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i was wondering how other folks who do therapy visits handle awkward moments.
when visiting my MIL at the rehab center (MIL broke her ankle and is in rehab for a while) on Halloween we had a nurse tell us that there was a woman who was in xyz room down the hall that LOVED dogs and how she had had a yellow lab and she'd be thrilled to see Faith in her costume.
well, i took Faith down there and it wasn't quite a disaster, but it was uncomfortable. i knocked on the door and asked if Mrs G was there (the way the nurse referred to her) and there was a woman there, playing solitare with some cards.
she looked up at me, but didn't answer me. as a matter of fact, she never even looked at Faith, but kept her eyes on me. so, i said again, (a bit louder) hi, nurse so and so told me to come down and visit with Mrs G because of how much she likes dogs.
again, no response, just the steady staring. so i just said ok, have a great Halloween and turned around to leave.
we were actually back in the hall, but not out of sight when she said my great-grandchildren have a dog like that. i turned around and said oh, how nice, what's the dog's name?
and that started about a 5 minute conversation. but, she seemed to not know what to do with me, like, didn't really want to talk to me. she was answering any questions very stilted - and, by questions, i don't mean i was pestering her or asking anything personal. just, like, what's the dog's name, how old is he, all related to the dog.
so i just wrapped it up and told her we were off to visit some other rooms, and to have a good night and we left.
it was quite awkward, and i haven't had that experience yet. mostly, i've gotten very strong cues from folks - they turn their head away if not interested, and i've had a few yell across a hall "get that cute dog in here!" so i wasn't sure what to make of it.
is there something i could have done differently? how would you / have you handled a similar situation?
when visiting my MIL at the rehab center (MIL broke her ankle and is in rehab for a while) on Halloween we had a nurse tell us that there was a woman who was in xyz room down the hall that LOVED dogs and how she had had a yellow lab and she'd be thrilled to see Faith in her costume.
well, i took Faith down there and it wasn't quite a disaster, but it was uncomfortable. i knocked on the door and asked if Mrs G was there (the way the nurse referred to her) and there was a woman there, playing solitare with some cards.
she looked up at me, but didn't answer me. as a matter of fact, she never even looked at Faith, but kept her eyes on me. so, i said again, (a bit louder) hi, nurse so and so told me to come down and visit with Mrs G because of how much she likes dogs.
again, no response, just the steady staring. so i just said ok, have a great Halloween and turned around to leave.
we were actually back in the hall, but not out of sight when she said my great-grandchildren have a dog like that. i turned around and said oh, how nice, what's the dog's name?
and that started about a 5 minute conversation. but, she seemed to not know what to do with me, like, didn't really want to talk to me. she was answering any questions very stilted - and, by questions, i don't mean i was pestering her or asking anything personal. just, like, what's the dog's name, how old is he, all related to the dog.
so i just wrapped it up and told her we were off to visit some other rooms, and to have a good night and we left.
it was quite awkward, and i haven't had that experience yet. mostly, i've gotten very strong cues from folks - they turn their head away if not interested, and i've had a few yell across a hall "get that cute dog in here!" so i wasn't sure what to make of it.
is there something i could have done differently? how would you / have you handled a similar situation?