The Best Laid Plans 

 

I've just completed my four weeks at Prosthetics school, and what a time its been! I'd originally planned on blogging each week, but you know, the best laid of plans, etc etc.

 But I should start at the beginning.

 

The Move

 My wife is a teacher, and under contract. Also, if she finishes the full school year, then she gets paid over the summer; as such, we decided that it would be best if she remain in Texas until she finishes school, then join me here, where she can job hunt while still getting paid.

We also decided, since we were going to be living in a split household for 6 months living of a teacher's salary and student loans, and since we had been told by "reliable sources" that between bike trails and buses it was easy to get around California without a car, that we'd get me a decent bicycle and use the bus.

Those of you who know California, no laughing. :P

So we got me a bike, and as a handicapped individual I could get a bus pass for $15 for a full month, it seemed like a great deal. Being a BKA, I'm not terribly handicapped that much really, but I'm not going to complain!

Then, we rented an SUV to move my stuff. Wow! I really thought SUVs could hold more stuff than it turned out it could. I ended up having to leave a few things I'd planned on taking, including our two puppies, whom are our babies and I'd hoped to have during our trip to say goodbye to; so I ended up leaving them at Critter Camp, a kennel of sorts that has outdoor play areas for all the dogs staying there. I was heartbroken to be leaving them behind.

Our drive to California was relatively uneventful. As we drove through Arizona we saw several facilities of some sort that were pouring white smoke into the atmosphere - lots of facilities, lots of smoke. It was rather disgusting.In a few cases, the mammoth columns of smoke looked frozen like ice, unmoving against the background.

During this entire time, we were fretting the end of our trip: we haven't been separated from each other for over 8 years, and as such we were quite unhappy about our upcoming separation. We met a manager of a pizza hut on our way to California who said that she thought the secret to her successful marriage was her husband's frequent absences - he works for a railway, and is gone often.

We gave this woman an odd look, I'm sure.

During our trip, we also listened to a couple books on CD, such as Dean Koontz' Odd Thomas (an excellent book btw). But mostly, we spent much time talking, holding hands, and worrying over the end of our trip, while relishing each other's company as long as we could.

 

My New Home - for the Moment

 When we got to what would be my new home, I had a sinking feeling immediately. I can't say why. It just didn't feel right. The woman and her husband who would be my landlords seemed ok, but something didn't feel right at the time. Furthermore, the room I was renting didn't seem terribly ideal, and I'd be sharing a bathroom with two other people, their 18 year old daughter and their other renter.

I was also concerned, because though I could ride my bike 6 miles in 20 minutes back home, that was flat land: here, it was lots of hills and such. Nevertheless, my wife and I dropped off my stuff, and went to spend our last night together in a motel. The next morning, as she started to drive away, we were both so heartbroken that she and I almost decided to hell with it. Of stern stuff I guess we are not made, when it comes to being separated from each other.

As she drove away, I felt like a piece of my heart was leaving with her, to remain sundered til we shall be reunited again.

That first week was hell.

As it turns out, my place I chose to live in wasn't all that great a selection either, however. First, I have to say in advance that my landlord and landlady actually seem like nice people. They were willing to help me out, and the landlord, an avid fisherman, gave me some free trout. But, I think our lifestyles clashed. I was told, a number of times, that I was too loud. The first couple complaints were understandable, but then, when I was talking to my wife on the phone at 10 am on a saturday morning, I was told that was too loud as well.

Furthermore, me being a social person, this household was so quiet. Every time I tried to strike up a conversation with someone, I felt that no one was interested in talking to me

I was left feeling like I was walking on eggshells. I felt trapped. It didn't help that my commute for the 6 miles to my school was over 45 minutes: I had to be at a bus stop by 6:20, make a switch to another bus, and arrive at 7:15. The return trip was just as unpleasant. And if I missed a connection, which did happen once, god help me, because I'd have an extra hour wait.

I figure I'd study while waiting for the bus, but it was too dark in the mornings, and got too dark too early in the evenings, to make that possible: and studying in the bus wasn't easy, as I was having to make sure I didn't miss my stop/connection.

And riding my bike wasn't an option. Although I could ride my bike 6 miles in 20 minutes back home, these hills were killing me going a fraction of the distance.

And so, an opportunity came up to move in with a classmate. It got me out of a place I was uncomfortable with, but more importantly, allows me to carpool with him. He lives in a very large house with several other people and a single landlady. The house is nicer, the people are much more social.

There is another problem, however: apparently three of the four people renting rooms here are on the same circuit. And our combined electronics are overloading the circuit breakers. The problem is one of the rooms holds a couple, who have this massive TV, a minifridge, a wall heater, etc. The electrician says anything with a motor, most particularly the heater and fridge, were the most likely culprits, but the couple had a good reason why they shouldn't have to remove them: the fridge downstairs doesn't have enough space for their stuff as a couple, and the landlady likes to keep the house cool at nights, and they want to be warm.

But sometimes my electricity is going out twice a day. It's quite frustrating. And the landlady, a great person and fun to talk to, doesn't want to spend several hundred dollars to rewire these. So we are trying to find some kind of compromise, but it looks like I exchanged one set of problems for another, at an extra $100 a month. At least, however, I can carpool now, and if necessary the bus is a LOT shorter a ride, only 12 minutes, with no changes. I'm saving over three hours of my time each day, and that in itself is precious.

And As For School...

The first four weeks of school have been quite exciting, and somewhat fast paced. The first week is what they called tech week: they have us spend a week playing around with plaster and plastics, to learn how good we are with our hands and with the details of actually making a prosthesis and orthotic device.

