Rollin with the Grizzlies

Our class had the opportunity to attend a Rollin Grizzlies basketball practice last week.  I had never seen wheelchair basketball played before only seen videos, but I knew to expect it to be physical and intense.  The players were very welcoming and the coach gave us the opportunity to ask any questions.  The rules are strict when it comes to shooting the ball and there is expected to be no physical contact while a player is shooting, including hitting chairs. They have to dribble the ball for every two rolls of their wheelchair and that seemed to be second nature to them.  One of the coolest parts to me was watching them do suicides.  They were so fast and stopped and turned right back around when the whistle blew.  I asked the coach about what that will do to your hands and he said after playing a while you build up calluses.  I am sure those first few practices are rough though!  The coach told us that they did so well last year that they were recently bumped up to the next division.  I can see why after watching them scrimmage.  The team had good chemistry and even though they were playing each other you could tell that they worked well as a team. 

At the end of their practice we got to try it out in their chairs that they use to play.  Respect.  I struggled to roll and hold the ball at the same time, let alone shoot it.  They had players on the team making three-pointers and really good plays.  I would suggest going to a game or practice for anyone and hope to attend a game in the future. Having more accessibility to adaptive sports is something that I think more cities should strive for because that could be a barrier for people wanting to participate.  This may be something I am interested in doing when I am a practicing OT. 

 

OT and Ethics

Once again we learned that things in the field of occupational therapy are not always black and white.  There is a Code of Ethics we must follow once we are in the field and we will accountable for doing so.  I like having guidelines such as these because it often helps me make tough decisions.  I think I will often be faced with ethical dilemmas when in the field and I am thankful we have this tool to help us.  It should be comforting to our clients that we as OT practitioners are expected to abide by this Code of Ethics.  Many of the aspects of it help protect them and their well-being.  This makes our profession all the more client-centered.  I am thankful and looking forward to being a part of this in a few short years.

Before and After

I learned about an incredible woman today named Joni Eareckson Tada.  I had heard a few things about her before and her incredible organization called Joni and Friends.  Before her accident she was your average teenager getting ready to head off to college and now she is traveling the world for speaking engagements and advocating for people with disabilities.  Was the accident what caused this radical change in her life or was she always destined to be an advocate?

This is something that always comes to mind when I hear about people who develop new skills or become major advocates for things after experiencing some traumatic thing in their life. Would those new talents and skills have been discovered if they hadn't experienced that trauma? In the case of Joni, she is now using her faith in God and the major influence she has to make a huge change in the lives of those with disabilities. It is incredible to me the capacity we have as humans to adapt and change.  Joni may of never known her skill with art or public speaking if she had not had her injury. 

This does not always happen when people experience and injury or illness that radically changes their life.  Some people lose hope and can not find a reason to live.  I think this is where we have to step in as occupational therapist and help them try and find their new thing.  It may even be something they enjoyed before their injury that can now be adapted.  If we as the therapist never give up, then maybe our client will me more likely not to give up.

I say all of this without ever experience something as life altering as a spinal cord injury.  I have no idea how I would react to one minute being able to do everything I want with my body and mind and the next minute that radically changing.  Every person is different and it is our job in the field to recognize that and not discount how someone might truly feel their life is over after their injury or illness.  In the future, I hope I can help people "in their after" and help them overcome whatever they are facing and open up potentially a new world of opportunities for them.

Inside Anna's Head

            Anna Swabey was your average 23 year old girl from England who enjoyed time with friends, loved her job, and really loved rugby.  I learned about her life through reading her blog "Inside My Head", which she started after she was diagnosed with a terminal Grade 3 Anaplastic Astrocytoma brain tumor.  This obviously and understandably changed almost every aspect of her life.  She started this blog after she received her diagnosis to keep family and friends up to date and raise awareness. She became a major advocate for the organization Brain Tumour Research Campaign and her campaign has raised 103,341 pounds to date.  She reached her goal of 100,000 pounds the day of her funeral.  She was diagnosed in February 2015 and passed away September 2016.  

           Anna's blog showed me a lot of things.  Reading it from her perspective and hearing about the ups and downs of it all was eye opening and I am humbled she chose to share her story with the world.  She didn't stop living her life and even met a man and was engaged, something she never thought would happen after the diagnosis.  Devastatingly her wedding date was set to be the day after she passed away.  She was my age and she did more in that short time period than many people will do in a lifetime.  Her advocacy for an increase and funding in research of brain tumors even took her all the way to Parliament. 

          

             Another thing this blog post showed me was the importance of a second opinion.  Her first doctor told her that her tumor was inoperable and that she didn't have much time left.  She saw another doctor who soon became a major part of her life and successfully completed removal of part of the tumor.  That gave Anna more time and had she not sought other options, she likely wouldn't of had that. After her surgery her life had many aspects that remained the same as they were pre-Trevor, that is the name she gave her tumor. That is something I have learned varies so much in cancer patients.  They all face the disease differently, especially with brain cancer and the risk of affecting vital parts of the brain. Reading someone's own words about the ravaging affects of cancer is much more informative than a book.  That is why I chose to look for a blog post. I would recommend reading Anna's blog post and seeing how big of an impact her life had.

