Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Evening

An unusual evening.

I went to physical therapy, and for a great deal of it I had the attention of one of the young women who works there. Normally, I deal with one of two people -- a young man or a somewhat older woman; occasionally, a young woman. All of them (as indeed all of the staff) are therapists, but their styles (and, I suspect, abilities) vary widely -- the older woman is probably the most competent and most likely to show me different stretches and exercises, followed at a distance by the man; the younger woman is the nicest of the three (not that the first two are difficult, not at all), but is also the least likely to push any particular exercises.

But the women who work in the main part of the floor are different -- much more energetic, much more likely to push exercises. I was irritated to have this person's attention, as she demanded greater exertion in the exercises, with more attention to form, and for longer than any of the three I normally deal with. Yet I was also aware that although I did not like the experience, she was giving me exactly what I needed -- exercise, and a lot of it, focused on the muscles which are the weakest, and where I am having the most difficulty now. I found myself wondering why the people I normally deal with aren't this -- no other word seems appropriate -- pushy.

I still prefer 'my' people. But now I wonder if, in so doing, I'm shortchanging myself.

2 comments:

genderist said...

I know exactly what you mean. Pre c-bomb I was a big blood donor, tossing units all over the place. When I was at the university the same phlebotomy team would always come to the blood drives, and I had a favorite tech. I wanted her to stick me because she was quick and efficient, she RARELY had to dig for the vein, and she was social during the collection process. I liked her a lot. I didn't care if her station wasn't open when it was my turn; I waited for her. It would really gross out the people who were in charge of flow and numbers, but I felt like if my blood was special enough for some pre-packaged peanut butter crackers and cold pizza, it should also be special enough for me to pick who was going to jab needles at me.

(and now that I'm the one jabbing needles, I seriously do try to "shop around" and look for the very best vein to use before I start jabbing --- as I've had plenty of bad experiences as a proud three-gallon donor)

(and nobody wants my blood now anyways!)

Cerulean Bill said...

Have you heard of that deal where its possible to essentially 'paint' (I think its an image) the underlying veins on the surface of the skin? Sounds cool, though expensive for the org taking the blood.