B-right side

After five or six weeks, I joined the Occupational Therapists in the kitchen where they told me, that I was about to make some toast and tea! I was thrilled, as I thought that making 'breakfast' was a real achievement!  


I manage to burn the first lot of toast because I couldn't coordinate myself in the wheelchair and 'do things'! I had to put more toast in the toaster and I watched it turn golden brown and then I remembered that I had to make a cup of tea. When it was almost ready for me to add milk, I almost burnt the toast again - Ness (the young OT) managed to get the slices out and ready to be buttered. That was a whole other thing right there, because I had been a right handed person most of my life and now, I didn't know what to do because I didn't have a right handed anything! I didn't even registered that I had a right side because it didn't do anything! My right side didn't hurt as such, it just did nothing. So, I remember looking at my right hand and my left and my right again, then I tried to butter with my left hand - whoaaa that was a mistake. I tried to put the knife onto the bread and I never realised how difficult it was to use your left hand, but that was what I had to face, that and more tears because I had no idea how I was going to butter this stupid toast!


After a few stops and starts, I managed to get the toast sort of buttered and took it and my tea and went to eat it in the 'dining room' that is set up in the hall of the Brain Injury Department. There where about 4 different lots of people learning various chores that morning and all of us were concentrating on our mission to the exclusion of everyone else. That hall saw many a herculean task I can tell you, as all of the broken people tried so hard to 'fit in' and be 'normal'.


This was one of the many meal time tasks that I and the other residents of Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney had to learn again. The simple tasks like making tea and toast seem are a huge learning curve and you really do feel 'chuffed' when you get it right! However, once won't do it, because you forget how to do it almost as soon as you make something - another thing I didn't know - and most people who are trying to make breakfast for the first, second and third time don't know this either!!! So, the whole process takes on surreal concept. 


After 3 or 4 times, it is set in your mind (brain) and you can go on to the next step, so, again learning everything, takes a long time. When we had the tea and toast down pat, we moved on to an egg, the next time it was an egg and bacon! Then, after I had made a simple breakfast a couple of times, we moved on to a full breakfast that included: cornflakes and milk, and fried egg and bacon with a piece of toast and a cup of tea, I wasn't going to eat all that anyway, but I felt really empowered!! That day was one of smiles and it only took me 8 weeks!


The staff are so patient and calm that it does make one wonder, is there a special place where they all come from???