What I Did Not Know as an OT
About the Author: Rebecca Dutton is a former occupational therapist and stroke survivor. Her blog Home After a Stroke was rated as the world’s top 10 stroke related blogs by the Medical News Today. You can find the original post and other blog posts by Rebecca at http://homeafterstroke.blogspot.com/ Find the original post at: {{original_post_url}}
As a site affiliated with Strokefocus, we are authorized to repost blog articles from Home After a Stroke.
A friend recently told me how disappointed she was after she wore a light backpack while walking on the boardwalk at the beach. It has been six months since her shoulder surgery so she did not expect her shoulder to ache after this walk. Her story reminded me of how I felt when I had setbacks in my recovery from a stroke and total knee replacement surgery. Her story reminded me of when I told my therapist that I was discouraged because of a setback. My therapist tried to reassure me by saying lots of people have setbacks. This made me realize that seeing a setback is not the same as experiencing one.
What I did not know as an OT was that being able to deal with powerful emotions and negative thoughts is as important as dealing with the pain and fatigue created by physical challenges. I no longer wonder why some people die soon after they have surgery to pair a broken hip. I have had to talk myself into not giving up many times. When I feel afraid or disappointed, I start reminding myself that half of recovery is mental. It is not easy. homeafterstroke.blogspot.com