RT Experience

Every day of the quad life, I use different items to do every task. In order to type this, I use a mouth stick. For getting around anywhere other than my bed, I utilize my wheelchair. Finally, every minute of every day, I use mechanical support for breathing.

After more than three decades of using these tools, I have gained a bit of experience with them and everyday life. I have been able to help college students in the fields of physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), emergency management services (EMS), nursing, and now respiratory therapy (RT).

My first RT class was Wednesday. I have been working to speak to this class for a few years and it thankfully worked this year. There were about 30 students from a combined two classes all stuffed into one room. After going over my basic history, I was able to cover my years of using the traditional ventilator as well as now with the diaphragm pacemaker and trach button.

Just like with the other classes, I'm hoping to make this an annual visit. With the OT and PT classes, I feel like I provide them with some useful help, but this class felt like much more. With the other professions, my use of technology is pretty basic compared to what's available in their fields. However, for RT I do now use more diverse options that not everyone gets to experience.

With the insurance uncertainties, I didn't contact very many schools to try to get scheduled this spring. The school I was at this week also offers several other medical degrees that I hope to be able help. However, I didn't want to get scheduled and then have to back out if my availability changed.

Sometimes wanting to do more and being unsure of what I will be able to do gets annoying. Through it all, I'm continuing to learn to step out and be active and trust God's plan will happen no matter what. The start of April looks to be slow for now, but that could always change with a few emails. I will wait to see what another week brings.