Houstyn Hodson

I've just listened to the podcast where Danielle Watson, a licensed occupational therapist, talks about her journey through life before, during, and after sustaining a T6 level spinal cord injury. You think you learn (or are supposed to learn) enough about being compassionate and empathetic at an early age by your parents, family, and others that help raise and form you. You're supposed to anyway. But with each week and topic that we cover in OT school, I learn so much more about these crucial standards of humanity.  I have learned so, so much in my five months in OT school that I know have helped and will continue to help me a better person, friend, family member, civilian, future practitioner, random passer-by, etc. I am constantly impressed by this profession and I continually become more and more grateful for the opportunity I've been given to be a member of this community. I've been exposed to more stories and accounts from people that have suffered or gone through...

I decided to do another blog post on a person that has had a SCI, because I am so interested in how different people around the globe react to and cope with life-altering injuries, especially those that include quadriplegia. Unlike my last post about the main character in the movie Me Before You that sustained a high level SCI that resulted in quadriplegia whom decided to end his life via euthanasia, this post is about someone that had the same prognosis in life, but has thus far chosen to go a different route and live. She has determine to not only live and survive, but to live her life to the fullest, in whatever new capacity that may be for her. This woman's name is Elizabeth Forst. She was/is a certified diver and this was her passion until her obviously unexpected SCI at the C4/C5 level that left her paralyzed from the neck down, no longer able to dive anymore, or so you might think. Her story is of one of not giving up, though there are bad, even awful, days. Instead of accep...

Well, when I started watching this movie I had no idea what it was about. I didn't read reviews and I hadn't even heard of it before. It just looked like a love story so I thought I'd watch it on a Sunday afternoon. It only took a few minutes to realize what it was about and then what was going to happen next. Me Before You is a movie about a man (William Traynor) who is hit by a motorcycle while walking and suffers a high level spinal cord injury. I don't know exactly what level because I don't remember it being stated in the movie explicitly, but after learning about spinal cord injuries, I know it was high based on his quadriplegia and limited movement to the head and neck. William Traynor is a young, very handsome and successful man. He seemed to have everything going for him prior to the accident. After the accident he is completely wheelchair bound and unable to even feed himself. Soon into the movie, his mother hires a caregiver for him. She hires Louisa Cl...

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