Eggcelent Garden

I was intrigued by this assignment as soon as I heard about it. When I drew 'egg carton', I was wondering how I could make this household item into a meaningful intervention for a client. My client, Maurice, is diagnosed with PD. He struggles with isolation and was a dairy farmer before he had to lease his land due to his diagnosis. He also has rigidity in his limbs. I thought and thought about something I could do with an egg carton that would be meaningful for Maurice. I initially thought that I would turn the egg carton over and use it as a stand for card games for him to play during an intervention, or use the individual slots in the egg carton to create a game for us to play. I did not think this was client centered enough and was lost for ideas. I finally had an 'aha' moment when I thought about what Maurice did before his diagnosis. He was a dairy farmer, so he obviously spends a lot of time outside. He currently spends a lot of time in bed and reports feeling lonely as well as bored in his room.
I thought that an egg carton garden could decrease his feelings of loneliness and give him a living thing to care for. Even if an OT is not available, a nurse or other helper could assist him in watering his garden everyday. When the beans and other plants grow too big for the carton, part of the intervention could be moving the plants to a bigger pot or outside of his window. The biggest thing that I learned during this project is that a clients interests are just as important as their areas of need. A garden is a great way to decrease boredom, isolation and depression. This assignment will follow me throughout my clinical experiences by reminding me that the clients interests and occupations are some of the most effective ways of facilitating interventions. Also, it reinforced the fact that any object can be used in a creative way for an intervention and an object does not have to be a designated 'therapy object' to be meaningful. In a skilled nursing facility, it could be expensive or out of the budget to purchase multiple pots for a garden. Items like an egg carton are always available and can be used for many purposes. Also, clients who are bored and confined to a bed for long periods of time love having a purpose. Taking care of a living thing can give someone meaning and decrease depression and feelings of isolation and loneliness. It can give a client something exciting to talk about to their peers and family and give them a break from a monotonous routine. I really enjoyed the creativity associated with this project and 'thinking outside of the box.'