Today I had planned on rushing through my last patient's appointment so I could get home to meet our contractor. When I arrived in the memory care unit of my facility, I found my patient with her husband, who had come for a visit. Once I realized he was there, I knew I could not rush through anything, mainly so he could see her progress and what I was working on with her.
We did our usual exercises (with her seated in her wheelchair), and then I began my bi-weekly ritual of enticing her to stand up and walk. I typically have a very hard time and today was no exception. Once her husband realized he could assist me, he stood in front of her walker and invited her to hug him. The first time she stood up, she hugged him and gave him a kiss. The second time she stood up to hug him, he had tears in his eyes. He looked over her shoulder at me and told me this therapy session might just be better for him than it was for her... it had been around 6 months since she had stood up to give him a real hug.
While I was about half way through my 30 minutes with her, the contractor called and left me a voicemail saying he would be late (I had to step out to grab something and so checked my messages).
Everything worked out perfectly. I was able to slow down and spend extra time with my patient and her husband. It was so beautiful to give this couple a chance to be "normal" again. To stand up and hug each other. To see them swaying as if to dance, which they both loved to do when they were younger. As I was leaving, he stopped me and thanked me for my work with her. He said he'd try to coordinate his visits with her to coincide with our appointments, not just to help me stand her, but so he could get some more hugs. He said he'd let his kids know when they could come get their hugs too.
Days like today make my years of education and years of searching for the "right" job worth every painstaking second.
