Neuro Note 2

The short video I decided to watch for this neuro note came from: https://alsnewstoday.com/2018/02/01/alex-coriells-journey-with-als/?utm_source=ALS+News&utm_campaign=856209f0b7-RSS_FRIDAY_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0593028b75-856209f0b7-71721017

I knew we would eventually be talking about ALS, so I decided to get somewhat of a head start on this diagnosis. Also ALS has gotten some recent attention over the past 5 years due to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, so I decided to learn more about this diagnosis. This video was about Alex Coriell who was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 29. His wife documented his journey with ALS and how she was able to care for him throughout his journey. I was absolutely astonished at how quickly his diagnosis progressed. I think one big take away for almost all diagnoses is that they can and will present in variations with different timeframes of progression. This video was also very inspirational. Many times throughout the video there were moments where Alex would talk about how he has joy and knows that God has a plan for him no matter what happens. He stated as long as he still has breath in his lungs, he can still live his life and do things he wants to do. I also very much admired Alex's wife for the amount of care and love she showed Alex even as his condition progressed. My favorite parts of the video were Alex painting a canvas with a brush attached to a band around his head and when he did the ALS ice bucket challenge with the help of his wife. I learned that even when you are dealt unfortunate circumstances, you can still be an inspiration to people. Alex continued to blog even when he lost movement of his fingers which inspired many people along the way!
I would definitely recommend this video to anyone pursuing OT or knows anyone with ALS. It shines a light on what ALS is and looks like. It also shows the not-so-glamorous side of caring for someone with a significant disability.



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