Believe it or not, OT is not my entire life...at least not yet. I still make pathetic attempts at pursuing other interests. One of those interests is dog agility, where a dog and handler run around a big obstacle course. The dog actually does the obstacles, but the handler has to direct the dog and tell him where to go, so there is also considerable human hustling involved.
At any rate, I agreed to do an agility demo last weekend at one of these typical Midwestern small-town summer festival weekends with a friend. He and I arrived with a car full of equipment and dogs, set everything up, and ran through a few practice rounds. The actual demo went off without a hitch, and people were appropriately impressed. We then offered to take other people's dogs and try them out on some of the obstacles. It was hot and we only had a few takers.
Just as we were preparing to pack things up and call it a day, a lady in a power chair with a service dog came up to us. The dog was a leggy black lab mix named Diego, very gentle and sweet, and the lady said she was looking for something to do with him to give him more exercise. She easily called him over a jump to her, and he also quickly got the hang of going through the tunnel to her. I told her that people in power chairs can and do compete successfully with their dogs in agility, and that I thought she and Diego would love it.
When I told her I was going to school for OT, she opened up quite a bit. She was a former nurse who had been put in a chair by multiple sclerosis and now struggled with energy management issues. In addition to the usual sorts of things like putting her cell phone in her hands and activating switches for her, Diego could actually do most of the work on her transfers from the chair to her bed or the chair to the tub! He actually drags the transfer board into place for her and then helps her pull herself onto and across the board. I thought that was really amazing.
She got her dog from Assistance Dogs of America, Inc., and unlike many other organizations, she was not required to raise $10,000 or more to have a dog placed with her. ADAI regularly pulls dogs from pounds and shelters to train as service animals, so they save lives in the process, too. They sound like a good group. If I ever hit the lottery, I am definitely going to send them some coin.
Showing posts with label the outside world chimes in. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the outside world chimes in. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Encouraging Reactions
I met a colleague (in my current line of work) for lunch the other day, and when she asked how business was and started talking shop, I said, "Well, I've actually decided I'm leaving the profession."
"Really? What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to become an occupational therapist."
Her immediate reaction: "I think you'd be really good at that, actually." It turns out she has a son who needed several years of OT as a child (he is now happily studying to be a teacher). So she knows all about OT and thinks I can do it! How cool is that?
I have told about a dozen people so far, and although my colleagues are shocked (one of them actually said, "I can't imagine the profession without you in it!"), they were all encouraging and thought OT would be a great fit for me.
I'm going to have to tell a lot more people soon. Our annual conference is coming up in a few months, and I submitted three presentation proposals. I actually submitted them before this whole OT thing really got rolling (you have to submit about 7 months prior to the conference date!). However, I have decided that I just can't justify spending $1000+ and missing 2-3 days worth of classes to go to a conference in a field I am planning to exit. It kills me not to go--I was first at this conference in 1995 and have gone almost every year since. I LOVE the people in my field. They are smart, articulate, funny, and endlessly interesting. And getting together with people I only e-mail or call the rest of the year is indescribably wonderful. But you have to let go of the old to make room for the new.
The OOTA (Ohio Occupational Therapy Association) is having its annual conference in October. Guess where I will be going instead? The best part is that the conference is within easy driving distance, so I won't have to pony up for an expensive hotel room.
"Really? What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to become an occupational therapist."
Her immediate reaction: "I think you'd be really good at that, actually." It turns out she has a son who needed several years of OT as a child (he is now happily studying to be a teacher). So she knows all about OT and thinks I can do it! How cool is that?
I have told about a dozen people so far, and although my colleagues are shocked (one of them actually said, "I can't imagine the profession without you in it!"), they were all encouraging and thought OT would be a great fit for me.
I'm going to have to tell a lot more people soon. Our annual conference is coming up in a few months, and I submitted three presentation proposals. I actually submitted them before this whole OT thing really got rolling (you have to submit about 7 months prior to the conference date!). However, I have decided that I just can't justify spending $1000+ and missing 2-3 days worth of classes to go to a conference in a field I am planning to exit. It kills me not to go--I was first at this conference in 1995 and have gone almost every year since. I LOVE the people in my field. They are smart, articulate, funny, and endlessly interesting. And getting together with people I only e-mail or call the rest of the year is indescribably wonderful. But you have to let go of the old to make room for the new.
The OOTA (Ohio Occupational Therapy Association) is having its annual conference in October. Guess where I will be going instead? The best part is that the conference is within easy driving distance, so I won't have to pony up for an expensive hotel room.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)