Oscar Mayer Wehner

What a fantastic book sharing the genuine and authentic viewpoints of living with Huntington's Disease and/or being exposed to someone who has it.  This book does an amazing job showing the audience exactly what it's like to know someone with HD, be someone with HD, or be someone who has the HD gene in his/her family.  There is an unending amount of emotions that play into this disease from every angle.  Lisa Genova did a great job of sharing this with an audience that may or may not have any idea of what Huntington's Disease truly is.   This disease takes a tremendous toll on someone and not just in ways that one would normally expect a disease to.  Due to Huntington's Disease being a genetic disease, it affects so many people beyond just the one person initially diagnosed with it.  In the book's case, this was Joe O'Brien.  A family-centered, middle-aged Boston police officer who has lived his entire life up until being diagnosed with no idea that Hun

For my second neuro note, I chose to watch the popular movie Me Before You  written by Jojo Moyes.  I had previously read the book and seen the movie, but rewatching it now after we have learned so much information about spinal cord injuries (SCIs) in neurological aspects, neurobiology, and pathology, I was able to understand and see the many things associated with SCIs.   The movie begins by showing a young couple beginning their morning together as normally as one would expect.  Within minutes the young man, who we come to know as Will Traynor, is struck by a motorcycle when walking to work.  The film then skips ahead a couple years and shows the life of Louisa Clark, who becomes one of Will's caregivers.  She has not held any previous caregiving jobs, but she quickly learns what caring for an individual with an SCI entails.  As the movie continues, we learn much more about Will Traynor and the ways he has tried to adapt to a life without his independence and the use o

The Life Balance Model (LBM) is a Model of Practice for occupational therapists.  The main idea for this model focuses on clients being able to maintain and possess a healthy, meaningful, and sustainable activities within each of their life circumstances.  To do so, the client must be able to meet basic needs that are necessary for physical safety and biological health, have rewarding and self-affirming relationships with other individuals, have challenges within their daily routines that allow them to feel competent and able, and create a personal identify that is meaningful to them.  These four standards within the LBM together allow the client to feel satisfied and comfortable in their lives if they can address each of them.  This model could be used for all ages beginning with children all the way to elderly clients.   If an OT were to use the LBM, he/she would measure the client's satisfaction throughout their meetings by using questionnaires or interviews to assess

For my first neuro note, I decided to watch the 2007 documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq."  This documentary gives the first-person accounts of numerous veterans who survived traumatic and life-threatening injuries while serving in Iraq.  Each of these veterans refers to the day they almost died while defending our country as their " alive day ."  Each of their alive days is as equally important to them as their birthdays.  This day for them was the day they survived and chose to live despite the terror they experienced while serving in Iraq.  I chose this documentary so that I could hear each of the individuals describe their alive day, as well as their experiences after sustaining the injury.  Not only did I get to hear them tell their stories, I also gained a deeper appreciation for the sacrifice all military members make to defend our country and the liberties we have been given.   Many of the veterans underwent amputations of at least on

Before this lecture, I had never heard of many of the terms or concepts we discussed.  The first thing I learned about was the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Triple Aim.  These are goals set in place for healthcare so that we can strive to make beneficial changes for our society.  These goals are improving the patient's experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of healthcare.  Another thing I learned about is health literacy and its prevalence today.  Many patients/clients struggle understanding what is being communicated from their healthcare provider and even with reading forms or medication instructions given to them.  As an occupational therapist, we will be responsible for picking up on signs that clients may be struggling understanding or reading required documents and ensuring that they are able to understand.  The clients' complete understanding of healthcare materials is essential for their progress.