Neuro blog post about Sara Caitlin's case study

     From Sara Caitlin's case study, I learned what the role of an occupational therapist would look like if we have a client with a quadriplegic injury.  Viewing the client's emotional state, setting short and long term goals, and helping Joni enjoy leisure activities (such as painting), were a focus of the occupational therapists for Joni's new found injury.  Joni can now sing, paint with her mouth, has full control with her mouth/shoulder/head to move her wheelchair, is married, has written books, and travels the world giving conferences to other individual's that have experienced a disability.  Joni's motivation and perspective, along with the help of family, caretakers, and some wonderful OT's have helped Joni find purpose and meaning in her life.  

     Sara Caitlin did an excellent job quickly(the time she was given) presenting her material on Joni.  It was evident that she did a lot of research pertaining to Joni's case, even doing extra reading on blog posts and read a book written by Joni to understand her perspective on the case she presented.  I enjoyed her case study, and it was very well presented!

     I feel as if this case study helped me to think deeply on what the focus of occupational therapy would look like if we were to walk into a client's room and they had a new spinal cord injury, especially the shoulder or neck down.  Some things we often do not think about, Sara Caitlin helped us think of/brainstorm on in a different light!

   

Neuro Note 1: The Fundamental's of Caring Movie Review

          The Fundamentals of Caring, is a movie about a young man in his early twenties named Trevor, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Trevor gains a new caretaker named Ben, who takes Trevor on a road trip across country!  Several months ago, my fiancé and I watched this movie on a plane ride to California.  I decided to watch it again because I never caught what Trevor’s condition was and became interested to learn more about how his daily occupations, routines, and social interactions were effected by muscular dystrophy.  The second time I watched the movie I decided to document everything I saw or heard on a word document from the movie about Trevor’s condition. During my documentation, I kept in mind what an occupational therapists job would be, and recorded any observations I made about Trevor’s physical, social, and accessibility struggles he experienced.   

Trevor’s mother mentioned during the movie that statistically Trevor has 7-10 years left to live and was diagnosed at age 3, and Trevor’s age was mentioned to be 21 years of age at the end of the movie.  He had a medication notebook that his mother provided Ben with to keep track of what he needs to take and when (it was a LOT of medicine).  Ben was taught how to put the CPAP machine on Trevor, did daily stretching on Trevor’s hamstrings, IT bands, hip flexors, heel cords, and forearms on the bed.  Ben also helped Trevor with toileting, transporting him in and out of the car and bed, preparing his meals, and with keeping him company.  Ben had lost his son 3 years ago to a tragic accident prior to him being Trevor’s care taker.  Ben, through taking care of Trevor, found himself being more fulfilled and healing through the process of care taking.

 I researched and found that Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is caused by a gene X-linked recessive disease. There are no current cures for the condition, but there are medications that can be used for DMD to help prolong the condition’s symptoms.  DMD usually effects all voluntary muscle control, eventually.  The condition usually confines the client to a wheelchair by early teens, and is discovered around 3 to 4 years of age (Cleveland Clinic, 2005). 

Trevor’s favorite occupations during the movie were watching TV and recording the world’s most lame roadside attractions on a map.  He had a dry and unique sense of humor and loved to look at beautiful woman, highlighting that Trevor is a normal guy with thoughts, feelings, and goals.  My favorite occupational therapy part of this movie was when Ben asked Trevor, “If you woke up and you were fine, what is the thing you would want to do the most?”  Trevor’s response to Ben was, “Pee standing up”.  Although the caretaker had no idea, in occupational therapy language, this would be considered what is purposeful and meaningful to Trevor.  He wanted to achieve the occupation of peeing standing up.  Thus, Ben convinces Trevor’s mother to let him take Trevor on a cross country road trip.  On this road trip, Ben wanted to complete Trevor’s bucket list, which was to visit the world’s most lame roadside attractions.  This trip targeted another one of Trevor’s occupational goals, traveling.  During their road trip, Trevor experienced his first date and kiss, a slim jim, a few failed attempts to pee standing up, and had a blast interacting socially with the 2 people they picked up along the way!     

Near the end of the movie, Ben finally had an idea on how to help Trevor achieve his main goal, to pee standing up.  Ben borrows a flat board from an ambulance nearby and straps Trevor into it.  He then stands the board up in front of the world’s largest pit (the main place Trevor wanted to visit) and Trevor was stabilized without Ben touching him, allowing him to pee standing up.  That moment made me cry, because something so small that we take for granted everyday was Trevor’s main desire in life.  They screamed and rejoiced during Trevor peeing standing up!

This movie helped me gain knowledge on what an individual with muscular dystrophy would experience or lack experiencing, and what some of the main physical actions/movements that client’s with DMD do not have.  I gained an insightful perspective on how much effort goes into traveling when a client has muscular dystrophy.  A client’s medication, sleep machines, and a medical transport vehicle have to be accessible.  The places they stop to go to the bathroom, sleep, and eat have to be handicap accessible.  I enjoyed watching Trevor and Ben’s relationship as the movie progressed, and so much of what Ben did for Trevor is what an occupational therapist would do for their client.  Ben established rapport with Trevor, asked him what his main occupational goal was, provided him with goal oriented activities along the way, used the road trip as a sort of intervention, and through all of their experiences or (sessions), they achieved Trevor’s final goal to pee standing up.  Once the goal (outcome) was met, the movie states that Ben resigned from his position (discharged the client), yet remained friends with Trevor.  Ben helped Trevor achieve his occupations and goals, and through this process, Ben’s heart was healed from the loss of his son and divorce from his wife. 

