Occupational Therapy: Where Science and Spirituality Collide

Allie Calhoun, a character from the beloved movie, "The Notebook," winds up developing Alzheimers disease.  Not only does she forget her loved ones (especially her grandkids), but she also experiences Sundowner's Syndrome where she changes to anger and frustration when the sun goes down.  OT services will aim at helping create a schedule and routine for her to engage fully in activities which she loves, such as painting and playing the piano.  Focusing on maintaining a schedule will hopefully reduce her confusion and panic.  Also, the schedule will be sure to incorporate time where she can spend doing the activities she has always loved to do.  OT should also focus on caregiver education as Allie's husband, Noah, is intimately involved in her care.  Integrating family involvement and investing in their health is key in this situation in order to help Allie be involved in activities that bring meaning to her life.

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...

Today, we talked about a twenty-three year old friend of one of my classmates who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in July of 2015.  Not only did this diagnosis come a week before her twenty-second birthday, but her MS joined a number of other medical diagnosis already present.  Thankfully, the MS she contracted is the mildest form of MS with intermittent bouts of the symptoms occurring.  Currently, she is living alone and in law school.  She also volunteers weekly doing equine therapy.  Her goals throughout OT are to keep pursuing her interests in horseback riding and continuing law school.  Helping the client to find adaptive ways to write, horseback ride, and conserve energy are all ways OT can help the client to pursue her goals.

Dr. Remy Hadley was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease (HD) in 2007.  Even though her mother died from HD, Dr. Hadley did not want to be tested, but suspected that she had inherited the gene.  In 2008 she noticed tremors and now is in the beginning stages of HD.  Her symptoms include issues such as increased upper extremity tremors, minimal memory problems, and impaired coordination.  Challenges and barriers that she is currently dealing with include issues eating, drinking, balancing, tripping, and coordinating fine motor skills.  Dr. Hadley is determined to continue her current life of working in the hospital, exercising, and maintaining her independence as long as possible.  OT intervention wants to focus on decreasing energy expenditure, such as giving her a recording device for documentation purposes, and finding other adaptive strategies that will aid her in her independent living.

In a sense, I have always known that I had a knack for therapy, but it wasn't until I learned about the intricate details of OT that I realized I'm going to be a part of the perfect profession for myself!  Growing up, I have always been one of those people who has a higher standard for myself than for others (perfectionism runs deep), and something about OT that I respect is the fact that it requires its practitioners to continuously strive to better themselves through continuing eduction, evidence-based practice, and even learning from ethical dilemmas.  OT always strives to provide the best services possible, and I believe that is crucial in a field where health care personnel are called to serve others and enable them to live healthy lives.  While there are a lot of expectations placed on practitioners, I also feel there is an overwhelming amount of community and grace within the profession.  OT practice is a team focus with accountability and wisdom readily avail...

My takeaway from this presentation on Myasthenia Gravis (MG) really showed me how important it is to ask questions.  I had the great opportunity while doing this project to contact Amanda Jones, the woman who I based my case study on.  She loved the fact that someone was showing interest in her condition and was ready and willing to answer any questions I might have had.  Her condition at this point is incurable, but she still finds ways to keep her hope up and enjoy each day even if her energy doesn't stay.  She told me that she is undergoing Chemotherapy and is trying to stay positive about her prognosis.  Each day is a struggle but she admits she couldn't continue without the support of her family.  I felt it vital to focus on ensuring that she participated in social events and was not impeded by the sudden and unexpected bouts of fatigue, so schedule planning was at the top of my list.  Planned rest intervals and family participation is household c...

You can listen and research about the way someone with a disease might live, but you never truly understand what their life is like until you witness it firsthand.  This is exactly what happened to me after watching "TransFatty Lives," a documentary about Patrick O'Brien's life after being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).  Being a movie producer, O'Brien felt it necessary to capture every moment of his life from then on -- not leaving anything out.  It was like I was able to personally witness the progression of his fight with ALS through the film.  I watched as his functioning slowly but surely left his body.  I watched as the telltale signs of his condition progressed throughout his body.  I watched him, and three other grown men, struggle to get him in the shower.  It was real.  It was heartbreaking.  It was him.  The incredible part to witness was his continual effort to be himself.  Even though he admittedly ...

Today we talked about Stephen Hawking, renown scientist and lecturer, and his fight with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).  The incredible thing about him is that while he now is completely dependent on the help of others, he is still pursuing his passion of writing, science and speaking.  While he is dependent on a tracheotomy for breathing functions and cannot actually speak, he has found ways to communicate and live life to the fullest.  In fact, Assistive Technology (AT) has helped him to communicate by use of cheek movements in selecting words and phrases on a computer.  Even though his AT has helped, Hawking's therapy should focus on continued effort to find the most advanced AT and adaptive equipment so that his continued loss of function will not impede his ability to pursue his desires and interests.  Goals for OT involve training caregivers on how to us AT, discovering new techniques and methods to incorporate in his daily life, and helping him to f...

Before owning my dog, Buck, I would have told you I was a cat person.  Granted, the only exposure to pets I had before Buck was a cat named Cacey.  In many ways, Cacey was like a dog.  She was always by my side and would even come when I called her name!  The day she went missing was one of the saddest days of my life, and I still sometimes wish I knew what happened to my furry friend.  Thankfully, you can always get a new pet, and that is where Buck came in (and now we have a new addition to our family named Levi).  Honestly my two dogs, that I consider my fur-babies, have added such a wonderful dynamic to my life!  They have done ridiculous things, like pooping in the shower, and they have also done sweet things, like sitting with me while I am upset and crying.  At the end of the day, they are always there ready to cuddle.  In many ways, they probably understand me more than others would, and that is why I truly believe the old adage that ...

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! ...

Something I have learned about myself since starting OT school is how I tend to center my beliefs on what should be done for a client based on what I would prefer to be done for myself.  Therefore, the idea of integrating more technology into one's life does not seem appealing to me, so I won't do that to someone else.  But what if that technology could allow someone to access rooms that were once unreachable or even get to a place of living independently because of technological advances?  Who am I to say that people shouldn't have more technological assistance just because that does not sound appealing in my life?  Ironically enough, my husband is an electrical engineer who, of course, specializes in home automation.  Most of his customers are very wealthy people who want an Apple system installed in their homes, but recently I've begun thinking about how much he could help me promote participation in meaningful activities for my future clients.  That sou...

Muhammad Ali was a famous boxer diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (PD) at the age of 41.  Up until his diagnosis, not much was known about PD.  But thanks to his previous fame and philanthropy involvement in raising awareness and money for PD, this disease has received a lot of attention and research in treatment options.  As an OT, the focus should primarily be on promoting occupational performance in areas of interest such as public speaking and traveling.  Education on managing a schedule and medication should be taught not only to Ali but also to his caregiver.  Big and Loud treatment for Parkinson's Disease is a therapeutic measure that integrates the profession of OT, PT and SLP in an attempt to promote health throughout the body.  Thanks to the tireless work of Ali, awareness of PD is growing in the public.