In my 50s. What the lost remote taught me—the important answer lies beyond 'maybe'

One day,
I was visiting a client who lives alone for home rehabilitation.

I opened the front door and,
as I started to say, "Good morn..."

they cut me off,
as if to cover my words,

"The remote is gone!"

When I entered the room,
they were desperately searching everywhere,
saying over and over that the TV remote was missing.

It was not a situation where we could start rehabilitation.

Just in case,
I asked,
"Is your health okay?"

"Forget that, help me look for it quickly."

they replied, cutting me off again.

This personloves TV.
They are especially looking forward to Korean dramas.

Of course,
looking for a remote
is not part of my home rehabilitation duties,

"Please look for it later.
Shall we do the rehabilitation first?"

is what I should have said...
but the atmosphere was not one where I could say that.

For now, I asked about the situation,
and they said they were using the remote while lying in bed,
when it slipped from their hand and fell.

So,
they said it fell"beside the bed".

But they said they looked around where it should have fallen,
and couldn't find it.

I also looked around where they said it fell,
but it was certainly not there.

It's not wedged between the mattress and the bed frame either.

I've crawled on the floor to look for it, but it's not there.

The resident is also looking in the same places over and over.

I join in to help look, but
it's still not there.

The remote...
it's reasonably big, and
it shouldn't have gone that far...

I try expanding the search area little by little.

I check under the desk near where it was dropped, but
it's still not there.

It's not under the shelf next to that desk either.

No, it's just not there no matter how I look.

Dementia?

No, no...

They are quite sharp, so
I don't think that's it, but...

But it's possible that
they might be mistaken...

No, but, surely not...
I think to myself, while

I check the area
on the opposite side of the bed from where the remote was dropped.

That side is the kitchen, and
the back of the refrigerator is against the shelf.

Even looking from above the bed, it's still not there.

The bed doesn't move easily, either.

I take off the mattress and look from above, but
it's still not there.

Actually, I have a bad back, so
I can't overdo it, but
I'll try moving it just a little.

Somehow,
a gap of about 30cm opened up.

The floor was covered in dust.

...I guess it's not here after all...

Even though I thought that, I'd gone this far,
so I couldn't just not look in the back...

With a bit of hesitation,
I lay down on the dusty floor,

and using my smartphone light,
I shone it under the fridge...
into the back...

Oh!!!

To my surprise,
there was a black rectangle in the gap under the fridge!!!

I never would have guessed it!!!

It was covered in dust, but

I found the remote!!!

I've never been so happy
to see a remote control!

When I asked the user about it later,
they said that when they were looking for it themselves,
they might have kicked something...

Well...
but I'm glad it was found😊

This time, both the user and I
thought it was 'right here' and searched around that area many times.

But in reality,
the remote was on the opposite side.

Who would have thought, under the fridge. lol

Completely unexpected. Lol

And,
what I thought after getting home was...

Because of my assumptions,
I wasted time only looking where I thought I dropped it...
and,

While you're searching under the assumption that 'it must be here!',
you don't evenrealize that you're 'making an assumption'.

Your field of vision narrows, too.

Realizing I had been making assumptions was something
I only noticed later.

The field of vision this time was,
while looking for something,a literal 'field of vision'but...

I feel like this also applies to work and daily life,
in terms of 'field of vision' regarding how much of your surroundings you can perceive.
I feel like it connects to that.

Lately, I've been unconsciously,

'The cause is probably this,'
'If I do this, it'll probably be solved'

I often find myself,
just sort of thinking that immediately.

In my 50s.

Because I have experience,
I can sort of predict things.

Of course,
that often works out well,
but it's not 100%.

That goes for how I deal with users...
and it's the same with my own family.

Even when I think I'm handling things well,
sometimes I'm just spinning my wheels.

My experience is a strength, but,
conversely, it can also narrow my field of vision.

It's quite hard,
to doubt your own thinking.

Moreover,
while you're in the middle of making an assumption,
it's hard to notice that you're making one.

But,

Just by thinking that,
I feel like my perspective broadens a little.

Of course,
I can't always do it.

When I'm busy or don't have any breathing room,
I end up relying on my own experience.

That's why,
whether at work or in daily life...
especially when I hit a wall...

I remember that 'remote control search'...

And I decide to look in the 'unexpected' places.

Who knows,
the important answer might be dropped in a place like 'under the refrigerator'.
😊

🌟 Thank you so much for reading until the end!

To those who read this article and felt even a little bit interested

I would be happy if you could connect with me by 'liking 💗' or 'following 🔔'✨
'Comments 💬' are also welcome🎵

Thank you in advance!

✨Thank you for featuring this in your magazine✨

📌 For those meeting me for the first time
you can find my self-introduction article here👇

[Self-Introduction] The Reality of Home-Visit Rehabilitation | How to Protect Your Own Heart | 50s | Physical Therapist

👤 NAGI-u Profile

In my 50s / Physical Therapist / 10 years in home-visit rehab / 20 years of experience as a physical therapist.
I changed careers from being an engineer and have been captivated by 'rehabilitation of the human heart and body' for 20 years.

[Hobbies] Guitar
[Themes of my posts]
✅ 'Caring for the heart of the caregiver / How to protect yourself'
✅ 'Digging into myself through words'
✅ 'Things I felt at home-visit sites'
✅ 'Living life in my 50s as I am'