Rolling Up My Green Sleeves
When I went to OFCR, my first year of high school, I was stoked to go on what was called a "one day adventure." These adventures, as the name suggests, took place on one particular day; the cabins would split up and individually attend different activities that they'd pre-registered for. These activities included canoeing, rock climbing, door-to-door witnessing, paintballing, and more. The particular year I have in mind is the year I went fish-shocking. It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like.
Riding on the bus to the river where the shocking would take place, I realized I'd forgotten my camera. This was devastating, as I was most excited about reliving the event, not just experiencing it. Right then and there I prayed a simple prayer: God, help me remember this day. Provide SOMETHING that will solidify in my mind the significance of this experience. He did. I ended up falling in the water right as the electricity was searching for fish; it settled for me. It was a mild shock, but nonetheless I couldn't move my legs or arms very well for the next several minutes. I'll never forget that day, and I'll never again pray for God to help me memorize experiences.
So, why do I tell you that? Today, I had an experience that solidified, in vivid detail, my first day working at HEDC. I didn't pray a prayer, but I got an answer.... sort of.
I arrived on time, with little difficulty. The patients came in and I was shown the process of weighing them and taking their vitals (nice to meet you, too; could you step on the scale for me?). Yeah, it was an awkward introduction, but starting the relationship right off the bat! It was kind of cool, actually, a new patient started at HEDC, today was her first day, just like me!
The next big event was lunch. Everyone brought their own food, we took a "hungry vs full" tally at the beginning and end of the meal, and then processed any challenges throughout the meal. I filled out some paperwork documenting my observations from the meal, I cleaned the kitchen and emptied the dishwasher, I hung out with the patients and read a policy manual, then I headed out to pick up dinner from a chinese restaurant.
Monday night dinners are "family style." This means everyone eats the same thing, and it's ordered from a restaurant. Sounds simple, right? NOT. At least, not for ED patients. This type of meal is scary in a lot of ways.There's a ton of unknowns. They don't know what type of food they're getting until they walk in the dining room. Then, they have to try and pick things from what we ordered that will fit their meal plan.
Understanding this was a difficult decision for them, I decided to wait until last to get food, to give them the most options. Well, when it was my turn, the only option left was pork. If you know me at all, you probably know pork and I don't get along (thank you college biology dissections). Anyway, I've been in this situation before, and I'm confident I can do this. However, I fail to take into account the migraine beginning to gnaw on my brain. As we're wrapping up dinner, I realize I may have bitten off more than I can chew. I feel terrible. My head hurts like nothing else, and my stomach is tying knots as if it were the rodeo. I know I'm gonna be sick.
I rush to the bathroom hoping I'm wrong. I mean, how embarrassing is it to get food poisoning from an eating disorder recovery center? Turns out, I was right. After the initial chuck, I felt a little better, but my stomach was still kinda leery. I jumped in my car and began the commute home.
It wasn't long before I began salivating and couldn't control the dips my stomach was taking. I threw up in my mouth and thoughts "You've go to be kidding me." No kidding here, I totally tossed my cookies 4 or 5 times on my way from work to home. On my clothes, on my steering wheel, on my pedals, on my purse, on my iPhone, on my hands, on my face.... EVERYWHERE. I was on the highway, so there wasn't much I could do except keep on keeping on. I eventually made it back home where I spent some quality time with John and showered. My amazing family tackled the car mess.
So, there you have it. And I hope I never get it again.
Oh, and I'm liking the job so far, despite this minor set back.
Riding on the bus to the river where the shocking would take place, I realized I'd forgotten my camera. This was devastating, as I was most excited about reliving the event, not just experiencing it. Right then and there I prayed a simple prayer: God, help me remember this day. Provide SOMETHING that will solidify in my mind the significance of this experience. He did. I ended up falling in the water right as the electricity was searching for fish; it settled for me. It was a mild shock, but nonetheless I couldn't move my legs or arms very well for the next several minutes. I'll never forget that day, and I'll never again pray for God to help me memorize experiences.
So, why do I tell you that? Today, I had an experience that solidified, in vivid detail, my first day working at HEDC. I didn't pray a prayer, but I got an answer.... sort of.
I arrived on time, with little difficulty. The patients came in and I was shown the process of weighing them and taking their vitals (nice to meet you, too; could you step on the scale for me?). Yeah, it was an awkward introduction, but starting the relationship right off the bat! It was kind of cool, actually, a new patient started at HEDC, today was her first day, just like me!
The next big event was lunch. Everyone brought their own food, we took a "hungry vs full" tally at the beginning and end of the meal, and then processed any challenges throughout the meal. I filled out some paperwork documenting my observations from the meal, I cleaned the kitchen and emptied the dishwasher, I hung out with the patients and read a policy manual, then I headed out to pick up dinner from a chinese restaurant.
Monday night dinners are "family style." This means everyone eats the same thing, and it's ordered from a restaurant. Sounds simple, right? NOT. At least, not for ED patients. This type of meal is scary in a lot of ways.There's a ton of unknowns. They don't know what type of food they're getting until they walk in the dining room. Then, they have to try and pick things from what we ordered that will fit their meal plan.
Understanding this was a difficult decision for them, I decided to wait until last to get food, to give them the most options. Well, when it was my turn, the only option left was pork. If you know me at all, you probably know pork and I don't get along (thank you college biology dissections). Anyway, I've been in this situation before, and I'm confident I can do this. However, I fail to take into account the migraine beginning to gnaw on my brain. As we're wrapping up dinner, I realize I may have bitten off more than I can chew. I feel terrible. My head hurts like nothing else, and my stomach is tying knots as if it were the rodeo. I know I'm gonna be sick.
I rush to the bathroom hoping I'm wrong. I mean, how embarrassing is it to get food poisoning from an eating disorder recovery center? Turns out, I was right. After the initial chuck, I felt a little better, but my stomach was still kinda leery. I jumped in my car and began the commute home.
It wasn't long before I began salivating and couldn't control the dips my stomach was taking. I threw up in my mouth and thoughts "You've go to be kidding me." No kidding here, I totally tossed my cookies 4 or 5 times on my way from work to home. On my clothes, on my steering wheel, on my pedals, on my purse, on my iPhone, on my hands, on my face.... EVERYWHERE. I was on the highway, so there wasn't much I could do except keep on keeping on. I eventually made it back home where I spent some quality time with John and showered. My amazing family tackled the car mess.
So, there you have it. And I hope I never get it again.
Oh, and I'm liking the job so far, despite this minor set back.
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