Yesterday in foundations we continued learning about ethics
and professional development. In neuro, we had the pleasure of listening to
Fletcher Cleaves talk. He sustained a C5-C6 SCI from a distracted driver. After
being a star athlete in high school and making the football team at Lambeth
College, he had to make adaptions to
many aspects of his life. One of the coolest adaptations we saw was his truck!
I have never seen a truck like that. The doors slide, and he sits in his
wheelchair in the truck.
Fletcher Cleaves had an amazing story and works for Autozone
as an IT specialist. Even with his life being turned upside down, his faith
remains strong. He said that he had to relearn how to do a lot of things. The
main thing that resonated with me from his talk was how he said that his doctor
told him everything that he could not do. Fletcher discussed that if he kept
this mindset of how many things he couldn’t do, he never would have made as
much progress as he did. As an OT, this is so important to remember. We need to
focus on the client’s strengths, what they can do, and have an optimistic
mindset about their recovery. If there is something the client wants to do or
accomplish, as OTs we need to make that happen in some way, shape or form. The
doctor’s take on Fletcher’s injury is exactly how we should NOT be as OTs.
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