My Beautiful Broken Brain
Summary
My Beautiful Broken Brain is a Netflix documentary of a 34 year old woman who documents her struggles, setbacks, and breakthrough and she has a stroke. The night of Lotje's stroke, she had spent the evening watching fireworks with friends. She was awakened in the middle of the night by an excruciating pain, and she knew something wasn't right because she was fading in and out of consciousness. She tried to find someone to help, so she ran to a nearby hotel, but she couldn't speak. She was found hours later passed out in the hotel bathroom and was rushed to the emergency room. Lotje need speech language pathology because she was experiencing extreme Broca's aphasia, and she also was having hearing and visual problems as well. Lotje made the decision to live in an inpatient neurological facility. There she would see an occupational therapist, speech language therapist, psychologist, and a psychiatrist. Over time, Lotje made several breakthroughs. Her speech has improved drastically, and she was able to relearn to read and write. She went on the be the director of this documentary.
Why I Chose This
Since I began OT school, I've always had a special interest in stroke patients. I've worked with patients who have suffered from a stroke, but I've been curious about what exactly happens during a stroke and the recovery process from that. When I came across this documentary, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to further my learning in this area.
Reflection
I've learned about Broca's aphasia a lot during my neurological aspects class, but this documentary taught me about it much more in depth. Lotje struggled with finding the right words to say, and you could see how frustrated and discouraged it was making her. As an OT/S, one of the pillars that we value is client-centeredness. While Lotje was in the Neurological Inpatient Unit, she quoted "I'm having to get used to becoming a patient, and being reduced to being on the same level as everyone else." That quote is a perfect example of the medical model used by most healthcare practitioners. While that quote made me sad that she felt that way, I took pride to be part of a profession that values viewing the person first and their condition second. It was very uplifting to see how much Lotje improved after her stroke. It made me happy and excited to work with client's in the future who have suffered from strokes and help them return back to their meaningful occupations.
References:
Robinson, S. (Producer) & Sodderland, J. (Director). (2014). My beautiful broken brain [Film].
Link:
https://www.netflix.com/watch/80049951?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2C0f6250ddafc9a32d895cdc00ed1c90e715d0e341%3A0c40cc2cecc710f94ba17481f02a8bc2a589edf3%2C%2C
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