tired hands at the end of the day...

"There is no menial work. Jesus came not as a philosopher, not as a general. He came as a carpenter." -Tim Keller

I sometimes think that Jesus most likely had tired hands at the end of a day of work. I love this thought - that somehow the idea that he knows what that feels like...

2 prayers for my life in the physio world this year -

"May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us--yes, establish the work of our hands." Ps 90:17

and

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.

end of an era

So, it’s the end of an era. Thankfully. I endured, I mean enjoyed one last night of the Bot... the centre of the Belfast student world (and you thought it was a university?), along with the bizarre conversations you have when your friends are wasted. I felt like I wanted to go and just see my class people one last time before we all scatter/emigrate/etc. The night began at a mad house party in the notorious Holylands (where council people arrived mid-party to tell us to shut up – rightly so...). And then to Lavery’s (?!) to hear a culchie band from Co. Tyrone who are friends of friends... not my cup of tea but was amusing! Then to the Bot where it was lovely to see everyone, but you had to shout in each other’s ears or else be content with the smile and nod approach... although to be fair, we all were saying the same thing ie: good to be done, what are you doing next (no idea) etc, so you could get away with the nod/smile even if you couldn’t hear!!! I lost my voice in the process though. Give me a quiet pub any day. Maybe I’m just getting old. Then about 12ish, a friend and I decided to head to another classmate’s house for a couple hours to catch the end of a quiet barbeque, beer and chat with a random mix of interesting people – much more my cup of tea. It was a good, celebratory night in the end, even though I started out dreading the Bot part - it is still a whole different culture that I have never come to properly appreciate and don’t think I ever will but sometimes when in Rome and all that....

I have made a few good friends that I hope I can keep. Sometimes friendships are easy when you see people most days for four years.

And so to the start of summer, the month of research for one of my lecturers in June (not quite away from the university yet, but at least it’s paid!) graduation no2 and then to whatever’s next!

In the short term, 2 books just arrived in the post and Donegal is beckoning... not a bad start to the rest of my life.

season of grace

I had a constructive day today :) - back into my last (ever!?) 2 weeks of classes and the start of exam revision season - just in time for the sunshine (four days in a row!). Had a fascinating lecture today on hand injuries... accompanied by lovely pictures. One before/after case study was of a guy who had his hand completely cut off just above the wrist with a chain saw... and then a video of him taken yesterday with the hand reattached - after months of therapy he had regained amazing movement! Great stuff. (I'll spare you the photos...)

I'm determined to finish strong. I have a tendency (!) to procrastinate so really trying not to as much this time.... makes me think of a few spurgeon quotes...

"It is by little procrastinations that (wo)men ruin their souls. They have no intention to delay for years - a few months will bring the more convenient season - tomorrow if you will, they will attend to serious things; but the present hour is so occupied and altogether so unsuitable, that they beg to be excused. Like sands from an hour-glass, time passes, life is wasted by driblets, and seasons of grace lost by little slumbers...."
"The way to do a great deal is to keep on doing a little. The way to do nothing at all is to be continually resolving that you will do everything."

Don't want to lose this season of grace.

nothing but blue skies

It's the end of a crazy week... full of randomness, stress, banter and spring!
Random? Bowling (check out my team below)
Stress? My dissertation presentation is done and dusted. Wahey!Banter? We had our physio formal last night! (i'm getting old... i'm paying for 2am today)

Spring? Loving the sunshine and daffodils this afternoon (about time!!).... i was a little optimistic with shorts and tshirt... but nearly! Even the thought of flipflops makes me happy. Let's hope it's not fluke weather...

Still can’t believe it’s April already!

just another patient?

I’ve just finished a book one of my lovely doctor friends gave me for Christmas. I’ve actually been meaning to read this book for ages – it was recommended by one of my lecturers 3 years ago during an in-depth discussion about caring for patients with communication difficulties and the perspective of the patient. It’s called The Diving Bell and the Butterfly written by a guy (the former editor-in-chief of Elle) who had a massive stroke and could only communicate by blinking one eye – that’s how he dictated the book. It’s a reflection on life (past and present), his relationships, emotions and thoughts in this ‘locked in’ world. Some of the most interesting parts for me were his impressions of the hospital staff...

“...gentle, rough, caring, indifferent, hardworking, lazy, the ones you can make contact with and the ones to whom you are just another patient. At first some of the staff had terrified me. I saw them as my jailers, as accomplices in some awful plot.
Later I hated some of them, those who wrenched my arm while putting me in my wheelchair, left me all night long with the TV on, let me lie in a painful position despite my protests. For a few minutes or a few hours I would cheerfully have killed them. And later still, as time cooled my fiercest rages, I got to know them better. They carried out as best they could their delicate mission: to ease our burden a little when our crosses bruised our shoulders too painfully...”

