MS Neuro Note

-
I chose a TED talk given by Stephanie Buxhoeveden, a 25 year old nursing anesthetist student who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) during her time in school. I chose this ted talk because I thought it was interesting how someone who spent many months learning about conditions and how to become a healthcare provider at a hospital ended up becoming a patient there. She talks about how she doesn't fit the "face" of the condition, how it affected her life, and what life is like now.

Stephanie began noticing numbness in her right foot while she was working out and soon after but chalked it up to a pinched nerve. The next time she noticed numbness was right before the first time she was to give anesthesia as a student. The numbness began in her legs, she had no feeling in her waist down, the feeling and movement in her right arm was gone, and her vision became extremely blurry. This was when she knew it was time to tell someone and to seek help. Later, she left that hospital diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS. 

With treatment options - injections, thousands of pills, and monthly IV fusions - she is able to control her symptoms and hopefully limit the number of relapses she gets. She goes on to talk about how the remission phase is not always sunshine and rainbows because of the after effects of relapses. During the remission phase; she is still taking medications to relieve nerve pain, she continues to get numb in her legs when she walks certain distances, and she keeps a cane in her closet for the days she needs some extra help. She says the most frustrating part of MS is the unpredictability of it - the unknown of what each day will bring. Stephanie didn't let MS define her instead she defined it. The doctor told her she had "poor prognosis" and probably needed to look into a new "easier" career...6 months later she graduated and became a board certified MS nurse practitioner.

I recommend this Ted talk for future students because of how Stephanie put a positive spin on her unexpected diagnosis. It opened my eyes and mind to the fact that anyone can get MS or any other disease. We always think, "it won't be us" but it could very real be - another reason why occupational therapy is so vital in this situations because of the holistic approach. Her goal has become one of mine as a future practitioner and that is to be able to empower and educate others on MS but also to let people know they don't have to be afraid of this condition and can fight it.

Reference
Talks, T. (2015, April 03). Thriving in the Face of Adversity | Stephanie Buxhoeveden | TEDxHerndon. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuLOT6GsAxw

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Man from the South

-
Image
In this story the wife only has a thumb and a finger on her hand. Luckily, she still has a thumb as that is very important, functionally, because of it's relationship to the other digits. Let's assume that the other finger she has left is her third metacarpal otherwise known as the middle finger. The loss of her second metacarpal also known as the index finger accounts for 20% of hand dysfunction and affects many occupations as stated in our notes. In other words, while she was losing fingers in the bets with her husband we can only imagine how hard it was to adapt and adjust in her daily life. An occupation that would be affected by the losses of her fingers would be getting dressed. This would be difficult for her because many clothes include zippers like the dress that was in the room when they walked in. When you zip up a dress, bottoms, or tops you use your thumb and index finger in a tip pinch (pulp to pulp, 2 jaw chuck, pencil grip, etc). Since she is missing her index
Read more

Restoring confidence in mobility

-
To restore a client's confidence in mobility it is important to educate the client on the steps it takes to reach that goal. As a therapist it is also important to talk with the client about their values, goals, and needs to adequately help the client. The hierarchy of mobility skills is as follows: bed mobility --> mat transfer --> wheelchair transfer --> bed transfer --> functional ambulation for ADL --> toilet and tub transfer --> car transfer --> functional ambulation for community mobility --> community mobility and driving. This order is what I expected because it begins with the most basic one to accomplish and understand and then it works it's way up. For example, the milestones for an infant isn't to walk right away instead it would be to grasp.  As a therapist it is important to keep in mind that a body is easier to move when: the center of gravity is moving and the base of support is small . You can think of the hierarchy of mobility as
Read more

My Why...

-
Image
When I first came across this quote by Mother Teresa I was a freshman in college, not knowing what I wanted to do. All I knew was I wanted to go into a profession where I could live these words out loud, everyday. I didn't learn about occupational therapy growing up but my undergrad has an occupational therapy program so it was a big thing there. Once I was introduced to the pediatric side of the OT world I knew this was the career field I needed to be a part of for the next 40 years of my life. Shortly thereafter, I began working part time at a developmental preschool and therapy place in Conway, AR known as Pediatrics Plus. I fell in LOVE with the place, the field of OT, and the people there. I learned more about OT, but I also learned the importance of inclusion and how to find joy in the smallest of things. The kids and their families, the therapists, the administration, and my former co-workers there are a huge part of my "why" I want to be an OT and "why&q
Read more