COVID-19 changed me forever but I have never had it…well, not yet anyway.
Most people have no idea what I do as an Occupational Therapist (OT). Many of my elderly patients in the hospital I work at like to crack jokes to me about how they are retired and don’t need an ‘occupation.’ You can imagine how many times I have heard those jokes in my 15+ years working as an OT.
Sondra and her PT partner, Bridget, try to bring the holiday cheer with some Christmas attire, “EW, 2020” with David Rose was recycled for 2021 with a quick addition of surgical tape to change a 0 to a 1.
So here is my elevator pitch of what I do as an Occupational Therapist:
“I help people get back to living after injury, illness, disease or trauma. I get them moving again and back to the activities and roles that matter to them so that they can be independent, safe and fulfilled in their lives.”
In the hospital setting, this includes getting people up and moving after surgery, accidents, and illnesses that affect their strength, endurance, balance, vision and cognition. So OT is similar to Physical Therapy (PT) in that we are both champions of movement but as an OT in an Acute Care setting, we are the ones who are responsible to assess people’s ability to care for themselves with their basic Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). So while we encourage and support safe movement for all of our patients, OTs are the healthcare professionals getting our patients back to self-care activities that they need to be able to do to safely return home and care for themselves. So this is partly where I came up with the idea to consider rebranding myself as ‘Self-Care Sondra'.’
So now that you have that background on WHAT I do as an OT, let’s rewind to Spring of 2021 when I had a male patient in his late 50s I think, who was an RN for 35+ years. He had a broken leg from a skiing accident and he was visiting Colorado from the Deep South with his wife. For HIPAA reasons, I will not even name the state as that could be used as identifying information. So Day 1 with Mr. X went fine, he complied with all the masking rules at the time & we got along just fine. Great! Then I go back to see him the next day for Day 2 of OT: SHOWER DAY… with a broken leg. As you could imagine, this is not the most comfortable activity to engage in with a newly operated on leg that was just traumatically broken within the 48 hours prior. So needless to say, there is sometimes pushback, resistance, or fear that interferes with a patient being able to accomplish this difficult but very rewarding activity on Day 2 post-op.
Admittedly, I can’t totally remember how the vaccine conversation started but here is what my memory can recall:
Patient (obviously frustrated and irritable): “Well so much for our vacation plans next month!”
Me: “Where were you planning to go? Maybe you can just reschedule that trip, after you are all healed up.”
Patient (very annoyed in tone and volume): “Well, we were supposed to go to (some beachy place) but now that there is a Vaccine, they are making you be vaccinated to go there.”
Me (said before lay people could get vaccinated): “Well, I am sure you will be able to get your vaccine very soon and then you can go!”
Patient: “HELL NO, I ain’t getting any vaccine!”
Me: “Do you mind me asking, why not?”
Patient: “Because this whole thing is FAKE! It’s all a bunch of bullshit lies. I don’t even think COVID is real.”
A NURSE said this to me. This man was an RN, a registered nurse. I should also clarify that it wasn’t that he didn’t want to get a brand new vaccine that bothered me. I understand the concern and hesitation about that, especially as someone with an extensive history of severe allergies. I certainly took my time making that decision for myself and encouraged everyone I know to do the same. What bothered me was actually his flippant dismissal of the reality of COVID-19 and the entire reality of the planet and the patient I just finished working with prior to arriving to work with Mr. X for the 3rd attempt. I just could NOT believe what I was hearing. And I knew if I said ANYTHING, I was going to end up getting fired. So I simply dropped all the towels, soap, tape and empty trash bag on his bed and very robotically I said, “Well, we will see you tomorrow,” after he refused his shower anyway.
The patient’s wife then looked at me with eyes as big as mine (I just can’t control my facial expressions sometimes) and she mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to me with a look of utter embarrassment just oozing out of her every pore.
Mind you, I had just come out of a COVID-19 ICU room working with a COVID patient to get them up and moving and teach them about energy conservation, breathing techniques and positioning to maximize lung capacity. See picture of me in a PAPR (which stands for Powered Air Purifying Respirator) below.
I should mention that I had already attempted to see Mr. X once or twice earlier in the day but he kept asking me to come back later for various reasons, so that is the ONLY reason I saw him (a non-COVID patient) AFTER I saw a COVID patient. One thing to know is that my hospital is pretty amazing and they provided all of us working with COVID patients, with hospital owned scrubs to wear in to COVID rooms. This way we were NOT bringing COVID into our homes by wearing our own scrubs that we generally wear to/from work. This also allowed us to change out of our COVID scrubs before we then had to work with non-COVID patients. Stressing you out yet? Yeah, it was a fun little game of don’t accidentally infect your patients with a novel virus that there is no known treatment for (at the time). Another fun frontline healthcare worker game was having known exposures at work prior to a vaccine even existing. I ended up quarantining more weekends than I ever care to remember! And it was just as stressful every single time. No wonder my anxiety was constantly through the roof, right???