It reminded me of a quote I read in one of my ‘required reading’ articles a few months ago... “One of the essential qualities of the clinician is interest in humanity, for the secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient” Francis Peabody 1927

I'm back to the hospital world on monday :)

knowledge?

I read an article today trying to fight the voice in my head that’s telling me systematic reviews that have conflicting conclusions are completely pointless and discovered this random quote to ponder on a chilly winter’s evening:
“When you know a thing, to hold that you know it, and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it – this is knowledge.” –Confucius

Just thought I’d share :) I'm sure you're glad I did...

poverty and TB

These photos make me think about a patient from my few weeks in south africa... he was a quiet, subdued kind of guy... although maybe it was just he was fed up with hospital. He had TB which had affected his spine, so couldn’t move/feel his trunk or legs at all and found it impossible to change positions or sit up on his own. He was in a side room, isolated from everyone else in the ward for obvious reasons, staring at the ceiling all day. He always asked to be covered with about 4 blue hospital blankets because of the cold. I ventured in daily, complete with my mask, gloves and apron to do some passive stretching and repositioning – wearing the mask made me feel like I couldn’t communicate properly with him, couldn’t have a proper chat face to face, couldn’t smile at him...

The one thing I remember him saying was he couldn’t wait to leave the hospital and get back to the smaller community TB facility (where he had been before) - the main reason was he had people he could talk to there... there he didn’t have to be in an isolation room...

To me, the prevalence of TB is one clear example of the impact of poverty - when it is essentially treatable/curable. I know multi drug resistant TB is a different story, but the reasons behind its emergence also can be linked to poverty and the lack of adequate / consistent health care. And this is only one disease. I just wonder what the impact of the current global economic crisis will now have on things like the MDGs and the fight against poverty...

there and back again...

Lack of easily accessible internet for a while has left this blog a bit neglected...but I'm back! Ok, so it’s cliché time so I should be saying things like: "It’s so hard to sum up what the last 2 months have been like...." blah blah blah. But, it is a wee bit true. 8 weeks of a glorious mix between the world of physio in a South African government hospital to the world of the Cape Town tourist. I definitely think it was the best way to capture the essence of the city (besides living there long term) - to not just be a tourist, but to rub shoulders with Capetonians from all communities via the hospital - whether that was the staff or my patients... I loved it! One thing - it was not was a “short term missions trip” and somehow a trip free from labels/definitions meant there was no agenda... I was unashamedly a tourist at times – flinging myself off the world’s highest bungee (amazing!), soaking in the sunshine where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans met, scrambling up the majestic Table Mountain etc, but I also could just live out life and faith with my friends and in the hospital. Not much different to here I guess, just a different context and culture.

So, South Africa? I could go back. Maybe. It did seem a bit like a pseudo-Africa to the one that I know and love, but I kept reminding myself that if I went to Morocco or Egypt it would feel just as foreign. I guess it was not what I knew, but that was maybe a good thing. I could talk about the stark divide between rich/poor, the political turmoil still rumbling resulting from a troubled history, the rainbow nation, the hiv/aids crisis on everyone’s doorstep, the hopes for 2010, the mixture of both divided and multiethnic vibrant churches, the stunning scenery... etc but to be honest, the question that I hate the most in relation to Nigeria has always been “what is it like?” so I’m not even going to try after only 2 months. Just go if you get a chance would be my only advice.

I’m “home” again... but I’m going “home” on Saturday for a month... (In Belfast, heading to Nigeria). Funny that. Sometimes I love having 2 homes. Sometimes I feel like neither is really home. Not sure if travel is always the best for finding a sense of belonging that I often long for, but alas... I still love it...

random facts!

So here are two random facts I learned this week…

From one my paediatric lectures on normal movement in newborns…
Did you know that babies are born with a reflex called the galant response… which means that when you stimulate the back extensors along either side of the spine that the baby does a little wiggle to the same side? It’s supposed to help during birth and then the reflex disappears between 3-6 months!! How cool is that? (speaking of which…can’t wait to meet my wee niece or nephew in less than a month!)