     

           I would highly recommend anybody over the age of 18, occupational therapists or students to watch this movie.  It is encouraging, informative, raw, and unique.  Disclaimer: There is a large amount of suggestive language used during the film.  I accessed the movie off of Netflix as a Netflix original movie for free (I am a current monthly member).  Following the movie, I looked up Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy to learn more about the condition.  Hopefully this movie will encourage others to do the same!  Below is the citation for the movie and a photo of what the movie looks like.  Also, the site of where I found my further information of DMD is below in my citations.  Please take the time to watch Trevor and Ben’s journey in The Fundamental’s of Caring!

Retrieved from 

          https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrSbneO8_xYs48AAWJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB

yNWU4cGh1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?

p=The%20Fundamentals%20of%20Caring&fr=tightropetb#id=3&iurl=http%3A%2F%2Ftopdezfilmes.o

rg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F06%2FThe-Fundamentals-of-Caring.jpg&action=click

References

Burnett, R. (Producer), & Burnett, R. (Director). (2016).  The fundamentals

of caring [Motion Picture].  United States: Levantine Films.

Cleveland Clinic. (2005).  Duchenne muscular dystrophy.  Retrieved from  

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-

info/docs/2100/2108.asp?src=news&ref=2100/2108.asp

Session 9B

     I really enjoyed this lecture over documentation!  I have yet to work in a clinical setting, so the only experience I have with documenting is watching the therapists I shadowed document, and my internship supervisor spent many of her lunch breaks documenting.  If I could make a suggestion, I would love to see a documentation workshop before we start our level 2 fieldwork.  I am not sure if I am the only one that would be interested, but I think more than I would enjoy this!

     I like how you clarified that when an OT documents, that is our time to shine and really show that occupational therapy services are different than other services, and effective!  I am excited to learn more about interventions and how to document those to show the effectiveness of occupational therapy.  I am passionate for all clients in all settings to receive therapy services, and I agree through effectively documenting we will hopefully continue to show the difference between physical therapy and occupational therapy, and thus begin being referred appropriately by doctors!

       I am interested at collaborating with the medical students at UTHSC with orientations, volunteer service, and other opportunities! Ultimately, I think that knowledge of what occupational therapy is should start in our universities.  If we can start showing doctors in training what OT is, the benefits from it, and that we ARE different from PT, we could begin to build those relationships.  This will help, because when those medical students graduate they will always remember and have knowledge of the OT's, and be more willing to refer their patients to us, ultimately growing the field of OT!  I hope to use my position as Public Relations to get this started.



   

The Mighty blog post session 9A

      "I do not know what it’s like to be able to interact naturally and un-self-consciously, but others do not know what it’s like to experience music the way I do, to hear the sounds of instruments dividing and subdividing into unique universes of soundlets, all separate yet simultaneously coalescing together into a larger whole, and then seeing those sounds turn to images in one’s mind."- Max Chis 

     I pulled this quote from the blog post, What Does 'Disability' Really Mean?  Written by Max Chis, from the site The Mighty.  I LOVE this blog/story Chris wrote.  I admire how he is raw, but purposeful with his words.  He is vulnerable, but for the benefit for others to grow and gain insight of the word 'disabled'. Chris might be a person which happens to have a disability, but look at all of the beauty Chris experiences.  The above quote is one of the many I found to be inspiring, and would love to hear and see what Chris sees one day.  

     Are any of us really 'normal'?  I know that some days I just want to lay in the bed all day watching Netflix and eating donuts without seeing a soul.  Some days I feel as if I can conquer the world.  I find it incredibly important for developing occupational therapy students and therapists to find a way to connect with those that do happen to have a disability.  How?  It is quite simple ---> I think none of us are normal, we just do not have it displayed outwardly.  If all of our worries, insecurities, stress, secrets, fears, and down right ugly actions/thoughts we can have were outwardly displayed, I surely think that we would see that we are all the same; but oh so unique.  That is the beauty of Chris's message to all that care to read his words.  They breath, crave milkshakes, love someone to tell them how nice their hair looks, and might just want to drink a beer with their buddies just like the rest of us messed up 'normal' folks.  Just because a person has a disability does not classify them as aliens or even different.  I do hope to teach others and remind myself beyond the clinic that we are all strange, and that we really can all connect on some level. We all have our mess.  If our ears for one day could experience what Chris's do, we might be able to understand and hit the brink of joy he has.  The world is a different place when your not what society says you should be.  This is why Chris inspires me as a person and a future therapist.  I will never hear the same music Chris does, but I can surely provide Chris with the stage to lead the rest of us in singing the same song he hears with us. 

