I may have a perspective that not many have given recent events with my daughter. I think, in the last 3+ weeks, my ideas have evolved beyond that of just "return to function". It has truly been a learning experience for me. There are other perspectives that patients and families bring to the arena that I will be much more mindful of in the future. I have a 10 year old (yes, that was ten) that was recently diagnosed with RSD in her left leg (or CRPS type 1 in the new vernacular). On September 24th she was doing tae kwon do, running, playing and looking forward to being in a wedding on Nov. 4. By September 28th, she was non-ambulatory using crutches exclusively and in unremitting, excruciating pain. She has had a lumbar sympathetic block under anesthesia and is undergoing therapy with two mindsets--let the pain get better and MOSTLY, I hope I can walk down the aisle at Sarah's wedding without crutches. We are nearing that date and not sure she is going to reach that goal. I think the mindset is somewhere between the two ideas presented—they are not exclusive of each other, rather each implies the other. Yes, our primary focus is reducing the pain, but it is SO she can WALK. I believe the goals for recovery are closer to your perspective, Ron, but her primary concern above all is to walk down that aisle. You are right in that she sees recovery as the gateway to return to function. It has been very interesting being on the other side. We are working with a physical therapist that, while he asked what her goals were, he doesn’t focus on them in a truly discernible manner. I believe an OT would look more closely at the functional goals and explicitly apply them in the clinic whereas, her therapy has been much more implicit.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. Judy Hamby -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] ************************************************************************************** Enroll in Boston University's post-professional Master of Science for OTs Online. Gain the skills and credentials to propel your career. www.otdegree.com/otn **************************************************************************************
