Existing is not always Living...

I had worked as a Recreational Therapist for 6 years before I met Ethel. I met her on a Geriatric Rehab unit, recovering from multiple strokes, she was adjusting to her body as it was being increasingly robbed of movement. Being the fiercely independent woman she was...her new reality of relying on others to perform the most mundane as well as the most intimate of tasks was a struggle, both physically and emotionally. Our sessions would explore previous interests while actively working on therapeutic goals to increase core strength and wheelchair tolerance. Integrating activities that she had identified to be lifelong passions, we worked on those goals together. We celebrated brief gains in the length of time she was able to be up in her chair, only to see another setback in another stroke, further increasing her dependence on others.

Shortly before her passing, she declined a session with me. It was out of character for her, she had always been motivated to get up out of bed to work with me on the patio. She loved the gardens, the fresh air and the butterflies. She told me she was tired. The multiple strokes were resulting in increased contractures. But after declining her session, she called me to her side and reached for my hand. "I want you to know something." She went on to explain how her struggle has been long. She joked that she should have died many times..."medicine has given me the gift of extending my existence on this earth." She went on to talk about her sessions with me: "…you bring life to my days. If it weren’t for you, I would just be existing. You let me live."

Ethel is no longer in pain, she no longer fights against her contracted, paralyzed body. She is no longer on this earth, but her words remain in my heart, and guide my practice to this day. Engagement in life IS Recreational Therapy.