Leaving Craig Hospital

Making the sudden change from staying in a fully staffed medical facility to living on your own, with essentially none of that support, can be a real smack in the face from reality. They try to prepare you for the switch by gradually having you direct more and more of your own care. Instead of just doing things for you, they have you give them step by step directions for how you want things done, adding more and more until you are able to fully direct your own care. Even with all of that preparation, there will almost always be those unexpected issues that will test your improv skills. It feels a bit like songbirds kicking their young out of the nest so they learn to fly and find their own food, sometimes before they are actually ready to fly; but the parents are usually in the area, watching, ready to help if absolutely necessary. Fun fact, the whole thing about not touching the fallen fledglings because the parents will detect your scent and abandon them, is false; they don’t have a great sense of smell and rely on sight and sound to identify others. But you still shouldn’t touch them because the parents might be close by, watching, and may abandon all of them if they think the nest is in danger. Anyway, time to take that leap of faith.