was a good day at the clinic. On Wednesdays, I'll accompany one of the PTs up to the high school. The school has had budget cuts and cannot afford an athletic trainer, so the PT volunteers her time. Athletes can come in to get injuries checked on, and some may then request a doctor's orders for PT at the clinic. This week was the beginning of playoffs, so no one wants to be injured. The only kid that showed up wanted a basketball out of the bin in the training room. Earlier in the day, we met with another chiropractor in town (interesting in and of itself because of the distrust and competition between the professions) regarding a possible working relationship. The chiropractor has her undergrad in athletic training, masters in PT (though she never took the test to become licensed) and then she got her doctor of chiropractic. Along the way she picked up two other bachelors degrees and is working on a diplomat (chiro certification) in pediatrics and has plans to pursue a diplomat in nutrition. I felt increasingly unmotivated as I listened to her. She had some nice equipment in her office, like an x-ray machine and a foot scanner to make soft orthotics. The foot scanning part was my favorite, but I am still a bit wary of it. I had no idea that chiropractors are required to have the same rotations as MDs... she told us about her OB-GYN rotation and her surgical rotation. I guess they have additional radiology beyond what the MDs have. It was a very informative lunch hour.

I took some pictures today of the two harbors of Two Harbors, so hopefully I can figure out how to get them loaded. And then hopefully I will be better at updating this blog.

Why not....

I recently acquired an ipod (from Ross) so now that I have finally joined that crowd, I figured I should also start blogging.

I am currently living in Two Harbors, MN, while on a clinical at Bodies in Balance. It's an outpatient clinic that also contracts with charter schools in Duluth, so I should have a nice variety in the patients that I see. The therapists do a lot of manual work and the clinic also has a gym. The clinic is private, so they have designated one hour for treatment time--which is not common in the outpatient ortho world.

Today I met a guy that I swear is right out of Garrison Keillor's "Lake Wobegon." I think HIPAA does not want me to give you his name, but he is an older, hilarious Norweigian man with a brogue. I also sat in on a meeting with a chiropractor--which is interesting because PTs and chiropractors are kind of taught to mistrust one another. The PTs and the chiropractor are trying to establish a good working relationship to encourage referrals and address the needs of patients that could benefit from both services.

And now because I can't really seem to get motivated to do anything before 11pm when I want to be in bed, I should really go to bed. Tomorrow it is off to the schools, and then maybe a run near Lake Superior in the evening...