Foundations Session 8B Blog Post

     What a neat take on occupational therapy!  Health literacy is something I have never even considered.  This is why I love our classes. All of them!  As a future therapist I might think of something such as helping the client find different ways of transporting to the doctor to get a prescription prescribed. However I love how occupational therapy goes even deeper than that.  Our job might start there, but directly after that it is our duty to make sure they understand why they are taking it, what they are taking, how many they are taking, and what time of the day to take it.  T

     The question then crossed my mind in class as we watched the videos on health literacy, "Do people graduate elementary, middle and high school without being taught to read?"  Then it hit me.  Not only are there individuals that might be my age that can not read for many different reasons, but we also will meet other client's that may not have been born here, having a language barrier or maybe a focus on education and reading in their country still is not as important as our culture.  Some of our clients may have been from my grandparent's generation.  It is not uncommon in their day and age to never graduate school or develop their reading skills fully.  Many might also ask how is this possible?  Times were different 50 years ago.  Farm hands had children often to help them work the field, including during school hours.  Just because school was in session did not mean that the garden would still not be growing!  Grocery store's were smaller and often family run.  Having such a strong focus on academia or even basic education was not terribly important when my grandparent's were in grade school, resulting in an aging population that does not have the ability to read medicine, food labels, etc.

     So as always I left class today thinking, "Man Lauren, you must start thinking big, creative, and generationally as a I move forward as a therapist to provide the highest quality of care I can possibly do".

Foundations session 8A Blog Post

     I enjoyed the article from this lecture's material, Health Education Programming for Older Adults Based on Social Cognitive Theory.  I enjoyed this article because firstly, I love all gerontology knowledge I can get my hands on. Secondly,  I like how it explained the social cognitive model in action/application for a specific population and focused strongly on the "hows" of behavior change.

     This theory is a perfect match for supporting the idea that we as therapists should encourage our client's to accept adversity and to grow with their adversity all the while celebrating how it has strengthened them.  If a model is always looking at the "why's" instead of the "how's"..then where is the encouragement for clients to be motivated once they hit a wall?  By the social cognitive model having a heavy emphasis on self efficacy, the client's confidence in achieving daily activities by themselves will be noticeably boosted, even if a wall is hit.  When we empower client's and positively guide them through their adversities, we ultimately give them the gift of confidence and do not enable them to quit, give up, or view themselves as less, because they are not. 

     Client's often probably wonder if we pity them or feel badly for them and their current state.  The real truth is, WE should feel badly for ourselves, because we will never have the same view, appreciation, or love for life the way those that have experienced life changing adversity ever will.  Let's keep promoting self efficacy of all of our client's, I think this article is on to something!

OT 537 session 1B Response

     I want to begin with highlighting the strength Professor Lancaster displayed during not only discussing in class the blog about her father's journey and celebration of life, but also for sharing with us her raw emotions and experiences during this time.  It was an eye opening experience for myself, and I am sure my peers. 

      My father is much like yours, strong & kind & determined, so immediately when reading this blog post I made your story incredibly personal.  Not only did this story increase the gratuity in my own life, but sadly gave me to many examples of poor health care.  It helped me understand why you are so passionate for us to always put the client first, including their family.  I do believe the things you read, experiences you have, and emotions you feel can and will guide our practice as therapists in the future.  I tried to refrain from judging the health care workers while reading the post, but could not seem to refrain as I said above, this story was made very personal quickly for me.  I know I will let clients and their families down, all health care workers have, however I do promise to strive to apply my knowledge from your personal experience moving forward when providing care to all clients.  I have so much sadness in my heart when I think of how stressful the situation already was, and then the health care provided increased the stress of you and your families day. I am not sure how I would have handled those 10 weeks, or honestly how you did. My daddy is my whole world. 

     My fiance is currently applying to nursing school at UTHSC and is a kind and gentle man.  I have emailed him your blog post, and told him to read it and pay attention to the lack of empathy provided by the nurses, including the lack of emotional support they were able to offer.  I am excited for him to see an inside perspective on what and why nursing is so important to all individuals.  So thank you for inspiring him, my self and so many more with your selflessness of sharing this story. 

OT 537 Daily Challenge 1

     Aimee Mullin's Ted Talk was a unique lens to view the word disabled.  When we are "diagnosed" with a new cold, cancer, or illness we often want to research the information supporting the diagnosis. We want to know what it is, means, and how it will effect us. People that do have a disability have looked into their diagnosis as well.  They have already been disheartened by what the web defines them as due to their diagnosis and listed their limitations with a lack of encouragement to follow.  We do not often think of how hurtful, un-empowering, or what the word disabled can mean until possibly we are the individual with a disability.
     This video is important for teaching us as future therapists that we may never 100 percent understand how they feel, but we can use our words wisely to uplift, support, and strengthen our clients instead of spurting out words causing a disheartened client.  If our words are used with empathy, we (just like Aimee's childhood doctor) can offer a strength and support for our clients to accept and grow with adversity instead of telling them to always go around it or overcome it without acknowledging how obstacles have helped them grow.  By helping the client celebrate and acknowledge their obstacles, we as therapists will be providing our clients with not only current support but a life long attitude of I can do anything.