Skip to main content

Man Down South

After reading the short story, we are encouraged to think of what a life would be like if someone lost one, or multiple, fingers. In the story “Man Down South”, a soldier is willing to bet losing one of his fingers. If this character had lost the bet, he would have an extremely difficult time completing his occupations. For example, activities for a soldier such as holding/grasping a gun or weapon, carrying equipment, exercising, and simply putting on gear might have proven to be extremely taxing, if not impossible, without the use of some adaptive equipment.
As for the woman at the end of the story, it is clear that she has lost all but two of her fingers and now has to have her hair washed by someone else, indicating she has lost function of an essential ADL. We can assume she has lost the capability to perform many of her other occupations with ease including being able to drive with both hands, opening certain packaging, writing, and/or fixing her hair.
Adaptive equipment such as the new shower heads that dispense both soap and water at the same time could prove to be a helpful tool during bathing/showering. This way, she doesn’t have to open and close as many containers and can use her dominant/stronger hand to do a majority of the work.

Comments

  1. Kylie Dunavan MOT/SMay 7, 2020 at 6:50 AM

    Liz, I like your creative solution for the wife washing her hair with only one hand. I did not know that a tool like that exists! She could also use the pump bottle shampoo/conditioner, because she could hopefully use her forearm or remaining parts of her hand to pump the bottle. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Allison BrewerMay 7, 2020 at 12:43 PM

    Liz, I loved the idea of having adaptive equipment such as a shower head that dispenses both soap and water at the same time! That is very creative and would definitely help someone who has poor grip strength in their fingers and hands! Great post!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Neuro Note 2: Isolation and Addiction

In order to learn more about the brain and it's role in social isolation, I watched the TedxMidAtlantic Talk with Rachel Wurzman. She focuses on a specific area of the brain, the striatum, which she believes helps us better understand our body's habits and urges when social isolation begins to take its toll on our overall well-being. The striatum is an area of the brain responsible for voluntary movement and control. Studies have shown that the striatum actually contains neurons which are related to our movement and reward, more specifically, our social interaction and the internal reward that comes as a result. Rachel goes on to explain the many different social isolation situations that can severely impact our need for reward such as social media comparison and trouble connecting with others because of physical differences. However, due to current events, my mind couldn't help but relate everything she spoke about with COVID-19 and social distancing. (We will circle ba...
Post a Comment
Read more

Knowledge Check #14

The AOTA’s Model of Continuing Competency is an essential part of growing as an OT Practitioner and current student. The document encourages Practitioners to engage in professional development, mentor ship and continuing education. Not only do these activities benefit the OT, but can also play a major role in current students education and learning experience. Key words such as Contact Hours and Continuing Education Units can help the practitioner measure how many learning activities and continuing education activities they are engaging in over time. It is necessary to keep up with these hours in order to meet requirements established by organizations such as AOTA.   I do believe in the importance of continuing education and professional development for all professions. However, what makes health care specifically stand out, and in OT specifically, is the fact that we are centered around becoming Evidence Based Practitioners. It is vital for patients to be given the most appropri...
Post a Comment
Read more

Transfers

The term “mobility” is defined as having controlled instability. The order in which we are able to restore confidence in mobility based on increasing activity demands is as follows: Bed mobility, mat transfers, wheelchair transfers, bed transfers, functional ambulation for ADL’s, toilet and tub transfers, car transfer, functional ambulation, and community mobility and driving. I do believe this is a logical order once you begin to examine what an individual must do, and is able to do, in order to perform certain tasks. For example, we wouldn’t want to begin working with a patient getting out of their car when they cannot even get out of their bed safely. I do believe I have seen this approach used in much of my job shadowing experience, specifically when the therapist is working on getting the client out of the bed and then safely to the bathroom. Many times, the therapist would work consistently on getting the patient out of bed safely, and if they were able to do so, move on to the...
Post a Comment
Read more