Neuro Note 4

For Neuro Note 4, I chose to watch Beth Malone’s Ted Talk, How My Dad’s Dementia Changed my Idea of Death (and Life). I chose this Ted Talk because we recently covered this topic in my Neurological Aspects of Occupational Therapy class. This topic is also close to my heart because my grandfather has early/middle stage Dementia due to Parkinson’s disease. I thought this video would be interesting when I read the title, but what I did not know is how much I would actually relate to what Beth Malone had to say.

Beth starts off this TED Talk with a statement that can only be described as morbid. She says, “ I am going to kill my dad.” To someone who has never witnessed the reality of this condition, this seems unthinkable, but to someone watching this condition take hold of their loved one, it may seem like the only practical way out.  Beth Malone's father was diagnosed with Frontotemporal lobe Dementia at the age of 65.  In her talk, Beth describes the harsh realities of Dementia. Having to move her father from his house to a nursing home, watching his personality change, and watching his physical and mental states decline, these things not only take a toll on the individual diagnosed, but on the loved ones that care for them.

While my grandfather’s case of dementia is quite different to that of Beth’s dad, I can relate, in a sense, to her thought process. It is unbelievably hard to watch someone that you have seen as a strong caretaker, slowly turn into someone who is fragile and needs to be taken care of. Like I said previously, not only does this condition affect the client, but it affects the family as well.

Another thing that Beth talks about in this video is the importance of death preparation and education. Death is not necessarily a fun topic, but it is something that needs to be talked about. In the video, Beth talks about how her family discusses her father’s death frequently after his diagnoses. She also mentions how her family was not prepared, and how she wished they had talked about death when everyone was healthy. This is just another reason why educating and preparing the family and caregivers is so important.

From an Occupational therapy perspective, I think this is why it is not only important to take care of your client, but  also to take care of their family as well. While we need to educate our clients and make sure adaptive equipment and other resources are available, we also need to be sure that the caretakers and family are educated on the condition. When a client is diagnosed with a condition of this nature, it is so important that their loved ones be prepared for what the condition looks like and what the future of the client may hold.

In the case of my grandfather, I am so thankful that he has made his final wishes known. He is currently in the middle stages of Parkinson's disease, but has made sure he has everything written down and in order before his condition progresses, even down to the songs he wants to be played at his service. My grandfather was a medical doctor who practiced general medicine in our little community for 50+ years. When he realized he had Parkinson’s disease, he made sure that everyone in our family knew what the future held and was prepared for it. I believe that because of this, it has made his diagnoses just a little bit easier to cope with, especially for my grandmother and his children.

Overall, I think this TED Talk did a great job of explaining the harsh realities of dementia and what families dealing with this diagnosis may go through.  Beth Malone did a great job sharing her story and relating it back to a topic that is so important, death education and preperation. I would recommend this video to all future OT practitioners. This video is a great example of how important it is to empathetic towards our clients and their families, as well as how important client/caregiver education is.  Diagnoses such as Dementia are hard for everyone, especially the client and their families. This is why it is so important that we as practitioners do everything we can to help them process it and prepare for the future.

References:

Malone, B. (n.d.). How My Dad's Dementia Changed My Idea of Death (and Life). Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/beth_malone_how_my_dad_s_dementia_changed_my_idea_of_death_and_life/up-next#t-233447

Media project-Innovators Statement

 For the media project, my assigned material was newspaper and my client's name was Susan. Susan was a 55 year old who was diagnosed with ALS. She had some trouble with fine motor function in her hands and mobility in her upper extremities. When I first read Susan’s case, I thought, “What in the world am I going to do with newspaper?” After much thought and consideration, I came up with newspaper flowers. In Susan’s file, it mentioned that she enjoyed scrapbooking and crafting, so what better way to work on fine motor skills and upper extremity mobility than crafts!

Before this project, I had not given much thought into how everyday materials could be used in Occupational therapy. Of course, I had seen therapists use tin cans and other weighted objects, but newspaper? I had never thought about using something like newspaper to come up with an intervention or activity. After completing this project, I am now aware of how useful everyday objects can be in occupational therapy. Whether you have to come up with an intervention on the fly or the materials you need are not readily available, everyday objects can come in handy.

This assignment has changed the way I think about the materials used in therapy. Before this project, I considered things like weighted cuffs, universal cuffs, and peg boards as occupational therapy materials, but now, I see that almost any material can be used in therapy with a little bit of thought and creativity.
This project also emphasized the importance of client-centeredness. It would have been easy to come up with just any activity that involved a newspaper, but the fact that it needed to incorporate something important to my client really made me think. It also showed me new ways to be client-centered. Say, for instance, that your client can not afford to order equipment from a therapy company. I now feel that I can confidently provide advice on how to use everyday materials to achieve the same goals in a more cost effective manner. 

Overall, I think this project helped make me a better future OT practitioner. It made me think outside the box and pushed me out of my comfort zone. It also taught me to look at things through an “OT lens” and emphasized the importance of being client-centere. Even when things may seem challenging, we as OT practitioners have to be adaptable and innovative, doing whatever it takes to meet our client’s needs.

Neuro Note 3

For Neuro Note 3, I chose to watch and read about Alex Coriell’s Journey with ALS. I chose this topic because it is one we recently covered in class and I was interested in seeing how a younger adult dealt with this diagnoses. Alex Coriell’s wife, Melissa, filmed this video. It shows just how fast this condition progresses and how devastating it is.

