Pleasant Surprise

Tuesday June 7^th 2016

                Today was my first day of shadowing with Dr. Julie Guthrie at Synergie PT & IT WAS A BLAST. 

Trying to find the place was a bit confusing, but eventually I found it tucked between bed bath & beyond & city bank.

There are three different practices within the shared space, which was really cool because I got to meet all the other therapists and spend some time with them, including a neuro PT practice. What was even cooler was professional athletes were rehabbing right in front of my eyes! I got to meet Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans basketball team and two of his teammates as well.  Michigan State’s star basketball player Denzel Valentine was also there, who is predicted to be a number 1 NBA draft pick this year (AWESOME). Two pro tennis players and 3 pro hockey players were there too.  I definitely was not expecting to get such an experience, but it was amazing! The equipment that they have is state of the art stuff. 

They even have a gait analysis machine with a computer program that analyzes what is causing pain when you walk.  What’s even better is that I got to work with the program!

I was able to take screenshots of the EMG’s and paste them into an excel spreadsheet. They hooked up electrodes to the gluteus maximus and medius and recorded EMG’s to see which of the muscles were firing and when they were. Another girl my age was there, who I later found out it was her first day as well, but she was working there for the whole summer (I’m jealous).  Dr. Guthrie had 2 patients with pelvic floor dysfunction and 2 knee injuries.  It was cool to learn about pelvic floor dysfunction because I haven’t heard much of it before.  Overall, it was a fantastic day & I can’t wait for tomorrow!

-Things are looking up.

Grimmzlybear

Urban Idiot

Monday June 6^th 2015

                Yesterday evening I moved in with the host family Deb & Paul, who are extremely caring and helpful people.  Their son and daughter in law just had their first child a day before we moved in, so they were both excited & exhausted when I arrived. Deb had a list of all things within walking distance for us, as well as information of bus routes. The beach is about 2.5 miles from us, which I decided to run last night- not bad at all after walking 10-15 miles a day with a 45 lb pack on my back. 

Playa Del Rey Beach

Due to a conflict at the office & with her childcare schedule, I was unable to go into shadow Dr. Guthrie today. So, I decided to take full advantage of the day off in cali by going to check out the Santa Monica pier.  This included trying to learn the bus transportation system for the first time. Keep in my mind how my luck has already been on this trip so far. To start the day off, I got onto the wrong bus which took me into downtown LA. I realized I was on the wrong bus as I watched a bus on the opposite side of the road drive by with the words “Downtown Santa Monica” across the front of it.  Luckily, there was a girl on the side of the road at the station that was willing to help me out.  Finally, I got onto the right bus & arrived in Santa Monica about an hour later.  In downtown Santa Monica, there was a multitude of shops, where I was able to pick up some souvenirs for the family.   I was even able to hang at the beach for a few hours and ride the Farris wheel on the pier, showing a spectacular view.  Unfortunately, while on the beach, I stepped in some sort of black tar, which seemed to stick to the bottom of my foot as bad as gum sticks in hair. I instantly reached down to remove it & it quickly branched onto my fingers.  SO, not only did I have black tar on my foot, but now all over my hands! I couldn’t even touch anything! I had to get a cup of ice in order to freeze it to scrape it off.  After hours of effort, the tar finally came off.

-Life was much easier on the trail. 

June 4th 2016
             This morning I received a devastating call from my mother, informing me that my great uncle had passed after a long battle of cancer.  Although a great uncle, he was very close to my family, especially my father.  He was a very popular man in Connellsville, even having a pizza named after him at the local Bud Murphy's (The Tzan Pizza).  I hated to hear the news, but knew that he would no longer be suffering.  Also, it was very unfortunate that it happened while I was all the way across the country, but I knew that he'd be happy that I was getting to travel. He will be missed greatly.

               On another note, I move in with the host family tomorrow and begin the second half of my project, which I am very excited about! Today Nat took me to an amusement park called Knott's Berry Farm, which was similar to Kennywood. For dinner, I had the chance to meet almost her whole family and we went to a Thai Restaurant.  Very different from what I am used to yet again! The food was served family style, which was cool because, yet again I had no idea how to order.  The soup was extremely hot, but Natalie and her dad seemed to have no trouble finishing it.  Meanwhile, I needed like 2 glasses of water after the first sip!  They also ordered catfish, but informed me that it was hotter than the soup, so I decided to take a pass on that.  All the other food I enjoyed, especially the coconut ice cream :)! Another previous night she took me to try Vietnamese with her family as well, which I also enjoyed. We had something known as Pho (pronounced pha) and it was just kind of like noodles.  I just had chicken flavor and it tasted like chicken noodle soup.  Her father ordered this frozen drink and let me have a sip.  It was terrible! It tasted like frozen eggs or something and I hate eggs, but I got to drink another Thai tea, so I was happy. Overall, Natalie's family was a blast.  Her younger brother is also a child prodigy, which I think I forgot to mention.  He's only 4 and can read and knows all the states and capitols by heart.  I'll miss their hospitality, but am looking forward to my next destination! Tomorrow she is taking me to the train station to catch a train into downtown LA and then Uber to my next Airbnb family!

-Grimmzlybear