A New Government Department, A New Beginning...

Hi to all!

It's been a while since I last blogged. What I can say is that I am doing somewhat better! I went to have a sonar done, and I was treated like a piece of meat being man-handled by a butcher. I still have to go and complain on www.hellopeter.com / .co.za to ensure others that follow will not get the treatment that I got.

I'm not going to go into detail, except to say that

• both health care practitioners who saw me remained nameless to me,
  
• did not wear a name tag,
  
• did not introduce themselves (nor greet me properly),
• did not say what profession they were in (e.g. radiologist, doctor --> although I knew the last one was a doctor as the previous person who saw me told me to wait for the doctor),
• what they were about to do to me (e.g. the gel we are using are gonna be a bit cold, but don't worry)
  
• WHY they were doing what they did (e.g. telling me to move onto my left side and just telling me to breath and hold the breath and not when to expel my breath!)
• they did not close the door of the consulting room properly, as the doorhandle was broken.

ALL THIS IN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL!!! It amazes me that people can be treated in this manner, and then it will be said that the person treating them was professional. But there is a HUGE difference between being professional and just plain un-ethical, as I see these health care "professionals" to have been. I've been working in the health care sector for 2 years now (1 year student, 1 year community service OT), and you

• GREET someone,
  
• then INTRODUCE yourself,
  
• and then make them FEEL AT EASE,
  
• as well as EXPLAINING ANYTHING you will be doing to them (what you will do and WHY you are doing it)!
  

I could not believe the way I was treated, and as I related the story and my mal-treatment by the health care "professionals" to Thinus, he kept on asking why I didn't say something. I think it is because I was in such SHOCK that someone could treat you in this manner. I will not EVER go back there again!

The good news is that nothing was found out-of-place(e.g. pregnancy) / wrong (gallstones) from the ultra-sound / sonar, and that it turns out my constant nausea is caused by reflux. But instead of me having heartburn, I only present with extreme nausea. So I'm now on medication to ease the reflux, and it appears to be working most of the time! Yesterday I had a nausea-spell again, and my blood pressure just dropped (with me still having to drive home in the rain!), so that when I got home I fell on my bed and went to sleep immediately!

As for the New Beginnings... I started at Muriel Brand School as an OT on Monday (12 Jan 2009) and could not be happier! I am also VERY happy to state that I have gotten through and have been accepted to study the Diploma in Hand Therapy at the University of Pretoria during this year! Since April 2007 I've been dreaming about studying hand therapy, and now I will finally have the chance to do so! It's gonna be a bit pricy, but that's fine as it all pays in the end. I can barely wait to start my course in 3 weeks' time, but first I have to get my finances in place to actually pay for registration ;-).

The school is awesome, and I love to be surrounded by other therapists. They are helpful and understanding, and I just love that I am once again in a structured and routined setting. We have not yet started treating kids, but on Monday we are starting to screen babies / kiddies. I'm very excited, and slightly nervous about that! Athletic trials are also tomorrow, and then next week we will have to start picking and processing vegetables found in the vegetable garden project together with the older children. Just at a time when I feel that I finally can say I have "green fingers".

Last but not least, today is both my father's 64th Birthday (Lekker Verjaar, Pappa!) and Muriel Brand School's 40th Birthday!

I'm praying that this will be a positive year full of surprises, and some routine, and happy days!

Ciao!