Day 2 Volunteering

I park my car, sign in to the volunteer sheet, grab my volunteer ID, and clean my hands. Now, I am ready to make someones day better. I make my way to the physical therapy area to get further directions.

I am there no longer than 30 seconds when I have my first patient. I go and find her to bring her over. Remember this is my first day on my own, and second day in total, so I am not totally aware of rules and procedures. But, being very adaptable to my surroundings, I get by. I get to the room and well this is the conversation that went down.

Me: "Hello, I am here to take you down to your physical therapy appointment."
Patient: "No."
Me: (In my head) Shot! Do they have that option? What do I do if they say no? (Being quick on my feet I reply. "But it will make you feel better. I have had physical therapy on my shoulders and look at me go! *Lifts arms up*
Patient: "I'll go next week."
Me: "I just want you to feel better. What kind of guy would I be if I didn't want you to feel your best?"
Patient: (Smiling) "Okay, let's go."

So after convincing the patient to go, I find out that I have to unplug the oxygen. So many little things I was unaware of. Well, I asked a nurse, which just happen to be walking by to assist me and I was finally on my way. I was able to talk to the patient as we walked, and had a small pleasant conversation. It really made the patient feel better knowing someone was there that appreciated them. As opposed to someone who was forced to be there. I think that's the great thing about this place. Most people that are there are volunteers. They want to be there to help them, so it makes it very easy to get along.

In the process of getting this patient, I complimented another patient on his hat. Why would I do this? Because it was a Mets hat. Being a Mets fan, I could only smile when I noticed he was wearing the hat. He told me he had something to show me, but currently being with a patient, I told him I would come back. I came back to see what he wanted to show me. Turns out he had a shirt in the closet and not just any shirt. This shirt had a prediction on it. What did it say you ask? Well, it said, "I predict the Mets will win in 2010."

After having a good talk with him, I went back to wait for the rest of the patients to finish up so that I could take them back to their rooms. During the wait, I assist the physical therapy staff walking the people who can't walk themselves. I may not get paid, but the feeling is much more rewarding.


I am playing with an idea to show my progress with my workout routines/marathon training. It would have pictures of me in poses so that you can see the difference in fat/muscle ratio over the past 3 years. Stay tuned, that's this weekends plan. After my 2nd week of volunteering blog post of course.