this week on 'as the clinic turns'

By 4:00 this afternoon my brain had turned to mush. This may have been due to the fact that throughout the day i had snacked on maybe 10 caramels and was therefore in the midst of a huge sugar crash.
It could also have been because this week i saw 33 people. Something that has become 'normal' over the past few weeks at work, even though in my profession it's not really considered healthy to see more than 25-30 people a week at the most. We are drowning in clients and paperwork. The piles of intake packets are literally starting to pour out of drawers and surround my computer on my desk. it's getting a little scary.

however, what was equally hard to take was the amount of crazy floating around my office this week. (*note, names will be omitted to protect my clients identities). You would think that North Philly is a big place. there are lots of little neighborhoods and thousands upon thousands of people who live in north philly alone. and yet i work in a community clinic- so most of the time my clients know each other. sometimes they tell me they know someone who comes to see me, sometimes they specifically refer someone to me, and sometimes they casually mention a friend or family member (both real or acquired family) who i realize i know. but in 95% of these cases, i'm finding out crazy shit about my clients from other clients.

For instance- two of my clients are smoking wet and not telling me about it. (wet- for those of you who don't know, is pot mixed w/ pcp, usually in a cigarette, which is then dipped in embalming fluid- it's insanity) another client is having an emotional affair with her friend's son- her friend also being my client. i have a mother-daughter pair of clients (who come in separately but call each other while in my office), sisters and some cousins. an uncle of someone who works at the clinic. and aunt and niece pair who keep talking about each other behind the others back. i see people who are old friends who didn't know they both saw me, and some people who don't get along and hate the i see their 'enemy' as well as them. and i have to keep it all straight. who's doing drugs, who's sleeping with who, who died or knows someone who died and how that affects the other clients who also know the deceased. today i told my boss i should keep a flow chart. if i knew how to do graphics on here i'd even draw up a tentative one for you to see. it's hysterical.

so- this week. drug use, affairs, a funeral, multiple fights. i also felt the belly of a client who is 9 months pregnant as her baby kicked. i learned a little about shuffleboard from a guy who has made it his primary hobby since being injured in a truck accident. i hugged a woman who did time for a crime she didn't commit and now can't get a job because of it. got med refills for another woman with hallucinations so severe she locks herself in her bathroom and rocks in the tub for hours on end. talked about the eating habits of a man with chronic pancreatitis who needs to drink boost 5 times a day, and a woman who binge eats and talks to her food as she eats it. one of my most regular clients told me she wrote a poem about me. she's bringing it in next week.

and you know what? it was great. sure, i'm exhausted and feel like mush. but my clients are the best part of my job. i love them, and for the most part they love me. i had four clients tell me they loved me this week- and only one was in a mildly creepy manner. what other profession gets to interact with people like this? i'm Involved in people's lives. people i never would have met were i not their confidante and outlet.

and yes, some weeks it feels like a soap opera and i need flow charts to keep all the connections together. lucky for me, elsie taught me to follow soaps as a child. i'm good with drama. i'll let you know if one day i discover someone coming back from the dead or twins separated at birth...