From one of my oncology lectures… (stood out for me i think because of my interest in both psychology & God stuff…) Researchers (Calhoun & Tedeschi) have coined the term post traumatic growth to describe when sometimes people dealing with trauma, such as cancer, can have positive “changes in how people think of themselves, their relationships with others, including all of humanity, as well as profound philosophical, spiritual, or religious changes.”
I think it resonates so much with the idea of perseverance producing character and character hope…

(i’m actually really enjoying my classes at the minute... yay!)

main events

so, it's been too long. the main events?
1. i'm going to be an aunt before the end of the year... i'm so excited!! i think auntie anna has a ring to it... ;)
2. my sister left the country yesterday for 5 months so i have a very quiet house... :(
3. flights are booked to go home for the summer :)
4. this week brought about an historic moment in this wee country...one of those history book moments. a glimmer of hope and a change of tone. bring it on... :)
5. summer is on it's way with the clocks changing... (even if there was snow a week ago!) :)
6. i have more exams in a few wks... :(

so, goods and bads. but the goods outway the bads.
had lots on my mind this week. hate goodbyes or maybe it is that i dont like change. it always makes me contemplate everything else that's going on a bit more, but i guess that's probably a good thing instead of getting too comfortable with the status quo...

election time

so it's election time tomorrow...still trying to figure out who has my vote if i'm honest. will be interesting to see what the week holds...will it be a step forward? i hope so.

in the midst of it all, one verse that the EA website have been reflecting on is this:
"the first thing i want you to do is pray. pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. this is the way our Saviour God wants us to live." 1 tim 2:1-3 (the message)

there's another election in april that's been on my mind the last few months and may prove to be more significant. nigeria. if all goes smoothly, it will be the first time one elected leader will succeed another.

but i can't vote in that election.. and can vote here tomorrow. i mentioned a wee while ago i got to meet a few politicians and ended up our chartered society of physio magazine...proposing a different kind of manifesto.
(i'm third from left along with some uup, alliance, sdlp and sf reps). it helped to hear them talk about their policies on health which is something i'm interested in. remains to be seen if it swayed my vote...

leeds & love...

i'm heading to leeds for a physio conference over the weekend so i'm really hoping that the crazy windy weather we had today has died down. have been on plenty of planes but i prefer big planes rather than these little city hoppers if it's windy!

as it's valentine's weekend, our conference (before we get into the slightly tedious mtg part on sat/sun) is kicking off with a fancy-dress disco and speed-dating... sounds like my idea of a nightmare but i'm determined to join in for the craic! mostly will people i dont know and will probably not see most of them again ever/or until conference next yr.. and everyone will be looking silly; if you're not dressed up will you'll be the one who stands out! my region (ni & scottish uni reps) have decided to go as cartoon characters. hmm.. remains to be seen if i'll post any photos but should be an interesting night all the same :) hopefully picture's will not go down on record as the most professional day of our careers...

for a wee cheesy romantic song for the week... i'm loving declan o'rourke's song 'galileo' today...

time

there were two games played today that i was interested in... unfortunately only one of them went the way i wanted but it has to be said that the last 10mins of both matches proved to be crucial. ireland's heart-wrenching loss to france in the last minute (after all the hype about it promising to be a historic game at Croke Park) and arsenal's saving-face comeback from 1 down to win 2-1 to wigan at the emirates. who says sport's not exciting?



on another note, (although related to time!) i've decided i want to read some nigerian authors (maybe due to a bit of nostalgia as well as finding a friend's blog who is very into her nigerian literature...) so have just ordered a book called 'measuring time' by helon habila. Here's a review in the guardian for it... should bring welcome distraction from learning my cyriax's assessment of the peripheral joints...

politics of health...

so, i was at a very interesting meeting today organised by the chambre public affairs with a health spokesperson from all but one of the main political parties in northern ireland. it was really to talk about what their priorities in relation to health would be if there actually is a restored assembly after the march elections and also to give us (from various organisations) the opportunity to ask questions...
i was there with the csp representing all those physio students who know that there's a huge issue of physio graduate unemployment at a junior physio level all over the uk...
i asked my question (emphasising that it costs the NI taxpayer £35,000 to train me and that 7/10 physio graduates from UUJ last yr are still without a job..) "can i have a commitment that you will use whatever influence you have both now and in a restored assembly to resolve this issue of graduate unemployment as a matter of urgency... etc..."
to be honest, their answers were all so vague which is probably down to the fact that they are politicans and that they are answering/making commitments hypothetically as they're not actually in a running government at present! so while they agreed that it was an important issue, i'm not sure they will have an opportunity to do anything about it. the health minister in a new government will definitely have their hands full (see this article) so not sure they will care too much about the issue i wanted addressed. however, it definitely made me think that it's these kind of issues that we need the assembly for and the sooner the better. it'll be interesting to see what the next few weeks brings in relation to manifestos and whether there's a chance of anything going ahead...(maybe get some discussion going on the whole election issue here). at least today they were talking about something they could all agree on for once: the priority that healthcare should have in our society.

monday morning...

i'm back to class in the morning... hoping to make a dent in these two books over the next few weeks. i'm actually really looking forward to it - slightly suprisingly. maybe it's because i feel like i've had a proper break this time and done nothing course-related for two weeks! i'm anticipating we'll be stretched a bit more this semester than we have been, mostly because of different lecturers and more practical learning which requires you know the theory first and then apply it. we'll see!








on a side note, i love the fact that i can see the water out my living room window...