"A BrOTs World"

On Wednesday we were given the opportunity to attend the Memphis Rolling Grizzlies practice. The Rolling Grizzlies are a group of guys that are athletic, entertaining, and very inspiring. The individuals who make up the team all have different backgrounds, lifestyles, and goals, however there are two things they all share; they love the game of basketball and they play in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA). For those of you who think the words disabled or paralyzed entails that someone is unable to compete or perform in an athletic sense get in contact with me and I’ll take you to the next practice and be more than happy to show just how wrong you are. We watched them practice for two hours, and I honestly hadn’t realized that even 30 minuets had gone by because I was so engaged and amazed with what I saw. I don’t know about you, but I played baseball, basketball, and football my whole life growing up, practice after practice. With my memories and knowledge of baske...

I felt that the presentation and discussion went very well. Every member of the group had something to say and seemed engaged. We discussed the role of the OT involved with this case and talked about different types of interventions and goals that could be considered. We all felt that a huge part of the OTs job in this situation would have a lot to do moral and mental support as well as finding ways to help the client see that life can be meaningful and enjoyable. Through this assignment I have come to see how much background information and having a plan in place can really benefit the overall process. Also with SCI you truly have to appreciate how different every single case is and how each client handles everything so differently.

Today we discussed different types of brain injuries as well as things that occur with these different types. I guess its just one of those things in life that is hard to understand without watching someone go through it or experiencing it yourself. I personally am drawn towards those suffering from something of this sort or even their loved ones because I could not imagine going through it myself. I cant believe that 1.7 million people each year have to face this. I get emotional just sitting here and reflecting about waking up one day and not being able to communicate the way I always had or not participate in my everyday routine. And at the same time while these things make me emotional to reflect on and put myself in their shoes, it always reminds me that I am making the best decision becoming an OT. I know that this lifestyle this job isnt for everyone, and knowing that I have the heart for this is so rewarding and pleasing. Im so interested and excited to learn more and more abou...

I found that Ted talk to be pretty heartbreaking. I was absolutely blown away by that we have disabled defined in such a way that is so hurtful, wrong, and untrue. How can we as a society justify in the world we live in today that this is okay? We live in a world that will scream racism or sexism at every chance it gets yet no one cares to look at the way we define things. I could not imagine reading a definition that I knew was describing me whether it was true or not if it were anywhere near as hurtful as what we consider the word disabled to mean. Words are meant to uplift not bring down, if this wasn't true you would of never been told "if you dont have anything nice to say, then dont say it at all," would you? It wouldn't matter if words were meant to hurt and/ or cause pain. So if disabled must have the meaning that it does then I believe we better do a damn good job no longer using it to describe anyone ever. I'm so grateful that there are others in this wo...

For my first Neuro-Note I decided to watch the documentary Transfatty Lives and boy was it eye-opening. The documentary is about a 30 year old man named Patrick O’Brien, who has just been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This film did an incredible job portraying every single aspect of what living with ALS is actually like. Before his diagnosis Patrick was a DJ in New York City, an internet personality, as well as a filmmaker. From what it seemed Patrick was the life of the party just about wherever he went. He was in the process of shooting a film when he was diagnosed with ALS and decided to turn the cameras to portray what his life would become. This film truly made me think about how I would handle or approach coming to terms with something like ALS. I do know that there is no way I would be able to remain as happy and as upbeat as Patrick did, nor could I continue to make everyone around me continue to smile the way he did. His story was so inspirational, not...