Imagine... it's senior year. You're looking forward to the next football game because cheerleaders get front and center to support their fellow classmates against a rival team. You have so many friends, and everything is blissful. Until. You're on the floor, partially paralyzed, and blind in one eye. This is Breea's story. You could say she has a normal life, until this tragedy struck. It happened on December 8th, 2011. Her life changed in an instant, even though her original symptom began with a little coordination imbalance, by 24 hours she experienced all of the aforementioned affects from what was soon diagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS). A quick definition of what MS is the attack of the myelin around nerve fibers in the central nervous system. Breea was diagnosed with severe MS so it was imperative to act fast. At this point she could not talk or swallow as well. She spent 6 weeks in the hospital relearning the basics, and then began the journey to walk again with the help of therapy services. In the video, even though this seems like such a catastrophic event to happen to a vibrant, and active 18 year old (which I am sure there were ups and downs throughout the journey), all you see is so much support from family and friends, and laughter/smiles, and encouragement/motivation. She decided to stay focused on the positive, and laughed through the triumphs. By day 46, she was discharged and began in home therapy, and there was only more improvement to be made from there. Through her good attitude and determination, 8 months later she was performing assisted back walk overs! She ended up going to prom, getting in to college, and has hopes in becoming a cheerleader again. With her kind of grit, I personally think she could do it.
In watching Breea's story, and the amount of support that she had throughout her journey made me reflect on how blessed she was, but how unfortunate others are who do not have that. Which brings me to my point about how health care professionals should remember that and take that into consideration especially in therapy. As a future OT, I remind myself how much of an impact encouraging and motivating a client has on them and their progression. Even though therapy is in sessions, it is important that they feel supported within the few hours that you are with them a week. OT's to me have a reputation of being impactful, and I can only hope that I have a client like Breea one day, so I could experience the impact that is not only made on that individual, but the impact that it would make on my life. All experiences teach us life lessons whether they happen directly or indirectly to us. It is important I think to remain humble, kind, and focused just as Breea did.
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