Friday, July 3, 2009

My Not So Last Day

6/26/09
Today was meant to be my last day at RCCH. It was a particularly busy day. The theatres that were lacking yesterday, were made up for today. Between mask inductions and dressing changes, I said my goodbyes and thanked the staff for their cooperation and hospitality. Near the end of the day, a past patient showed up. This is the patient whom I was scheduled to work with over a month ago. She has a history of several anxieties surrounding the hospital. She never turned up for her appointment with us and no one had heard much more beyond that…until today. I nearly hit the floor when she told me that her theatre was on Monday. Of course. How could I possibly ignore this? I spoke with Jenny and we agreed that I would go to the hospital Sunday night and accompany her to theatre on Monday morning. The pain management team feels strongly about working through this child’s anxieties as an alternative to simply sedating her every time she has theatre. I would not be a respectable child life specialist if I did not only agree with this, but do everything in my power to make that happen. Most child life specialists would give their entire bubble supply for that kind of support and advocacy from the medical team.

After work, Sarah and I took our laptops to a café around the corner, Special Gallery 38. We wanted reliable internet and food…and the options at mugged, the café in the lobby of our building, are getting old. We enjoyed coffee and sandwiches among beautiful and works of art.

This evening we had dinner at Cauveau near Kloof st. It is our last night all together because Lucy leaves for Malaui this weekend and doesn’t return until the end of July. Pippa and Lucy’s friend, James (who is here visiting her this week) joined us. We ordered sushi, tappas and wonderful desserts. The food was good, but the servings weren’t nearly big enough. The service was also terribly slow, even by South African standards. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time. Lucy has been an amazing roommate. Sarah has only made a great addition. We are all laidback and get along really well. Even the most relaxing of evenings are entertaining and there hasn’t been even a hint of an issue. Listening to our friends talk about their awful roommates and apartment drama, we know how lucky we are and thank each other daily. Lucy and I have made a deal that she will intermittently mail me Cadbury chocolates and I peanut butter M&M’s to her. The three of us also plan to visit the other in her respective cities. A 1304 reunion!!

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