and she did much better. I tried to keep her in a down position more and have her stay on her bed. She was having a difficult time listening to commands to the point where I had to issue a correction and give the command more than once. I am hoping this is due to her being tired and my tone of voice/body language were not objective rather than resistance. I will know for sure over the next few days but I really need to focus on her when I am around the halls and pay attention to the way that I am giving commands.
NAME CHANGE: We decided to start calling Nilani, Lani for short. The kids and staff have such a hard time pronouncing Nilani. She does seem to respond to Lani and it sounds the same. So Lani it is.
During our afternoon playroom time Lani was in heaven! A teenager sat on the floor with Lani and brushed her for a good half an hour. I taught the patient about the different brushes we use and why we use them. She even helped her 2 year old sister brush the dog. It was really cool and the patient had great questions.
At one point today Lani found a tennis ball and went nuts. Lani is a tennis ball snob!! When we were at team training she had 6 tennis balls but would only let me use certain ones. If I threw one she did not like, she would not go for the ball. At one point, after throwing 2 or 3 balls she would bring me the ball that she liked. Anyways yesterday somebody gave our department a donation for the kids and in a couple of them were tennis balls. She saw the stack and chased them all over the storage room. I apologize to everyone who shares our storage room with us, you may find a tennis ball or two under your stretchers or carts… oops they are from Nilani with love.
We were walking through the ICU to drop off some consent forms and we passed a little boys room. The boy was so excited to see the dog from afar. He had the biggest smile on his face. He said he couldn’t wait until he was out of the ICU so he could come see the dog. I wanted to sneek in and let the dog see him but if I break the rule once I will be given a gult trip for not letting the dog visit with other patients. The dog will soon be allowed to go see kids in their bedrooms but we are trying to make sure Lani is listening to her commands and is not stressed out by the hospital. I also have to make sure that I have her commands down pat, we need to be a well oiled machine before she starts hanging around all of the tubes and kids in more critical conditions. I also have to make sure that we have enough volunteers to help in the playroom while I step out. Someday soon though.
Well it is time for us to go to bed. We have had 2 long days and can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings. I will keep updating the blog please check back in every couple days as I will not be able to post everyday. Thanks so much for your support and comments.
Hello and welcome to the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital doggy tales blog. Nilani and I encourage you to follow along and please feel free to leave comments. To do so, click on the link at the bottom of the message that says (#) C O M M E N T S. We would love to hear from you.
"The participant is a faculty member at UCSF. However, the views and opinions of the participant expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Regents of the University of California, UCSF, UCSF Medical Center, or any entities or units thereof."
"The participant is a faculty member at UCSF. However, the views and opinions of the participant expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Regents of the University of California, UCSF, UCSF Medical Center, or any entities or units thereof."
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