Perspectives Winter/Spring-2017

12 • NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY As a member of the gay community in Orlando, Florida, I recently found myself in a unique position to be helpful in a situation that typically makes me feel helpless—domestic terrorism. Many survivors of the Pulse nightclub attack that took place in June 2016 were stabil- ized in acute care and discharged. Some, however, required rehabilita- tion beyond the acute-care setting. I was about to meet a variety of unique individuals who would chal- lenge my therapeutic use of self and broaden my understanding of what it means to be truly client-centered in nuanced ways. About a week after the shooting, I found myself poised to walk into a survivor’s room and begin an evaluation. Typically, I lead with exuberance and humor when meeting a patient for the first time. That day, I walked into a room so full of people, balloons, and stuffed animals that it altered the sound quality in the room. I found myself challenged with making conversation outside the domain of my practice—concerned I would say something wrong. I was a bit more formal than usual and cautious with my words. As my patient spoke to me about his occupational pursuits, I couldn’t help but relate in a profound way. He was about my age and wanted to return to many of the same activities I enjoy. Throughout his time at rehab, once he had mastered self-care skills, we spent our time working on dynamic balance tasks with modified Zumba, strengthen- ing to increase activity tolerance, and community reentry outings to practice mobility skills in context. While treatments looked similar across patients, many of whom had similar injuries, they all had remarkably different affect regarding what had happened. Ranging from acute post-traumatic stress disorder to no negative mood symptoms, every patient was different. The challenge became trying to structure their environment in a way that Healing After Hate BY SCOTT BUCKINGHAM, M.S.O.T. 2013 OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ALUMNUS OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY IN THE CONTEXT OF A MASS TRAGEDY