Now, before I continue, let me explain, for those of you who do not know: when you go see a Prosthetist or Orthotist, you are seeing a clinician. They are the ones that get the heavy education for such things as keeping aware of your pathologies, analyzing the best devices for your physiology and ADLs (activities of daily living) that you use. Things like that.

The guys in the back that actually assemble your device are called technicians. They need less education, as they are basically following the blueprint laid down by the Prosthetist/Orthotist. To give you an analogy, when you go to a pharmacy, the people you usually talk to is the pharmacy technician, and the one who comes up to consult you on your drugs and answer your question is the actual pharmacist.

Same relationship, essentially. The Technicians are a valuable part of the team, obviously, but the Prosthetist/Orthotist is the guy/gal who gets the higher education, and the higher pay therefore. Of course, the Prosthetist/Orthotist, is expected to be able to build their devices as well. However, I suspect that due to where each person spends their time each day, the tecnicians are most likely better at actually building the devices.

In any case, the school expects you to be able to build the devices. I've been an amputee for 18 years, but I've only touched the device-making portion of the career a couple times, thus my experience in that area is near zero. My lack of experience became painfully obvious that first week. I've been told that I can expect them to work me hard in bringing those skills up to par.

However, I had fun, and I have since then. We already concluded our Material Sciences and Anatomy courses in weeks two and three. And now, in week four, we started working hard in our courses of Biomechanics and Gait Analysis, Practice and Patient Management, Transtibial amputations and prosthetics, manual muscle and range of motion testing, etc.

And we got to meet our first patient! My patient had been patient modelling for years, and some of our other students had patients who had been modelling since our current dean of our program had when he was a student - and he has been certified and practicing now for 29 years!

In other words, many of these patients knew immediately when we were making mistakes. It was both funny and embarrassing, heh!

Anyway, ours was a great patient. We made a mold of his leg, which we then used to make a cast for creating a plastic test socket. My hand skills are still obviously not up to par, but I was much more confident, and I'm getting better all the time.

Although my hand skills are weak, my clinical and analytical skills are much stronger. First, from having been a patient myself for 18 years, I understand much of the process already, though clearly I still have much to learn; and I've always leaned more towards the analytical side.

What Comes Next

It's been four weeks, and it's moving so fast! The work isn't necessary extremly difficult, there is just so much of it so fast to learn!

Our instructors are great, and so are my fellow students. I'm enjoying the entire process. My only concerns are where do I go from here. I don't mean during this school semester: I think this will be a fine experience.

But, right now I'm in the prosthetics program. I'd intended to attend the following semester, this time in Orthotics. From there, I'd go do my two years residency, and then start seeking my practice.

However, I've been told that I may have trouble getting into the Orthotics program. Although being in school does let me get my foot in the door, the fact is it's not automatic, and if enough qualified individuals with experience apply for the limited positions available, I'm basically stuck. I may have to go out, get my residency in prosthetics, hopefully somewhere where I can get some Orthotics experience as well, so I can come back later.

The problem is that, nationwide, all the O&P programs are going to be converting to masters programs within a couple years, and getting in is going to be tougher. I will have to somehow get all this in before the time ticks away.

I have to do some Preceptor hours before I can start my residency. At its bare bones, basically its 250 hours, or 6 weeks, of unpaid work in a practice. The school provides several fridays over the course of the 5 months where we can do some preceptorship work, but most of it is to be done in the summer, after school is complete. I had thought I could get in some volunteer work at an Orthotics facility, and I was told that would make it much more likely I could get in.

However, as it turns out, they have other plans for me: since my hand skills are weaker than my classmates, they want me to spend those fridays working on those skills. Ugh. I feel like I'm stuck. I really don't want to have to go away, and come back later, possibly trying to race under the wire to get this work done. I'd like to just get it all done once and for all.

Wish me luck, say a prayer for me, or what have you.

And For the Far Future

My long term goals for O&P haven't been hammered in stone. After all, the process takes a bit over 3 years, so I have plenty of time. However, I've had two areas I've been considering.

The first is Research. O&P is seriously lacking in research right now. As it turns out, the reason for it is most people who want to get into O&P want to work with patients, not work with paper and computers. So, there aren't many research-minded individuals in the field, compared to the number of practicitioners already here.

I'm somewhat in the same boat. I was a physics major for two years, because I loved science, but there was something about it that drove me away - to computer science, where I worked until the dot-com collapse. Even then, however, I hated being stuck in a cubicle. One reason I'm drifting to O&P is that I can work with people, help people much like me, while still working in a field that requires me problem solving.

But it occurs to me that I may be in a position to use my scientific skills to do research. I'd only do it via working with patients, however. ;)   Perhaps find patients who wouldn't mind being projects for me. Any takers out there? :)

The other is pediatrics. I must say, I love kids, and it broke my wife's and my hearts that we can't have our own. So, our long term goal is to adopt, very possibly through the foster care system. However, in the meantime, I was thinking I might try working with children. There is a shriner's hospital nearby that I am going to try getting my preceptorship with, and a practice in houston that specializes in children that I'm very interested in talking to as I conclude my certification.

But for now, I have only three things on my mind: conclude school with stellar success, somehow get into the orthotics program despite the hurdles in front of me, and be reunited with the other half of my heart. She should be joining me June 2nd. I have a very long and difficult wait ahead of me.

Pardon my litte rant here. I just wanted to comment that it really sucks that this place doesn't have a save draft feature for blogs. I wrote part of a blog, decided to finish it the next day, so left it running. Got up, finished the blog, hit preview post...

It showed an error, and backing up had the post completely gone!

Ugh. It was a really long post too. Well, I'll try and get that done "soon." After I'm done ranting. ;)