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

Popular posts from this blog

Adapting the Practice of OT

The beautiful thing about occupational therapy as a profession is its adaptability.  It thrives in an environment that is multi-dimensional where the profession morphs according to the client.  "Client-centered" and "top-down approach" are all key terms when describing OT.  Instead of being a rigid process with little adaptation, the profession molds into the best fit for each specific client. Occupational therapists are more than just practitioners.  In a way, OTs are detectives, teachers, and companions.  One theory that capitalizes on the adaptability of OT is Frame of Reference (FoR).  FoR implements the strengths of OT by allowing the practitioner's roles to adapt to each individual client. Using the client's FoR aids the therapist to develop an intervention that best suites his specific needs.  This is where solving mysteries and applying reasoning to the situation is useful.  Deducing the client's motivations and context are key in the deve...

The Changing Faces of Dementia

If you have not read Kathy Ritchie's blog on her experience coping with her mother's declining health after her diagnosis in 2010 with frontotemporal dementia, you should!  It is a riveting example of the difficulties encountered when a relative forgets those closest to their heart.  Kathy talks about the shock of learning about her mother's diagnosis and the decline in her memory and outbursts in church.  For Kathy, her mother's death in 2014 felt swift and yet drawn out.  All she wanted for her mother was peace, but yet it was a hard realization to let go.  In a sense, death was the right answer, because her mother was not the same person Kathy had known, yet Kathy talks about how she misses her previous mother.  The mother that bore her.  The mother that raised her.  The mother that loved her.  However, the loss of the mother she spent those four years feeding, bathing, and dressing was not difficult. After reading about the frustrations...

The Vitality of Awareness

Recently, I have been astounded at how much awareness of a disease has to do with the amount of research aimed at treating the disease.  I mentioned before how the awareness about Parkinson's Disease came through the work of famous faces like Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox.  If it weren't for individuals like them, Parkinson's treatment may not be as developed as it is today.  This idea is true for other diseases as well.  One such illness that I believe will receive a lot of attention now is Tetralogy of Fallot, a disease that Jimmy Kimmel's newborn son, William John, was diagnosed with just hours after his birth.  The fact that Kimmel opened up about a personal family situation in such an emotional way really resonated with me and, judging by its popularity on social media, many others.  Not only were well-wishes sent to the family, but donations towards the operation flooded in as well.  Here was a man, add to that a comedian, crying on live TV! ...