The New Normal

Hello Dean--well-timed post. I had to do just this today with a young lady who has spinal cancer and all she wants to do is get dressed up in her prom gown. We had to use a tilt table just to stand in therapy. Never an easy task.

Congrats on your card. I did get my UK PT license approved but now have to face the hurdle of getting a sponsorship since the Tier 1 Highly Skilled Immigrant Programme no longer exists. I'm in a Catch-22; can't get a letter of sponsorship til I have a job offer and what employer will hire someone from the States who can't start a new job "on Monday." Any suggestions? The married-to-a-national thing isn't working out for me.

Thanks for all your help; very much appreciated!!

Mary Lou

I deal with this all the time.  There is no good way to tell someone their normal has changed.  I try to limit my conversations to rehab needs.  Patients still pick up on the undercurrent that things won't be the same.   I'm usually the first therapy to interact with these patients.  The majority seem to have some inkling the future will be different. At least once a week I  make someone cry when I tell them they need rehab.  This conversation doesn't happen until we've tried to get out of bed and ambulate so they've had a chance to see things aren't working the same so they usually have some idea there is a problem.  Many want me to tell them everything will get back to normal and I can't.  I never know what to do when the crying starts.

Good post.  This is something we should think about more.  More often than not, we're the ones who break the news of the new normal to our patients.

Good advice for many circumstances:  remembering when we were in a similar situation.  Putting ourselves in the other person's shoes, especially if we've actually been in their shoes - or at least worn the same type of shoe, maybe just a different size.

It is so easy to forget the challenges of our struggles once we've passed them.  But so empowering to others when we can hold on to the realities of those experiences and share the hope of being on the other side.

Congrats on the UKs equivalent to a green card!