I Can Use a Wrench!

Yesterday, I decided to play the role of handyman. Considering the only tools I know how to use are crochet and knitting needles, I think I did a pretty good job and I am proud enough to write a post entirely on my experience fixing my patient's wheelchair brakes!

I was working with one of my patients, doing a room treatment, when I noticed her wheelchair moved as she performed a sit-to-stand transfer. This surprised me at first because for one, I did not want her to fall, and second, she has always been my A-patient when it came to safety during functional transfers. Lord help me if I had to document that she all of a sudden had poor safety awareness. I checked her brakes and they were locked. But they were loose and just barely touched the wheel. She told me the PRN physical therapy assistant noticed it yesterday and that someone would tighten them today. I had her sit on the edge of the bed and looked at the clock. We had 10 minutes left. Now in 10 minutes, could I really figure out how to fix this thing? Why not. The physical therapist taught me how to do it my second week on the job when my patient's brakes were loose. But it took me a good 20 minutes to get it done because saying "yes, I can do that" after being shown how, does not necessarily mean, "yes I can do that" once you try it yourself. But I figured I had to figure it out eventually. And my patient cannot go through the rest of the day with loose brakes.

So I went to the gym, grabbed the toolbox, went back to my patient's room, gave her some theraband to do her exercises with in the meantime as she watched me.. layed out the tools on her floor, tipped her wheelchair on it's side, and crouched down. I told my patient, "So here's the thing. I know what I'm SUPPOSED to do-", as I pointed to the nut and bolt I was suppose to take apart, "-I just don't know if I remember what I'm suppose to do it WITH", as I held up the different little hollow cylindrical silver thingys. "I REALLY don't wanna have to call Jason" (her PT). But after a couple minutes of being unproductive, I had to give in.

Jason was sitting at the computer. I grabbed him and off we went back to her room. He laughed at all the tools on the floor. Once he picked out the tools I was suppose to use, I was good to go. I fixed the first wheel and clapped once it locked tightly into the wheel. Then I flipped the chair over and started unscrewing the other. When I was close to finishing, the nut got stuck in the cylindrical silver thingy. Panic. My patient laughed. I was glad to provide entertainment as she was doing her exercises on the edge of the bed. "I am NOT calling Jason back here. You cannot tell him this happened." We laughed. I figured out that if I attached it back onto the chair, it stabilized the nut well enough for me to unscrew it from the other side. I got it! Done! I was so excited and proud of myself. There's a first time for everything.