Occupational Therapy

Today is Tuesday, June 20, 2023 and my day started at 5:30 am. You know the drill…I had my morning routine of having my breakfast and then getting ready for the start of my day. The difference today was that I really took my time since my first appointment wasn’t until 9:00 am. I left the house by 8:30 and headed to PMR for my initial occupational therapy (OT) session there. The first thing the OT doctor said was “Please tell me your story and what brings you here to us today”. AAAHHH! I really wished at this point I had a recording of my story and I could just hit play and let the doctor hear it. I pulled myself together and calmly described detail by detail all the events that unfolded from October to today. It took a while…

After listening to my story the OT conducted a thorough assessment to identify my current abilities and how to maximize their functioning so that I can achieve personal goals and resume normal day-to-day activities on my own. I explained to the OT that I’m so grateful I’ve come such a long way from pre-admission, to hospital stay and to now being back at home in terms of my functionality and movement. Today I can wash my face more comfortably, dress myself, put on my own shoes, tie my shoe laces, take a shower without assistance (however, some supervision and slight support was required today). Although there are some things I’m still unable to do on my own, overall I’ve come a long way. الحمد لله. After her assessment, the OT told me the focus for me will be mainly to work on my fine-motor skills that are involved in smaller movements that occur in the wrists, hands, fingers, feet and toes. I’m still experiencing some pain and discomfort in the joints of my hands and feet when I perform certain functions but hopefully this will all be remedied.

It was a nice feeling to have just one appointment during the morning that was outside the house. I was home by 10:30 and lucky enough to catch up on my rest and catch up with my sister. After lunch and a quick breather to myself, I had my next appointment…my much-anticipated, weekly Zoom therapy session! I truly look forward to this appointment every week. Even though it requires a lot of emotional work on my part, and it does get a bit overwhelming, I always end up feeling better than ever by the time the session has ended. And that’s all I want these days…to feel better. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, feeling healthier on a mental level is just as important as feeling healthier on a physical level for me to get through this surreal journey.

So, two appointments done for today and now it’s time for me enjoy the rest of the day…just as I hope you’re doing for yourselves!

اللهم لك الحمد حتى ترضى ولك الحمد اذا رضيت ولك الحمدبعد الرضا.