When my husband was preparing for discharge from the hospital in 2025, all kinds of specialists came to his bedside with volumes of paper work and sage advice. Among those who visited was an occupational therapist. This lovely woman had a collection of devices that would help him adjust to home life with a leg that wasn't going to work well for a while.
Below is a picture that shows some implements offered by the occupational therapist. I can identify a back sponge, a grabber, a shoe horn and specially adapted shoe laces. We can't figure out how the shiny blue item (looks like a scoop in the picture) was supposed to be used. The occupational therapist gave him a rundown on the purpose for each item, but there was so much happening that day, he doesn't remember what she said.
Last month my husband had another issue, unrelated to the leg, and was in the ICU for a few days. On discharge, once again, an occupational therapist visited and reviewed techniques he could use to transition safely to life at home. On his second encounter with the occupational therapist I paid close attention. That's because my granddaughter had just begun a graduate program in occupational therapy, and she has been working hard. More immediately she has been working hard and using me as a 'patient'.
I have to add here that paying close attention when a relative is in the hospital is a basic survival skill. The lovely, well-meaning occupational therapist was moving equipment into my husband's room from another patient's room...without sanitizing anything!! I asked politely if I could wipe down the equipment before my husband used it. She looked chagrined and wiped everything down. This is a really important step (patients in the ICU are especially vulnerable) to prevent transmission of pathogens from one patient to another (nosocomial transmission).
The occupational therapist had some good advice about the stages my husband should go through before standing. A sudden rise from a sitting position could lead to dizziness and a fall.
I imagined my granddaughter in that woman's role. I don't think my granddaghter would have neglected to sterilize shared equipment. In my family we're all germaphobes. While this can be annoying in everyday life, in a healthcare setting it is a very good trait to have.
Today I may be rehearsing with my granddaughter for an exam she is taking in the next few days. She does a lot of her graduate work remotely, through zoom sessions. I've already been on one zoom session with her teacher. We had a rehearsal before that session. My job was simply to respond to my granddaughter's cues as she worked on different tissue systems. Last week she worked on my arms. Tomorrow the session will focus on the lower part of my body and my legs.
Last night, before our rehearsal, my granddaughter told me I had to wear shorts. EEK!!! I'm 79 years old. She is going to have me in shorts on a live broadcast to her classroom. What a grandma does for love :)
Here is my aspiring occupational therapist when she was taking some of her first steps.
Not only am I to be in shorts, but I have to assume many different poses in these shorts as she works different tissue systems in my legs. She has to trace and identify these so that she knows how they all work together. It's a good thing I do yoga-type exercises before bed every night.
One thing I'm learning from my sessions as a 'patient' is that occupational therapists have at their command an enormous amount of information. I was a great biology student, in high school and college. However, I never before heard many of the terms she used. In order to be licensed to practice, the aspiring professional must pass the NBCOT (National Board for Occupational Therapy) exam.
Some of the terms I did recognize. As she went over my knee and said 'patella' I remembered my husband's orthopedist explained a reason he had difficulty straightening his leg was because of the patella tendon. 'Piriformis' was also a term I recognized. A few years ago I had a disabling issue with my piriformis muscle. A physical therapist helped me deal with that so it is not an issue any more.
Image below is Plate 345 from Gray's Anatomy--yes, it's a real book! The plate shows the patella bone in the knee and the patella tendon connecting the bone to the tibia. It's hard to get true flexibility back in the tendon if you've had tibia replacement surgery (which is the surgery my husband had in 2025). The image below is in the public domain because the book was published in 1918.
I realized as I rehearsed with my granddaughter, and as she studied, that everything she was learning had real-life application. I was so proud of her.
I'm proud not only because she is working hard and has become a fine young lady. I'm also proud because she has chosen a field that she expects will give her satisfaction. She wants to help people.
She also wants to help animals. One of the reasons she chose this field was because she wanted to work in animal rehabilitation. There isn't a plethora of opportunities in the animal rehab field that offer good income, but she can apply what she knows about humans to helping animals in her free time.
A practical aspect of this profession is that it's not one easily replaced by AI. Occupational therapists offer empathy and emotional support. It will be many years before an AI bot will be able to credibly offer these services to patients.
My granddaughter is 21, so young. Maybe she'll decide this was the wrong career choice. Maybe her life will take a different path. If she makes that decision, I hope it's for the right reasons. I hope it's because she wants to lead a meaningful life doing work that matters. I'll be proud of her whatever she chooses. I can't help it. I'm a grandmother.
Edit:
As I finish writing this I am told that I'm off the hook! My daughter will be the patient. I can put those shorts away and relax. Whew!!
Thank you for reading my blog. Health and peace to all. Hive on!