Neuro Note 4
A few weeks ago, one of my professors asked the class to read a book about Huntington's Disease. It's called, Inside the O'Briens by author Lisa Genova. Well, right then and there I fell in love with this author and the stories she tells her readers about neurological disorders. Not only did reading the book enhance my knowledge about a particular subject we were studying in class, but it also allowed me to see a disease from a different point of view. So I ordered myself two more of her books. But for now, I am going to tell you about just one book called, Left Neglected.
Left Neglected by Genova begins by telling us about the Nickerson family, particularly the mother, Sarah. Sarah is constantly on the go - working up to 80 hours per week, 3 kids, 2 mortgages to pay and a husband to all keep on track. One morning on Sarah's way to work, she is involved in a car accident that resulted in a terrible injury to Sarah's brain - a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Sarah's case is unique, however, because she has a particular issue with the right hemisphere of her brain causing something called "left neglect." Left neglect is defined as the inattention to, or unawareness of the visual space to your left. If you're anything like me, this sounds bizarre; how can there be no left? You just turn your head or look left and there it is, always there. But, this disorder is so much more than not seeing to your left. It is not being able to move the left side of your body, read the left side of the page, paint the left side of a picture, or even recognizing there is a "left." So much of what we do requires our two halves (body and brain hemispheres) to be working together to produce fluid movements. If this concept of "left" were to vanish, how would YOU function? I know I would be stumped.
For Sarah Nickerson, her life was completely turned upside down. She went from being the bread winner of the home to being in a rehab hospital for 5 weeks. She went from being a primary caregiver to the one that needs the care. While reading this story, you are placed in Sarah's mind and view her struggles along with her. It is a hard journey to bare, and she does have her bad days, but to watch someone make small strides at a time is so amazing to me as a future therapist. Occupational therapy is actually mentioned throughout the book as part of Sarah's rehabilitation process, and it is truly amazing to see how the therapist not only helps Sarah slowly attempt to regain her abilities, but she becomes a trustworthy individual for Sarah to talk with about her new life. It gives me so much excitement and optimism that I can do this for my future clients! I hope to learn more about this diagnosis in the future.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
The Young OTS
Check out this blog to learn about Left Neglect and interventions in treating this disorder:
https://www.myotspot.com/interventions-unilateral-neglect/
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova can be bought on Amazon.com!
Left Neglected by Genova begins by telling us about the Nickerson family, particularly the mother, Sarah. Sarah is constantly on the go - working up to 80 hours per week, 3 kids, 2 mortgages to pay and a husband to all keep on track. One morning on Sarah's way to work, she is involved in a car accident that resulted in a terrible injury to Sarah's brain - a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Sarah's case is unique, however, because she has a particular issue with the right hemisphere of her brain causing something called "left neglect." Left neglect is defined as the inattention to, or unawareness of the visual space to your left. If you're anything like me, this sounds bizarre; how can there be no left? You just turn your head or look left and there it is, always there. But, this disorder is so much more than not seeing to your left. It is not being able to move the left side of your body, read the left side of the page, paint the left side of a picture, or even recognizing there is a "left." So much of what we do requires our two halves (body and brain hemispheres) to be working together to produce fluid movements. If this concept of "left" were to vanish, how would YOU function? I know I would be stumped.
For Sarah Nickerson, her life was completely turned upside down. She went from being the bread winner of the home to being in a rehab hospital for 5 weeks. She went from being a primary caregiver to the one that needs the care. While reading this story, you are placed in Sarah's mind and view her struggles along with her. It is a hard journey to bare, and she does have her bad days, but to watch someone make small strides at a time is so amazing to me as a future therapist. Occupational therapy is actually mentioned throughout the book as part of Sarah's rehabilitation process, and it is truly amazing to see how the therapist not only helps Sarah slowly attempt to regain her abilities, but she becomes a trustworthy individual for Sarah to talk with about her new life. It gives me so much excitement and optimism that I can do this for my future clients! I hope to learn more about this diagnosis in the future.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
The Young OTS
Check out this blog to learn about Left Neglect and interventions in treating this disorder:
https://www.myotspot.com/interventions-unilateral-neglect/
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova can be bought on Amazon.com!
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