Skip to main content

Is shaking it off really wise?

Something I have been accustomed to growing up are the phrases "shake it off" or "suck it up" after falling down or sustaining an injury.  Having grown up in a family where there were many children to support on a tight budget, I understood the fact that a hospital visit was the last resort.  Undoubtedly this has facilitated my understanding that you shrug it off and move on.  To a certain extent, I agree with this ideal.  However, after learning the extreme results of certain injuries and their lifelong effects, I may have my future child's doctor on speed dial!  Something that continued to bother me during the story of nurse, Dawn Pereda, was the fact that her own facility where she worked sent her home after she sustained a severe head injury.  It wasn't until hours after alarming symptoms began to appear that she was screened for an injury.  By this point, it was too late.  Now life relies on a schedule that must be maintained or she will not be able to function.  The questions that keep recurring in my mind wonder what would her situation look like if more concern and care had been provided immediately instead of hours later.  Would she have the struggles she does today?  Would her daughter have to deal with the responsibilities of caring for her mother, brother, and other sister?  Would Pereda's husband be able to relax after a long work day?  Unfortunately, these questions will not be answered, but this story has a profound impact on future cases such as Pereda's.  For myself personally, I see the importance of keeping in mind the possible outcomes and severity of a situation and that sometimes toughing it out can ultimately result in lifelong issues.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chucky Mullins

Chucky Mullins was a college football player who suffered a spinal cord injury in the cervical injury resulting in his loss of functioning in all four limbs.  Mullins went from a life of complete independence and success as a college athlete to complete dependence and reliance on caregivers.  After his injury he struggled with speaking and swallowing due to a medical trachea.  He hoped to still be able to attend college and get a degree. Occupational therapy services in this situation should be focused on adaptation in order to facilitate activity in meaningful occupations.  While his arms were unable to move, he still had neck and head control that could be used with adaptive equipment in operating a computer.  His intervention services should be focused on capitalizing on the movement he does have through the use of creative and innovative strategies.  Mullins may not be able to regain the ability to walk, but he definitely can return to the pursuit of a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ted Talks by Aimee Mullins

The older I have grown the more I have seen the crippling effects of societal mindsets.  Simply looking at the various changes in roles of women, men, children, and races has revealed the side effects of societal norms.  From working on plantations without rights to their own bodies to finally becoming integrated and viewed as equal, African Americans have suffered the stigma associated with their race.  Alongside this is the issue of women's rights and their desires to become involved in the workforce.  Over time and gradual mindset changes equality and rights have been achieved, but I believe the real issue behind societal expectations can be found in the definitions of words and how they are used.  Aimee Mullins does an incredible job emphasizing the importance of word definitions and how they are used in her Ted Talks about the demeaning impact of the word "disabled" to refer to an individual with special needs.  By reading the synonyms listed with this...
Post a Comment
Read more

AOTA Code of Ethics

For the past few days my classmates and I have been learning about the AOTA Code of Ethics and what each of the six different standards means.  Some of the regulations seem to me to be no-brainers, such as the one saying that health care providers should always refrain from doing harm to a client.  Intentionally hurting another human being seems like the opposite of what you are supposed to do as an OT.  Another of the codes, Autonomy, states that each individual has a right to what information of theirs is disclosed and that clinicians should refrain from posting information about clients on social media -- again, common sense.  Honestly, all of the codes seem to me to be pretty cut and dry, until you come to a situation where a 16-year-old pregnant girl asks you not to tell her mother about her pregnancy.  Uh oh!  When reading the descriptions of each of the rules, certain themes keep emerging: respect, honesty, fairness. On the surface, these seem pretty...
Post a Comment
Read more