Wow...it's been that long since I've updated, eh?  Well, for those who don't know, I'm currently in Baton Rouge, LA working at a clinic for people who has Leprosy as part of my 2nd clinical rotation.  Man, I seriously looooove my job!  I love it!!  The people here are so incredibly nice...the physical therapists I work with are so freakin chilled...the patients here are wonderful people to work with - they have such a positive attitude even though they've been shunned on and ignored by the rest of society due to the knowledge of their disease or seeing their deformities. But I just love going to work every morning.  I'm learning so much about the disease and its history...and listening to their stories of all they've been through...I'm just so amazed.  

You wonder how does physical therapy come into play?  I asked that myself in the beginning. (I'm sorry if this sounds like a plug for Physical Therapy, but people...we're involved in so many health related fields! Check it out!! )  Basically I look at their feet...making sure that they don't get any sores or ulcers because they really don't have much sensation in their extremities.  So any little thing can be a big problem to them; whereas, people like us who have normal sensation, we would adjust our foot or take the pebble out of our shoes if it bothers us...however, they don't feel anything there so with continued pressure, they would eventually have an infected foot if nothing is done to it.  We also make certain customized orthotics and special shoes for them in order to protect their feet.  So I do a lot of management of the foot...such as callus and nail trimming (it's a lot harder than it looks!)...cleaning lots of wounds and putting different sort of dressings over them, making casts and splints.  Ok, so it may not be the most ideal job for everybody, but it's amazing how much it helps the patient when you figure out the problem and find the correct footwear for them. You just can't get easily grossed out.   Ultimately, it comes down to how close we work with our patients...you are able to develop an amazing relationship with them. 

I've only been here 3 weeks, but i feel like i'm already part of this wonderful family. My PT made me some awesome Louisiana cajun food for lunch yesterday and showed me how to appropriately peel crawfish after I told them I've never had crawfish before.  I've just been so blessed with my clinicals so far...'cause i know some of my classmates who did or are having a rough time in theirs.  hopefully, it's gonna continue for the rest of my clinical rotations!  The only thing I'm worried about is that I don't come back with a serious twang (I know Aaaalice that I already have a slight one) but hopefully it won't get worse.  Ok, that's my life so far in a nutshell.