Life Goes On!!! Woo- HOO!!

What an exciting day!! By now, everyone knows we had a 5.8 earthquake here in the DC area.

Here are some of the thoughts I've had the last few hours!

When the earthquake first hit, I actually did not recognize what was occurring. I was on the first floor of the nursing home in which I work. I was in the room of one of my patients, waiting for this nearly independent patient to finish using the commode. As I waited in this person's room, I felt the ground moving and vibrating below my feet. My initial thought was that furniture was being moved upstairs, for our dedicated maintenance staff is constantly moving furniture around, for example when they move patient beds around. So for a split second I thought they were moving the beds. Then I thought the movement was due to the construction on the addition to our building. Then through the window, I saw a coworker looking baffled as she walked a patient. In the back of my mind I was thinking could this be an earthquake but I wasn't sure- then I heard someone shout EARTHQUAKE and I ran into the bathroom to get my patient! The person is nearly independent- but I ran into help this individual and said we had to get out of there!

Immedietely I was grateful that I had not been crushed to death!  And I was grateful my patient had not fallen and had the ability and insight to hold the safety rail when the toilet had begun shaking! Yikes! Afterwards we shared a laugh as this person contemplated their "where were you when the earthquake hit" story. Oh the joys of being an occupational therapist! And again I was grateful this person was safe and had not been injured.

I am so grateful that life is continuing how I'm used to living. I am grateful that people were not killed and that most buildings were safe. I am thankful beyond thankfulness that nothing has been damaged in my home. My workplace is intact. Sure many people had to sit in lots of traffic to get home. But our collective lives will continue on! This was not a "before" and "after" life changing event like so many millions in the world have experienced in times of natural disasters.

Later in the afternoon, my coworkers shared cake with a young temporary summer coworker who is returning to college. Today was his last day for the summer and we celebrated with cake. In a way, I thought it was also a celebration of life. This young man will get to go back to school and complete his education. Learning continues! The world goes on!

I also thought of another patient - a very sweet and caring person- who resides in our nursing home. This person would be the perfect grandmother, she radiates love and kindness. Often during the two or three years I've known this lady, she has greeted me with a kind hello. Allow me to share what I wrote about this person a couple weeks ago on my facebook status:

Today one of the sweet ladies that frequently sits at the nurses station waved me over to her. Usually in this situation, people need something- a tissue, a drink, or they need someone to get them help for something. So I went over to this lady expecting her to ask me to do something. But she just took my hand & kissed it twice!! Sweet moment I will remember.

Sadly in the last few days, this individual has taken a turn for the worse and is what we in nursing home land refer to as "declining". If we see this written, it is sort of a code word to go up and say good-bye to patients. I had planned to go visit her at the end of my workday when I am typically less stressed. However, early this afternoon, after lunch, I was having difficulty getting to treat my last three patients. Two people were still eating lunch. And another person was with visitors. So until someone was ready to work with me,  I did some documentation notes. After working on the notes, I decided I'd go visit this sweet lady before attempting to see if my patients were ready for therapy. I visited the lady for a couple minutes about 30 minutes before the earthquake.

When I went up to say hi to this person, she was sleepy, her eyes were closed. I held her hand and felt her squeeze my hand. I gave her a couple kisses on her forehead. I only stayed for a brief time- but I wanted to visit with her just in case. This Sunday, I am going out of town and will be gone for two weeks. (I will be going to Kenya for a volunteer service trip, more on that in some other post). Anyway, as I left her room, I hoped that she will somehow bounce back from her current situation. I hope the people who say she is declining are wrong. But just in case, I wanted to make sure to say goodbye just in case she isn't here when I return.

Then the earthquake hit! As I reflected on my afternoon, I thought of that lady who could quite possibly be in her last days of life and not to sound too weird, but it made me think of how you just never know what will happen. Crazy things can happen at all times in life! We never know what surprises we will encounter during our journey through life. In the case of this lasy who is in her 90s, she has surely been through countless challenges and trials in life yet when she least expects it, here comes yet one more thing.

Life is fun! Life is good! I get to go to Kenya, this trip wasn't jinxed by the earthquake. And this hurricane that is coming this weekend had better not jink it either! OK hurricane? I do not want to miss my flight to my once in a lifetime adventure because of you!! Is that a fair thing to ask? Got it?

OK! Here is looking forward to a GREAT day tomorrow and every day! :)