One of the topics we are learning
about in our neuro class is Parkinson’s disease (PD). I realized that it was
one thing to learn about the facts and statistics of a condition, but that I
learn best through personal experiences and learning from someone who has
experienced the condition firsthand. These realizations made me want to find
someone’s experience with Parkinson’s disease and learn what it is like to live
with this disease. After searching
several personal blogs, I came to Terri Reinhart’s website, Studio Foxhoven,
and her blog about her Parkinson’s disease called “My Parkinson’s Journey.”
Terri writes from back in 2008 to the present year about her experiences and
challenges. She was diagnosed in 2006 with Parkinson’s disease. Her very first
post explained her prognosis of Parkinson’s disease, how she was aware that
Parkinson’s disease was progressive, and that life is uncertain. However, she
mentioned that she wanted to live a “normal” life. She also made a list of
things that she would want to have from friends and family. As I was reading
the list, it made me realize that my list would be similar. Really, the whole
list was just about living life and enjoying it. In addition, all of the things
she wanted people to be able to do with her would be what an OT would also need
to know. In one of our foundations classes this term, we discussed that if a
client has a condition that wouldn’t be curable/treatable, it would be
imperative to treat the client according to their priorities and “bucket list.”
When reading this blog post, I automatically thought back to that foundations
discussion.
One particular post that stuck out
to me was from 2011 about setting goals. In OT, setting goals is an important
aspect of our services. Client’s goals are the most important and are
considered when we are setting intervention goals. Her major goal when she
first discovered she had Parkinson’s was to learn how to enjoy her life with
her new condition. This is what OT is all about! This shows that we are not
just treating the diagnosis; we are treating the client!
In one of her recent posts, she
discussed her fatigue and exhaustion. Like we learned in class, fatigue is one
of the main symptoms of PD, and it can
be a challenging symptom. Terri discussed that it is the hardest part about
having Parkinson’s, and that when she experiences feelings of grief, they are
usually related to the fatigue that comes with the disease. In addition, she
had other posts that were related to OT think such as wanting to be seen as a
person and not seen for her disease, and she wants respect from her doctors.
After reading this, I am so excited to be this change for individuals who want
to be seen in terms of what they CAN do instead of what they CAN’T do.
Reinhart, T. (2008, June 15). Studio Foxhoven [Blog Post].
Retrieved from
Outstanding post, Katherine! Very insightful and with lots of OT-think!!
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