Look Mom! No thumbs!

I decided to do my second neuro note on a youtube video called “NO THUMBS CHALLENGE ft CaptainSparklez!” In this video Jordan and Rosanna tape their thumbs to their palms and attempt to do things like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, peeling and cutting a banana, and writing their name then cutting the paper in half. I think that this relates to people who have MS, arthritis, ALS, and really anybody who doesn’t have use of their thumbs. At first, I didn’t think this would be too hard but then I tried to eat my lunch with no thumbs. This didn’t work out too well. I dropped my hot pocket constantly and trying to hold a fork to eat my fruit was very difficult! I also tried writing my name without my thumbs. When Jordan and Rosanna did it, Jordan’s handwriting was so much better than Rosanna. I figured that mine would look more like Jordan’s since my hand writing is typically pretty good. I was wrong about that!! My name looked like a 4 year old wrote it. I thought that maybe I should move the pen around some to a different position…. Nope didn’t help any. I knew that when you lost your thumb function you lose around 50-60% of what you can do but I thought that the simple things might have been easier, which they weren’t. I recommend other people to try this challenge because trying to do the basic things really makes you see how different and challenging it is for people who can’t do those things. I put the link below this post so you can watch their video if you are interested!! Good luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzOXxSgKTF4

A Little of my Story

"Enjoy the little things in life, because one day you will look back, and realize they were the big things"

Last January I had to make one of the hardest, if not the hardest decision of my life. I always thought the hardest decision I would make would be when I get older and have a family. I had to decide whether or not to put off my dreams for a year to better my own mental health or to risk my dream and hope to push through. While for some people this would have not seemed like a big deal, for me it was devastating. You see, I am a planner and I like to know how things are going to happen and what is before me, so my plan being destroyed, while only temporarily, destroyed me. I have never really struggled when it came to making grades, so not doing well when I applied myself the most I ever had, shook me to my core. I felt like I wasn't good enough and questioned if I was doing what I should be doing in my life. So that is the background for my post and why this quote has really made me think about what are the important things in my life.

While I was back living at my parent's house at the hardest time of my life, I met a family that in time became more than just a family; they became my family. This family needed a babysitter during the day due to their kids having surgery and not yet being able to go to daycare again. My mom and their mom, Amanda, are friends and mom asked if I would be willing to do it. I said sure since I didn't have anything else to do. Little did I know that those two little kids, Grace and Cooper, would become two of the biggest things in my life. Like I said, I basically did it since I didn't have anything to do (and I love kids.) I met their family and instantly felt a connection with them. I am always somebody who wants to help people when they need it. This family needed help. Little did I know at the time, I needed their help more than they needed mine.

I had no idea at the time that I got involved with this family that Amanda had been praying for somebody to love her kids and somebody who wanted to spend time with them for almost a year. I'm not sure if Amanda knew that I needed a purpose. I know that God knew both of our situations and knew we would become family. I have always loved the kids I babysit but sometimes the parents are a different story. Not with this family... each one of them has impacted my life and I love each one of them.

Anyway as the year went on, I continued babysitting Grace and Cooper when their mom and dad would text me. It gradually got to where I would text Amanda and ask she and her husband, Jody, to go on a date night so I could keep her kids. Despite having two little kids running around and playing, being with Grace and Cooper rejuvenated me and renewed my spirits many times through out that year (and still do.)  Their mom always tells me thank you for loving her kids as much as I do but what she doesn't know is that her kids made me love my life again. Grace and Cooper made me smile, remember why I wanted to go to OT school, and helped me realize that my world wasn't over.

I guess the purpose of this post is just to say not to over look the little things (or people) in your life because they can make a huge impact in your life.

Joni Eareckson Tada

The group that I was in went over Joni Eareckson Tada. Something that I learned from this group presentation was the different thing that an occupational therapist could be associated in with somebody who is a quadriplegic. I wasn’t really sure initially what that would look like since they wouldn’t be able to get the movement back on their own. I learned through this group presentation that the therapist would work on things like getting Joni to be able to paint with a brush in her mouth or even how to use a lever to reposition her bed so that she is able to get used to feeling of moving and elevate bedsores by using a lever or stick in her mouth. One thing that I liked about this presentation was that Sarah Caitlin addressed the fact that Joni was only 17 when her accident happened by bringing up the social aspect and the things that she was missing at that time in her life. The idea of creating or working with Joni to create and establish a friend group for her I felt like was a very good thought. This is something that not everyone thinks about. This shows a real interest in what the client wants and the importance of a person’s support group in their recovery. Sometimes people don’t realize that they have lost touch with a person or they assume somebody else is contacting them or visiting with them, when in reality everybody is assuming the same thing so nobody is doing it. One of Sarah Caitlyn’s goals was for Joni to be able to paint a picture as a leisure activity. By doing this, she addressed the aspect that not all occupations that OTs address have to be done for something that is mandatory but they can also be done for something that is enjoyable to help the person relax and enjoy their daily life again.

Fundamentals of Caring

A friend of mine actually found this movie, and asked me to watch it with him. He saw it and said that it opened his eyes to how it is working with somebody with special needs. I watched it with him and then watched it again over this last weekend when I saw that it was on the list of what we could write on.

This movie, Fundamentals of Caring, is based on somebody taking care of a person with MD. In the beginning of the movie Trevor, the teenager with MD, is negative and doesn’t feel like he can do anything because of his diagnosis. As the movie goes, his caretaker, Ben, is able to really connect with Trevor and help him see the purpose of living his life to the fullest. Ben even takes Trevor on a trip to meet his dad and to go to “the world’s biggest pit” (Burnett), which at first Trevor didn’t want to go on but he ends up really enjoying the trip. One thing that Ben did towards the end of the movie which shows how much he cares about Trevor is he got a stretcher from an ambulance and strapped Trevor to it. He then stood up the stretcher allowing Trevor to pee standing up, which was something he said he had always wanted to do, since he had never been able to do that. This is something that I thought was neat because Ben saw something in a new way that allowed Trevor to do something that he had never done. This relates to occupational therapy because that is what we do as therapist, we look at ordinary things and see new or other ways that they can be used.

This movie shows why encouraging a person to live their life to the fullest is important. Trevor went from living a bitter life and not seeing a point in doing anything to enjoying his life. Not only does Trevor’s life become better but so does Ben’s. Ben started the job because he needed a new job and did it more out of obligation. Throughout the movie, you can see how he begins to embrace and have a connection with Trevor as more than a caregiver. I think this movie does a great job of showing how not only are you able to help a person in their life but how they can help you without really trying. It also does a good job of showing the process that person with any disease, specifically MD, may go through as they accept their diagnosis. I would definitely recommend watching this movie to other people, in a health profession field or not.

Burnett R., Gigliotti, D., Spies, J. (Producer), & Burnett, R. (Director). (2016). Fundamentals of caring [Motion Picture]. United States: Worldwide Pants.