Reflective Journal

Eleven years ago, I was a year-two nursing student. At that period, I was keen on participating voluntary work. My friend was an occupational therapist. She invited me to help an elderly to visit a park in Diamond Hill. I brought him to have sightseeing with wheelchair. The weight of the elderly was heavy and the slopes in the park were steep. I moved the wheelchair slowly but an accident occurred. One of the front wheels of the wheelchair trapped into a drainage ditch. He fell on the floor. As I know, he did not hurt or did not have fracture. I saw his wife pat the limbs of the elderly. It would hurt him further if he really had fracture. Now, I feel ashamed because I posted the beautiful scenes of the park in Facebook at that night. I wonder why I didn't know this was a serious case as a year-two nursing student. If he had osteoporosis, the risk of bone fracture was even higher. A topic can also be debated. Is physical restraint necessary for the client using wheelchair? If a physical restraint is used, do we need to consider the feeling of the elderly. If a physical restraint is not used, the safety of the elderly in the wheelchair can be hindered.

二零一零年大學二年級的我有空閒便去做義務工作。有天，擔任職業治療師的朋友請我幫助，以義工身份推輪椅帶領參觀鑽石山南蓮園池。那位長者重量不輕，南蓮園池的斜坡頗多。當日，我已經慢慢推輪椅。意外發生，輪椅前輪卡在坑渠，長者跌倒。據了解，長者無大礙。只見他的家人在跌倒後拍打他的四肢，如果有骨折，會傷上加傷。可是，我當天仍在臉書貼風景照。先不論安全腰帶的爭議，為何當時護理學二年級的我會不知道事件的嚴重性?