
On clown doctor rounds yesterday, Dr. Fun E. Bone was pulling hare (pronounced hair, right?) out of ears. Dr. Fowlbreath, rubber chicken disguised as lovely medical assistant, got seasonal by using hare (bunny) ears as wings, since hers are tiny, stuck to her body, and useless.
Had a couple of 19-years olds in PEDS. As usual, nurses weren't sure how'd they react, but when I checked at their doors, I was invited in enthusiastically. Big kids need distractions, stress and anxiety relief, escape, and play as much as younger ones.
The young man and his mom -- who jumped in as my lovely assistant -- had fun with a silly card trick, and even more fun learning it. The young woman in the other room giggled continuously, from the first head poke in by Dr. Fowlbreath to 'the final rose.' She was going to school to become a medical assistant. Hope I didn't derail her career track.
On the other side of the floor, I waited until the cat pet therapy visit was concluded (since I'm a dog person, I'm not really sure who's getting the therapy in that one, the cat or the patient). I knocked and asked if they'd called for pet therapy, and that we -- rubber chicken and I -- were here, answering the call. Bewildered looks on the faces of the boy and his dad. We talked our way in, tongue-in-cheek of course. Dad became the designated helper, and for his reward we pulled a rabbit (hare) out of his ear.
By the end of the day, I had finally figured out how to palm the wabbit sticker without making a mess of it.
Finished the day with a song, a 2-day late birthday serenade for a spry 102-year old in the ER. Boy, was she sharp! She promised to invite me to her 103rd birthday party next year.
I spared her the agony of pulling a hare out of her ear.
Since it was Charlie Chaplin's birthday (born on April 16, 1889), the soundtrack playing in my head silently throughout my rounds was "Smile." "Smile" was composed by Chaplin as an instrumental song for his 1936 movie, Modern Times. The lyrics were added by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons in 1954, when Nat King Cole recorded the first version of it.
" . . . if you just smile."
Had a couple of 19-years olds in PEDS. As usual, nurses weren't sure how'd they react, but when I checked at their doors, I was invited in enthusiastically. Big kids need distractions, stress and anxiety relief, escape, and play as much as younger ones.
The young man and his mom -- who jumped in as my lovely assistant -- had fun with a silly card trick, and even more fun learning it. The young woman in the other room giggled continuously, from the first head poke in by Dr. Fowlbreath to 'the final rose.' She was going to school to become a medical assistant. Hope I didn't derail her career track.
On the other side of the floor, I waited until the cat pet therapy visit was concluded (since I'm a dog person, I'm not really sure who's getting the therapy in that one, the cat or the patient). I knocked and asked if they'd called for pet therapy, and that we -- rubber chicken and I -- were here, answering the call. Bewildered looks on the faces of the boy and his dad. We talked our way in, tongue-in-cheek of course. Dad became the designated helper, and for his reward we pulled a rabbit (hare) out of his ear.
By the end of the day, I had finally figured out how to palm the wabbit sticker without making a mess of it.
Finished the day with a song, a 2-day late birthday serenade for a spry 102-year old in the ER. Boy, was she sharp! She promised to invite me to her 103rd birthday party next year.
I spared her the agony of pulling a hare out of her ear.
Since it was Charlie Chaplin's birthday (born on April 16, 1889), the soundtrack playing in my head silently throughout my rounds was "Smile." "Smile" was composed by Chaplin as an instrumental song for his 1936 movie, Modern Times. The lyrics were added by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons in 1954, when Nat King Cole recorded the first version of it.
" . . . if you just smile."