I Didn’t Know What To Do With a Hair Brush
People seem to miss the obvious such as the crosswalk that didn’t align with the curb ramps or the curb ramp at the bottom of stairs. Following my stroke I was in three hospitals over three months. Overall I’d say I received good treatment.
However it makes you a bit nervous when they miss the obvious. In my first few weeks they had me sedated so I hadn’t clue what was going on around me. Apparently I’d respond to people talking to me — using facial gestures and shaking my head. They were trying to determine how much brain damage had suffered and thus how much of my functions I might regain.
My friends tell me they medical staff thought it was good that when they handed me a toothbrush I knew what to do with it. However they were concerned because I appeared clueless at what to do with a hairbrush. If you’ve seen my picture or met me you know that for a good seven years or so I’ve kept my head shaved. For years before that I had very short clipped hair. So to hand a guy with a shaved head (now with a couple of weeks of stubble) a hairbrush is just plain stupid.
A few weeks as I was awake and receiving therapy I was so happy when the therapist said I was going to get to work on shaving. I had quite the stubble on my face and head by this point. Again for about 7-8 years shaving meant shaving my head and face. Naturally I begin to apply shaving cream to my head. The therapist stops me. In a report I read later it was noted that I was “confused” because I applied lotion to my head. I wasn’t confused at all — I felt like a hippie with 6 weeks of growth on my head. The obvious was missed. Granted I was not really in the best shape to be taking a razor to my head but confused I was not. Well, at least not about that.
I convinced a friend to bring in my clippers and to buy me an electric shaver. One way or another my head was getting shaved.
This is just one example of where trained professionals missed the obvious. Perhaps they always use the toothbrush and hairbrush as measures of cognitive ability? But handing a guy with a shaved head a hairbrush is like handing someone with false teeth a toothbrush.
Often it takes a third party to point out things like “he’s bald” or why put a ramp at a staircase. Professionals do f-up. That is why architects & engineers carry Errors & Omission insurance. The obvious isn’t always obvious to everyone.
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After a relatively serious car accident, the paramedics asked me what the date was as a test of my mental acuity. First of all, on a normal day I usually have to guess at the date or ask someone if I’m writing a check. Second, the accident occurred in January, so I hadn’t adjusted to the year. If I recall, I got it right. But only after a long hesitation. Maybe there’s a benchmark. Maybe if I’d said: “Februcember 42nd, 1765” they’d have driven faster.
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When my mom had a stroke, I was that third party. I asked the nurses if they were really trying to get information or if they were testing her. She’d flip things like the year. When they asked her when she was born, she said 1932. She was really born in 1923. It was interesting in a scary sort of way. I can see why putting shaving cream on your head would be something to mark down in the notes!
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