Alex Coriell was diagnosed with ALS when he was 29 years old. He was a Husband and a father to 3 young children. The video begins with footage of when he was first diagnosed in January 2013; Alex still had the ability to walk and could use his hands. By September of 2013, he opted to have a feeding tube placed after he lost his ability to swallow. A few months after having the feeding tube placed, Alex lost his ability to walk. Alex decided to start a blog to advocate for and encourage others with ALS. When Alex lost the ability to use his fingers, he continued to blog using his noes to type. When he could no longer use his nose, he used his eyes (via eye gaze).

 Despite the inevitable outcome, Alex never gave up on life. He continued to live his life to the fullest, doing everything he could to stay active and keep moving. Along with blogging, he spoke at public events and advocated for ALS, spreading awareness of the condition.  Alex is quite possibly one of the best examples of strength and perseverance I have ever seen. He never lost his joy. Alex passed away in November of 2015, about 2 years from the time he was diagnosed.

One thing that I noticed about this video is how much adaptive equipment Alex used. It featured clips of him using an eye gaze device, a shower chair, an iPad base that attached to his chair, and even a paintbrush that was attached to a helmet. This video shows so many good examples of different adaptive equipment and tools that may be useful to someone with the same or similar diagnoses.

The video also showed how Alex modified some everyday tasks to fit his level of physical function. When he lost the use of his hands, He was still able to figure out how to shave and brush his teeth on his own. When he could no longer walk or use his arms, he figured out how to play a game with his children using his feet.

Another things that really stuck out to me was the role that spirituality played in how Alex processed and coped with his condition. He was a practicing Christian (as am I) and saw his diagnoses not as a death sentence, but as a way to show Christ to others. I believe that this played a big part in the strength and positivity he displayed throughout the progression of his disease. He continued to stay positive and find joy, even in the hardest circumstances.

There a million things in this video that I could talk about in relation to Occupational therapy. It features so many things that we talk about in our Occupational Therapy classes, ranging from adaptive equipment to spirituality. This video also shows the progression of ALS and the toll it takes on the individual diagnosed as well as the family.  Overall, I would recommend this video to any and all OT students.

References:

Henderson, W. (2018, February 1). Alex Coriell's Journey with ALS. Retrieved August 18, 2019, from https://alsnewstoday.com/2018/02/01/alex-coriells-journey-with-als/?utm_source=ALS News&utm_campaign=856209f0b7-RSS_FRIDAY_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0593028b75-856209f0b7-71721017

Neuro Note 2

For this Neuro Note, I chose the film 50 First Dates. I chose this film because it is an old favorite of mine and relates a lot to the information we have discussed in Neurological aspects of Occupational Therapy. The movie is about a man named Henry and a woman named Lucy. Henry is portrayed as somewhat of a ladies man who has no interest in a long-term relationship, that is, until he meets Lucy. He meets Lucy at a café and they go out on a date, there, they decide to meet the next day. At this point in the film, Henry has fallen for Lucy. When the next day comes, Henry realizes that Lucy has no memory of their encounter. Someone then explains to Henry that Lucy was in a car accident a year earlier that left her with a traumatic brain injury that causes short-term memory loss. Everyday she wakes up thinking it's October 13. Lucy is totally unaware of her condition, because since her injury happened, her father and brother have been reenacting October 13.  Although Lucy’s brother and father are against it at first, they agree to let Henry pursue Lucy. Henry has to work every day to make Lucy fall in love with him all over again. Later in the movie, Lucy discovers her diagnoses and Henry comes up with a way to help her remember. Henry makes videos to explain her accident and where she is in life. Henry and Lucy continue to spend a lot of time together, until Lucy overhears that Henry has postponed a sailing trip on her behalf. Lucy decides that for Henry’s sake, it would be better for her to just forget him all together. Fast forward to Henry leaving on a sailing trip, he speaks to Lucy’s family and they tell him that she is now living at the Brain institute, where she was first diagnosed. After speaking with her family, Henry believes that there is a chance Lucy remembers him. He rushes to the brain institute and asks if she recognizes him. She says she doesn't, but she’s been dreaming about him and has painted his picture many times. At the end of the film it shows Lucy waking up and watching a video that explains her accident and ends with footage from Lucy and Henry’s wedding.

This film does a great job of explaining this type of traumatic brain injury Lucy had and the symptoms that went along with it. It mentions that in the car accident Lucy damaged her temporal lobe and in our Neurological Aspects of Occupational Therapy class we learned that the temporal lobe is responsible for short-term memory.  Another thing that this film effectively portrays is the toll an injury like Lucy’s takes on friends and family. Lucy’s family puts their entire life on hold in order to cater to Lucy’s needs and after she meets Henry, he does the same thing. The last thing that really stuck out to me about this movie is the modifications and adaptations made to help make Lucy’s life easier. For example, the videos Henry makes to help keep her on track for each day.  Overall, I think this movie does a great job at portraying this type of traumatic brain injury in a light hearted manner, while still touching on the important aspects of traumatic brain injuries. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in traumatic brain injuries, especially how they impact family, friends, and everyday life.

References: 

Segal, P. (Director). (2004). 50 First Dates[Video file]. United States: Columbia Pictures. Retrieved August 13, 2019, from https://www.hbo.com/movies/50-first-dates.