Anyway, it was in that moment, the one where my jaw dropped open in response to my patient’s comment (one perk of my mask is he didn’t see that) and I dropped all the bathing supplies on his bed…THAT was when I knew this was just not sustainable for me any longer.
I might be good at my job but my job was no longer good FOR ME.
And so I began developing an exit strategy and a plan for how to make a professional pivot, still help people, and generate income for myself & my family.
Here is how that process unfolded:
1.) Discuss my misery & burnout with my therapist, husband and trusted family & friends to finally acknowledge, accept and VERBALIZE, “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t go on like this and something has got to give.”
2.) Spend time exploring options for a professional pivot. I looked into going back to school for counseling but with where we live in a tiny mountain town, the cost and length of time for going back to school at 39 years old, it just did not make any sense. So that is when I decided to go all in on my coaching business, Elevated Living! I then signed up for the MASTER level wellness coach training with Catalyst Coaching Institute (CCI). This is where I did my Certified Wellness Coach training back in 2018.
3.) In addition to completing additional coach training, I decided to sit for the National Board Certification Exam for Health and Wellness Coaches (NBC-HWC). This Exam is run by the NBME (National Board of Medical Examiners), who oversee all the examinations of Medical Doctors. So my point is this: it’s legit. This is not some fluffy ‘coaching certificate’ and it required a lot of education, effort, studying and preparation. I sat for the exam on May 14th but before you ask, I won’t get my test results for 8-12 weeks from test day. So it could be August before I know how I did. But it’s done! And I am celebrating that big time.
3.) Hire a supportive and values based business coach (shout out to Sam Block!) to help me grow my business, get clear on my branding, and hold myself accountable to taking actionable steps to reaching my goal of being a soloprenuer with an income that at least replaces my income from the hospital (or more!) by the end of 2022.
So Why am I telling you this? Well, because when we speak our goals out loud, the universe listens. Think about walking in to a restaurant and simply asking for “food” instead of a specific TYPE of food. Basically, you get what you order in life and the more specific you can be, the more likely the universe will deliver your heart’s deepest desires. Some people call this the law of attraction but to me is just seems logical, to be honest.
So that’s what I am here to do, to support all of you (women, men, non-binary folks) achieve a greater level of wellness in your life so that you can thrive and live your life with purpose, joy, peace & vitality!
Here are a few of my areas of experience and expertise:
Daily Habits
Self-care
Sleep Hygiene (have battled insomnia since I was a teenager off and on)
Food Sensitivities (I am mostly Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free- a lot! I know.)
Systemic Inflammation (which caused me debilitating Migraines and Psorasis for many years of my life)
Boundary setting (former Al-Anon member right here)
Psychological approaches to pain management (migraineurs know about pain and I even taught a class at the hospital about this!)
Relaxation and invoking the relaxation response
Stress Management
Substance Use Disorder (have some some additional continuing education through Yale to support my skills here, both as an OT and as a health coach)
Orthopedic pain, limitations, injuries (I work in a an ortho trauma specialty hospital)
How hobbies, activities and meaningful occupations can help us heal and increase joy and fulfillment in our lives
Self-compassion
Using alternate perspectives when approaching a challenge
Activity analysis and task breakdown and modifications
This list is not all encompassing, but I wanted to give you and idea on the types of issues that I support my clients with and/or issues that I have experienced myself.
I think it is important to know that I do not diagnose or provide treatment for medical conditions but rather I help people address health issues through the lens of lifestyle habits, skills, resources and activities that support their overall well being.
NBC-HWC defines a health coach as:
“Health & wellness coaches partner with clients looking to enhance their well-being through self-directed lasting changes, aligned with their values. In the course of their work, health & wellness coaches display unconditional positive regard for their clients and a belief in their ability to change, honoring the fact that each client is an expert on their own life while ensuring that all interactions are respectful and non-judgmental.
Health coaches work in different settings. Some work on healthcare teams alongside physicians and other allied health professionals as part of an integrative approach to client care. Other coaches work in digital health, community-based programs, or entrepreneurial capacities.
Health & wellness coaches train in behavior change theories, motivational strategies, and health education and promotion theories. They use these to support the client in creating and sustaining change for improved health and well-being.”
Anyway, that’s what’s been going on since I quit all social media in December of 2020.
Oh and my Dad kicked Cancer’s ass but that’s a story for another day…. ;)
I hope you are all doing well and know that if you are not well, there is hope. There is healing. I am proof.
I am here for you and I look forward to hearing your story so that we can Elevate our Lives together!
Schedule a no-commitment call with me here - let’s get to work.
YOU ARE SO WORTH IT and I BELIEVE IN YOU!
Always rooting for you,
Coach Sondra