As you might know, I have been a registered occupational therapist since 1996 and my onset of fibromyalgia and return of debilitating fatigue occurred in 1994/5. It's worked out pretty well, because I understand a lot of what my patients were 'going through' and had a lot more tricks up my sleeve than some other therapists perhaps. This Thanskgiving I not only got to have wheat-free pumkin pie (my whole family has food allergies of one kind or another), but I'm currently having my Dad make us laugh by wiggling his ears after putting in his hearing aids. They are new and very small and therefore he cannot do them himself anymore because of dexterity of the hands (osteoarthritis has deformed his fingers over his 88 years). I wanted him to see my favorite 'slab o' gel' that I sit on in the car and take with me into any place that doesn't have a very comfortable seat and he's having breakfast sitting on a air-inflated therapy training 'seat' which allows him to be getting a little balance therapy while he's eating. And that is what OT is all about 'engage the mind and the body will follow' and doing therapy while you're doing functional activities without really feeling like you're 'doing therapy'.
There are many adaptive equipment 'tricks of the trade' and things such as 'recirculating the air' in the car, and having the filters changed on vehicles, in houses, and in your water filtration systems that are part of the 'integrative medicine' concepts that Lumigrate 'is all about'. We've been asked to be part of the documentary film series about chronic illness and pain with a focus on what 'OT does as part of the team for a person's health', and so we're going from talking about Thanksgiving pie to the piece of the health care pie of OT.
Stay tuned for a new section in the Forum about this, and as always, we'll want YOUR input there and in the facebook fan pages facebook.com/lumigrate [1]. For now, if you have any treats such as pie or ANY recipes at all please keep reading and writing in our Nutrition section of the Forum on Lumigrate.com.
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [2] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!
Links:
[1] http://facebook.com/lumigrate
[2] http://twitter.com/lumigrate