Swabey, A. (2015, February 27). Anna Swabey: Inside My Head. (Web log comment). Retrieved from https://annaswabey.wordpress.com/2015/02/

It Comes With Time

We learned about clinical reasoning yesterday.  This is something that I have heard teachers and professors say is very important when you are in the field. It has always seemed like a very abstract concept to me and frustrating when people say it comes with time or you just know.  But not everything can be taught, that is something that I have to remind myself of when I do get frustrated.  I am looking forward to developing my clinical reasoning skills as I progress in my career.  I think it often lines up with our morals and how we see the world.  I have a strong set of morals and faith and will use that in my future practice.  I am sure there will be times that I will have to make hard decisions about my clients and their care, but I aim to be ethical, just, and caring towards my clients.  That is not only their privilege, but their right. I am thankful that we have learned steps and skills that we can use to hone this skill in the future. 

Girl with the Toe Thumbs

Something that has been ingrained in me since college was the concept of using person first language.  To not label someone by their disability, but to see them as a person first.  If someone had autism you wouldn't refer to them as autistic, but someone who has autism.  Language is powerful and is something that can really hurt people.  I think that lack of education and awareness has made it okay for some people to label people by their disabilities or use the "r" word.  I am thankful for organizations like Spread the Word to End the Word and for people who have different disabilities speaking up and making their voice heard.  If I were to be labeled by my oddly shaped thumbs, that many friends and family call my toe thumbs, I may be called toe thumb girl.  However odd and funny they may be, I would not prefer to be labeled by them and would not want others to see me in that way only.  We are doing an injustice to people when we identify them only by their disability.  I encourage you to try and use person first language and to encourage others to use it too.

OT and Health

Professor Flick spoke to our class today about how health promotion is a very important part of occupational therapy.  It showed me a lot about the barriers that many people in the country face in regards to healthcare.  One of the videos we watched really struck a chord with me and gave me something to think about.  It was about health literacy and how many adults do not know how to read or understand basic medical information.  I never thought about this and how I may be impacted in my future profession.  It is important to be able to explain the treatment to the client in a way that they will understand.  One of the main problems I saw on the video was that the clients were embarrassed by their lack of knowledge or illiteracy. That would mean it is always very important to ask that the client is understanding and ask them to tell them what you have gone over.  This may seem like a simple thing, but I hope that I can ensure the understanding of my future clients. I am grateful for the opportunity to make an impact for health with my profession of occupational therapy.

Shoes

At the beginning of class today we watched a video that was trying to convey how important it is to put yourself in other people's shoes.  After reading Professor Lancaster's blog and listening to a podcast about a human who experienced a TBI, I am left with a lot of feelings. I could never truly put myself in their shoes because I just can't imagine what that would be like if it was my family that was affected by cancer or a TBI.  I empathize with them and wish that their circumstances could have been different.  I also found myself very angry with the different medical professionals who were involved in the care of my professor's father.  They seemed to not care and not have time to ease a families worries and very valid concerns in regards to actual human life.  But after watching that video I was reminded that they were people too.  Not all of their behaviors can be excused but you don't ever know what someone is dealing with.  I am very touched our professor shared her personal story with us and it is something I know will affect how I practice.  I have always been an empathetic person and it pains me to think about people, medical professionals, treating a family in such callous ways at times.  I hope that I can truly make the biggest impact in the way I treat my patients and their families.  I am so thankful that occupational therapy school is providing me not only with the tools, but also with a good heart and mindset to use when I practice in the future.

Words

After watching Aimee Mullins give her TEDTalk I am contemplating two things.  The first being the definitions that she read off from the dictionary about the word "disabled".  I agree with Aimee that our world is changing and adapting and people who experience disabilities are also changing and adapting.  Shouldn't our vocabulary change along with it?  If those definitions in the dictionary were true our whole profession as occupational therapists would be futile.  It described antonyms of disabled as whole or healthy.  Our purpose is to help people find meaning in their occupations and help them adapt to be able to do them.  That would be striving for a holistic or whole, healthy lifestyle.  That is definitely achievable for many people who experience disabilities and who is Webster to decided what healthy or whole is.  The next thing that stuck out to me was that a few words said by a doctor to Aimee changed her whole outlook on her self and her journey.  She now sees herself as a stong, healthy, powerful athlete.  The impact we can have as occupational therapists goes far beyond what is on paper and the physical outcomes.   We could help someone see themselves with value and purpose.  When looking at both of these things I gleaned from the video I see that they can be related.  Words are powerful and they are a big part of how we can practice in the future.  Can I change the way someone views a disability? Can I inspire someone to believe in themselves?  These are things I hope to be able to do in my practice of occupational therapy and will strive for.