Your Towel Sir
Every time I take my bath towel in my two hands and scrub my back dry, I think of Celine.
Celine was the first therapist I met the day I started the C.A.R. Program. Celine was nothing like the French Canadian singer of the same name. Sure, she had a mop of curly, black brown hair. But this Celine was a no-nonsense professional Occupation Therapist. Celine did a quick history. “When exactly did your accidentyoccur?” As usual I subtly corrected her for using the word accident, “My car crashed into the concrete sound barrier some time in the wee hours of August twenty first, this year.”
Even though she had my records from Foothills Hospital right in front of her, Celine insisted on verifying every detail. “What did the OT at Foothills do?”
“I only remember some of it”, I said. “She met me three times a week. She had me do some pencil and paper exercises like balancing a cheque book. I had to draw that stupid clock again. What is with that clock drawing exercise?”
Celine said, “Drawing that clock and the hands on the clock show how your motor function and spatial reasoning are working.” “Now what else did the OT do?”
“For me the most important exercise was the typing I did one or two times a week. She toured my apartment . I think to make sure it was hazard free. She made sure I had ordered a bath bench from the Red Cross and a walker. Then she had me cook a meal that I planned. She did the shopping. But I did all the preparation and cooked the meal. A little thing I call Lyle’s Ginger Zinger Stir Fry. That’s pretty much it.”
“When did she inspect your apartment?”
“About four days before I moved back in”. I said.
“How did you perform on your kitchen assessment”, she asked.
“I did pretty well. She told me that the only mistake I made was that a couple times I forgot to use my cane.”
Her next question floored me.
“Did the OT suspend your driver’s license?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Well. We’ll have to see about that. I want you to call Alberta Driver Monitoring. Tell them you were in an accident and had a hemorrhagic stroke. Then they will suspend your drivers license until you can take another drivers test”, she said.
“Take another drivers test?” I was stunned and bewildered. I had been driving for forty six years. I was a good driver. Well, except for the Crash!
“Yes. We don’t want people who have had a stroke driving. You can see the wisdom of that. You need to do your rehabilitation. Then when you are ready you’ll do a drivers test. Here’s the phone number. Phone them this week. I will check up.”, she said.
She stared at me with those piercing brown-black eyes.
I knew I had to do it. And, I did the next day.
We were done for now. “The next time we meet you will complete another assessment. Then we will know how your exact program of rehabilitation will role out. Any questions?’
I had no questions. Celine intimidated the shit out of me.
Celine looked down at her paperwork and I was done with her.
And, I was off to find someone named Adeline.
An excerpt from CRASH! Memories of a Healing Journey, All Rights Reserved, Lyle T. Lachmuth
