Function Junction

Win # 11 - Awesome Week of OT Camp. Over the years I have had the opportunity to participate in and run various kinds of camps during the school breaks. This summer Function Junction is doing 2 weeks of a half day program. Back to School Booster! Getting back into a routine! Learning how to listen to our bodies, understand when we need to move, following directions, staying with the group along with strengthening our hands and bodies for drawing, writing and cutting. So many skills!!!! Love my job!!!

Win # 10- Sweetness from Home! This is a treasure that it is difficult to travel with. However, myself and various family members have transportation several jars of Vanlea Maple Syrup to the island. Tonight I dug into the back of the cupboard and was delighted I still have some. This might have been one of Dad’s last batches. Dad passed in Dec 2018. I can’t remember if he boiled sap his last year. Fun fact…you have to boil 40 gallons of sap to get 1 gallon of syrup.

Win #9 Married into a Somerset Family!! As Cup Match wraps up again for another year, I am grateful for a Somerset win!!! Luckily our family is not divided. Being an import…I did not already have a team. Over the years I have shown varying levels of support.

Win #8 - Work Permit Finally came through!! Everyone has a work permit story! After being told my work permit would be waiting for me at the airport…and it wasn’t. Then starting work…and after a week…being told it still was not processed…..
I waited 7 weeks before I could get back into the schools to work with my clients!!!
However…I did make the most of it and spent some time with my brother in-law to be…and helped out with some jet ski tours. (Unfortunately this is not a picture of me. I’m not that adventurous!)

Win #7 - Amazing Colleagues! Still feeling very new to my career, my colleagues at Dept of Education welcomed me in. It was a wonderful, supportive team providing therapy in the schools. And at that time….we got summers off!!!

Win #6 Bermuda needed OTs. Dairy Girl to Prairie Girl to Island Girl! Not such a bad place to be dragged down to!!! I was more portable in my career and Bermuda needed OTs. Bermuda has been an incredible place to raise a family. I never get tired of that crystal blue water or the pink sandy beaches.

I loved my time out West!
(I could have been a prairie girl…if it wasn’t so cold )

Win #3 Got my first pediatric OT job. A split between the Children’s Center (outpatients), and the Acquired Brain Injury Outreach Team.

Win #4 - First family member to meet my nephew Matthew. I still remember getting the call from Brian.

Win #5 - the one that really changed my life…Michael made a surprise visit to Saskatoon to propose!❤️

Win #2- Funny Moments in Home Care. I moved to Western Canada for my first job ( I guess that’s another win…I had a job in my career when I graduated!). My job was in Home Care at The Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. My job mostly consisted of evaluating a person’s safety and independence in their home. I often provide equipment to assist them.
Funniest memory! I brought a bath lift for a gentleman in his 80s. Got it all set up…showed him how to use it..moved to pick up my tools and bag…when I turned back, the man had stripped down completely and was getting into the bath. He was not waiting!!! I probably turned 3 shades of red! Independence is so important!!!!

Thanks to incredibly supportive parents with a successful dairy farm, I finished University with No debt. I bought my green Cavalier car and was ready to face the world. Thanks Mom and Dad (and the cows!). And No Dad…I’m not a nurse.

I have been an Occupational Therapist for 30 years! Quite incredible. I went to school for a specific career, and I’ve stayed in that profession.
Looking back over the 30 years there is so much to be grateful for. Join me over my next few posts as I celebrate “30 wins in 30 years of OT”.