Media Project - Straw Weaving

 

For my media project, my materials included straws. I also added yarn/string to the project. 

 

My client is named Barbara, she has relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. She enjoys doing crafts as well as sewing. She is also a co-leader in her local Multiple Sclerosis support group. She was recently admitted to acute care in the hospital, due to a relapse/flare-up. My client has weakness in her lower and upper extremities preventing her from doing her daily tasks and occupations efficiently. I started off thinking, that I can create many activities or interventions with straws. The question was, did it serve Barbara’s purpose and center around her interests and values? I came up with straw weaving. It is exactly how it sounds. In the video above, I briefly show how this activity or intervention is done. So, check it out!

 

My “ah-ha” moment was when I found the idea of straw weaving. I knew I wanted to create an intervention for Barbara that would be valuable to her. As I stated above, she loves to sew and do crafts. I thought, for this intervention, you get the best of both worlds. Barbara can use as many straws as she likes to create something special along with the numerous colors of yarn that is provided. She is also able to do this at home and become more creative with materials. In doing this project, I was able to watch more videos on Multiple Sclerosis and learn more in depth details on symptoms and the everyday life of those who have this disease. This allowed me to brainstorm and come up with this project. My goal for this intervention, was to work on not only fine motor skills, but upper extremity strengthening. It helps work the fingers, hands, and the arms which are all weak for Barbara. She also has increased fatigue since relapsing, so I would have her sitting for this activity to save her energy. I wanted to focus on this goal, because I know how much she loves to do crafts and sew as well as be independent in her daily tasks. I feel that this intervention will allow her to work towards doing the things she loves and could potentially help increase her ability to do things like upper body dressing, which she needs moderate assistance with. Overall, after completing this assignment, I feel that it will help me with more projects that are to come. It helped me really think and use my knowledge on what is best for Barbara. I can also use this intervention for individuals that are having the same symptoms. It not only works the UE, but it also works the mind and allows the individual to be expressive and innovative.

Spinal Cord Injury

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1987680/

    Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) can be caused from motor vehicle accidents, falls, violence and even sports. The injury can be complete (the nerves below the injury cannot communicate with the brain) or incomplete (some nerve signals can still be sent to the brain, even below the injury). Depending on where the injury is depends on how much function the individual has. For example, if a client has a C4 or higher SCI, then they may not be able to breath on their own and require a ventilator. Another example is if a client has a C7 SCI, they cannot move their LE and trunk, but can still move their shoulders, elbows, hands, and are limited wit their fingers. A person with a SCI can experience paralysis, spasms, bowel and bladder incontinence, etc. There are different types of SCI's as well as different conditions that come along with having a SCI. 

    I decided to write on Spinal Cord Injuries, because I recently watched a movie called "The Upside." It is based on a true story and of you have not watched it, you should definitely head over to Amazon Prime Video and watch it! It is just over a 2 hour movie that has some well known actors within it. 

Dementia

    Dementia is a difficult thing to have to bare. I recently read an article about a daughter and her dad who was battling dementia. A little background information, is that her dad did go to medical school at the University of Minnesota, but it wasn't long after, that World War II began. He did take some time off to be an archaeologist, but went into the war, after it broke out more. The daughter stated that her dad was based in the Mohave Desert, when he all of a sudden passed out from the heat, hitting his head against the hard desert floor and sustained a closed head injury. He was in a coma for months and when he woke, he had to relearn how to walk and talk again. He had a successful rehabilitative process, and actually stayed in the army until World War II ended - he just stayed stateside.

    Years had passed raising a family and as the dad aged, he began to retain fluid build up behind the scar tissue he had in his brain, from the injury back in his army days. He underwent surgery to drain some of that fluid and it "backfired" as the daughter stated. He came out of surgery with a severe stage of dementia and went by the name Herman. While being placed in a nursing home, the "Herman" began to ask when certain awards or degrees would be coming in the mail. It can be tricky as to how to go about assessing certain situations with a loved one who has dementia. For "Herman's" daughter, she felt it was best to play along, because it caused no harm and brought purpose, peace, and accomplishment to the person she loved. If that meant her going home and creating a fake degree with her dads name or buying a baton or an award for directing the Lawrence Welk band, she did what she could to make him satisfied. 

Myasthenia Gravis

Myasthenia Gravis is a neuromuscular disorder that causes weakness in the skeletal muscles of the body. The communication between nerve cells and muscles become impaired. This autoimmune disease mistakenly causes the immune system to attack itself. In the video, it stated that the antibodies block the receptors for acetylcholine at the nerve-muscle connection, keeping the muscle from working properly. Symptoms include drooping of the eyelids and mouth, difficulty swallowing and chewing, weak muscles, and vision impairments. 

I had the opportunity to watch a video about a young girl named Sheryl, who was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis when she was 16 years old. She started to notice symptoms while in school. Her eyelids began to droop as well as her mouth when she was at lunch, which made it hard for her to eat and drink something. Sometimes, she would even have to hold her mouth shut, so the liquid would not come out. Finally, she mentioned her symptoms to her mom, which then led her to an eye specialist. They ran some tests and came to the conclusion that she did have Myasthenia Gravis. Sheryl had to miss school for three whole months, due to her being in and out of the hospital.