mOTivation with mikayla

My mom and I were tossing the tennis ball back and forth while I was bouncing ideas around about how to transform a tennis ball into a therapeutic tool and it hit me! While I didn't literally get hit with the ball, the idea did just pop in my head. Looking at the tennis ball by itself and thinking of something was tough, but after connecting it to the needs of my client and her immediate and future interests, it was much easier! I came up with the idea of an adapted built up handle using a tennis ball based on my client's report of her occupations, her difficulties doing some of those occupations, and her goals for herself.  I think the most significant thing I'll take from this project was making the connection between what my client needed and what I needed to do to help her do what she wanted to do. There's a difference between thinking about this process and then actually doing it - it was fun, too! This assignment makes you think deeper about the interests of a per

I watched a Youtube video of Miranda's miraculous journey through Guillain- Barre Syndrome. This video highlighted what happened from the beginning to the end. She developed this rare disease after an unknown infection and for over 60 days, she was hospitalized. It was sad to watch the progression of this disease. She went from finishing her first year of college to needing a ventilator in order to stay alive within a week. While it was sad to watch her decline, it was more than inspiring to see her rehabilitation! She went from needing a ventilator to stay alive to gradually regaining function of her extremities, the ability to walk, brush her teeth, shower, and go on dates with her boyfriend again. Less than a year later, Miranda was heading back to college for her sophomore year with a new appreciation for life.  I chose to watch this video because hearing personal stories about disorders helps me better understand them! This was more informative and touching than I was anticipa

Kristen Powers started and ended this TED Talk with a question: What would you do if you had one hundred years to live? She speaks on the importance of taking advantage of today to get yourself to where you want to be because neither tomorrow nor one hundred years is ever guaranteed. Kristen lives by and promotes this philosophy because she grew up having to watch her mother's independence, mobility, ability to communicate and make decisions be taken away little by little. Her mother was diagnosed with Huntington's disease, a genetic brain disorder that causes movement, cognitive, and psychiatric disorders.  Imagine being a teen wondering if you might have the same genes as your mother and wondering what person would possibly take of care of you with this progressive downhill disease. Imagine growing up worrying about this impending doom and still being optimistic enough to encourage others. That takes strength! I enjoyed listening to Kristen's point of view and seeing her

I chose to watch this TED Talk, "Thriving in the Face of Adversity" by Stephanie Buxhoeveden simply out of curiosity of Multiple Sclerosis. I was unfamiliar with this disorder, but Buxhoeveden goes into great detail explaining what MS is by using her own story of being diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting MS. At 25 years old, in the midst of pursuing her dream career as a nurse anesthetist, she began to lose feeling in her legs, control of her hands, and even the clarity of her vision. She stayed in the hospital for a week before being able to return home. Her vision and sensation of her body returned, but this was just the first of many attacks her central nervous system would face.  Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that effects the neurons in the brain and spinal cord, which impacts the entire body one way or another. The hardest part about MS is its unpredictability -  Buxhoeveden recounted of a time she went hiking up a mountain one day and then had to use a cane