Week 3: Friday.

This morning started with me receiving a new patient on my caseload. Patient S has Alzheimer's Disease and is a long term resident. Patient Y walked in to the gym on her own. We played catch with a rubber ball and then a tennis ball. After her session was done, I went to get patient H. She was dressed and in her wheel chair, ready to go. We started off with sitting exercises. Hip abduction 3x40 with red theraband, then long arc quads 3x10 with 2lb weight on RLE and 1lb on LLE. After that I let her rest for 5min while I helped another student with a chair follow. After I came back, I asked M to help with chair follow. She stood up with min assist. We then proceeded to walk out the door and down the hall to the right. At about 20 feet, H suddenly came to a stop and said "I need to sit." She then sat down into the chair while still holding on to the rolling walker with both hands. As she let go of the walker, her had rolled to the right and her body started convulsing. M immedicately called for my CI while she and I put her leg rests under her legs. I shouted for my CI again and he came and took H into the gym. My CI had the other male PTA put her down on the mat. "Does she have a pulse?" The answer was no. The nursing staff was alerted and the emergency cart with life support kit and oxygen tank. Apparently the first tank they grabbed wasn't full enough so they plucked a full tank from a patient and used that instead. My CI yelled "Does she have a code?" over and over again. I didn't know what he meant and later found out he means does she have a DNR (do not resuscitate) status. As soon as he got his answer (which was a no), he started chest compressions. All the patients in the gym were evacuated. Morning PT sessions were all suspended. After what seemed like the longest 10 minutes, cries of relieve filled the room as my CI succeeded in restarting H's heart. Ambulance was called. After the stretcher arrived and the EMTs attempted to transfer her onto the stretcher, the second attack came. It was as though the grip of death let go and suddenly made another grab at H. My CI went back to his chest compressions. Another 10 minutes later, her heart started again and my CI asked the EMTs to get her to the hospital before another attack hits. All this time I stood my ground and watched from afar. I must've looked pretty bad because everyone I knew asked me if I were okay. I was fine. I was worried about my patient.