Reunited (with sanity) and it feels so good

Classes are officially OVER!  (only if we ignore the 3 assignments and 1 take home test that I must finish in the next few weeks...but for the sake of sanity, we are going to ignore those!)  It feels great to technically be done with semester 5 of PT School!  4 more to go! 

My patient and I doing a therapeutic
exercise during client lab!

While this week did have a big test and a bigger practical, there were some enjoyable things we got to do at school.  First was the client lab in our Neuromuscular conditions lab.  Catherine, our professor, got volunteers to come in and let us perform an exam and treatment on them in the course of 2 days.  The disorders ranged from stroke to spinocerebellar disorders or Parkinson's disease.  I was privileged to work with a patient with Parkinson's.  Even more fascinating was her surgery she had about a year ago to have a deep brain stimulator implanted.  This helps the basal ganglia work properly and significantly decreases the signs and symptoms of Parkinson's in some patients.  It was amazing to see how much she has improved with this surgery!  And she was super sweet to work with. 

Adventures in making Falafels!

My group in Professional Development also got to do a presentation on the Islam faith for our cultural awareness unit.  While we did an amazing skit (haha) the most impressive thing was Molly and mys very successful attempt to make Falafels!  What are those you might ask?  They are a mix of garbanzo beans, parsley, spices, onion and breadcrumbs that are fried and served on roadside carts in Egypt.  I would consider them a slightly healthier cousin of the Hush Puppies.  If PT school doesn't work out, it is safe to say that Molly and I have a pretty sound back up plan. 

One of the student's successful egg drop devices!

Finally, to wrap up our semester in the Physics Lab Emily and I were teaching, we did the egg drop!  The students had to construct a contraption (using only certain materials and weighing under a certain amount) based on the physics principals we have been learning about throughout the semester.  I am very please to say that only 2 of the 7 eggs broke!  It was a lot of fun and a great way to send them off for the semester!

Yesterday we had to say good-bye to our friends when class ended since we are setting off on a 3 week clinical after the holiday.  It is crazy to think that these people see up to 40 hours a week I will not see for 2 months!  It was a little sad but still so excited.  When we leave for our rotations in May, it is going to be really difficult.  We have gotten so used to our crazy dysfunctional family, the thought of not seeing some of them for 6-9 months is out of control!  But it will be an amazing journey!

So while I am off to clean my neglected duplex from the frenzy of finals, I am wishing you a beautiful weekend!