"The Pride of the Yankees" Neuro Note #3

     " Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." These are the famous closing words of one of the most compelling sports movies of all time. The movie The Pride of the Yankees is a 1942 film about the life and baseball career of Lou Gehrig. Now you may recognize that name and you probably should. It is the common alternative name for the neurological disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS. So when I decided I would do my third Neurological Aspects assignment on ALS I knew exactly which movie I would rewatch. 

       I know it's not always enjoyable to watch a old black and white movie especially with all the graphics and great movies being made today, but I would highly suggest the price of rental from Amazon Prime or simply wait til the dog days of the baseball summer and check in on the MLB channel to view this film. I believe the first time I viewed the movie was on TCM with my dad as a kid. As much as I love sports, my dad loves old movies. So growing up my saturday mornings consisted of lots of old movies much like this one. I actually believe watching this film with my dad was the first time I was introduced to the disease of ALS.

      This film stands out to me due to the timing and due to the actors in the film. First the timing of the film stood out. This film was released in 1942, but Lou Gehrig did not die until 1941. This told me that all of these people lived through the events in the film. It also speaks to how much the loss of Lou Gehrig hurt the nation for their to be a film about him almost within a calendar year of his death. Next the cast of the film showed me the respect and love for Lou Gehrig. The famous Gary Cooper plays the role of Lou Gehrig in the movie and that name only on the box office would've been enough draw people to the theater back in 1942. However there were multiple Yankee players who play themself in the movie including Babe Ruth. 

        The film shows the life of Lou Gehrig beginning from his time at Columbia University and ending with his farewell speech inside Yankee Stadium. The film does a great job of showing his rise to becoming the "Iron Horse" of the Yankees, which is the nickname he receive for playing in 2,130 consecutive games. You also see him fall in love with is wife Eleanor. Finally, the film shows his struggle with ALS. The film does a good job of showing the progression of the disease and how it affects even the healthiest of individuals. It shows his struggle to continue to play baseball and how that affects him emotionally. 

Reference: 

The pride of the Yankees [Motion picture]. (1942). New York, NY: Samuel Goldwyn Home                       Entertainment.

Gerry Bertier from Remember the Titans- Neuro Note #2

     Hello my name is Joe Harbor and this is my second assignment for my Neuro Aspects course in the occupational therapy program at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. For this assignment I wanted to look at a different topic from the course since I discussed stroke in my previous blog. I settled on spinal cord injury as my topic. The topic of spinal cord injury lead me to think on if I knew anyone in my life or from sports, I am a big sports guy, who has suffered such an injury.  When I stopped to think if I had my favorite movie came to mind. I love the movie Remember the Titans and (Spoiler alert ahead) one of the main characters has a car crash and suffers a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him from the waist down.  
     If you have never seen the movie Remember the Titans I would recommend it to anyone at all ages. It is a Disney movie so it is available on Disney+.  I in fact rewatched it, for what probably is the 1000th time in my life, to prepare this assignment.  The movie is based on a true story about a high school football team in Virginia during the years when schools in America were first starting to be integrated. The movie does a good job of showing the struggles and racial tensions that existed within the environment. The film directors do a good job of showing how a common goal such as winning football games can grow life long bonds between people they thought were their enemies. I think everyone could learn something from the way the players and coaches handled the situation especially considering the current racial and political conversations we find ourselves in. 
     Gerry Bertier was the starting LEFT SIDE linebacker for the team. He was a high school All-American and one of the star players. Gerry was also one of the key leaders on the team who helped bridge the gap between the white and black players. In the movie Gerry goes out to celebrate a big win and is hit by a truck. The team shortly finds out that their best player and more importantly friend will probably never walk again. Gerry had suffered a spinal cord injury somewhere in the lumbar region. Gerry would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. The movies tells that Gerry eventual becomes a paralympian competing and winning a gold medal in shot put. This movie helps show that just because someone suffers a devastating injury it does not mean they can not recover, and furthermore if  the individual has determination and drive they can excell again in whatever life activities that are important to them. 


Reference:

Remember the Titans. (2000, September 29). Retrieved July 17, 2020, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210945/

"A Critical Window for Recovery After Stroke" - Ted Talk Neuro Note #1

     Hello my name is Joe Harbor. I am currently a student at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center studying occupational therapy. My class was given the assignment of searching for information on a topic we will be covering in our Neuro Aspects course. I decided I would watch a Ted Talk on strokes since it is the leading cause of long term disabilities in American adults. In fact every 40 seconds in America someone suffers from a stroke.
     The Ted Talk " A Critical Window for Recovery After Stroke" looked at how there is evidence to suggest there is a small window following a stroke where recovery can be maximized. Dr. John KraKauer proposed that in order to take advantage of this short window we need to change the way we treat patients and, in particular, change the environment to which patients are in directly following a stroke. Dr. Krakauer further discussed the need to bring multiple disciplines together in order to achieve this. Dr. Krakauer likewise highlighted the fact that hospital environments need to be more like a rat cage. Meaning that in the research they conducted on rats, the results are showing that when they place the rats back into an environment with other rats, a rat wheel, and other things to do then the rats were able to recover more quickly and to a better capacity. He pointed out the fact the average person who suffers from stroke will regain close to 70% of their ability lost due to the incident. Most of this will be done within 5 weeks of a stroke in humans. After the 5th week mark improvements plateau. However, they were able to restore a rats ability to 100% a day following an induced stroke.
       Dr. Krakauer theorizes that something happens in the brain for a short time following a stroke that allows for rapid recovery. During research the scientist would try to prolong this window to allow for maximum recovery. They were able to do this with medication and by initially inducing another stroke in the rats. Even in those rats who had a second stroke the recovery was better than those who received no retraining or delayed retraining.  This lead Dr. Krakauer and his team to the conclusion that the typical course of action and the typical hospital setting did not allow for the patient to recover the best.
      I would like for you to take a minute and imagine yourself being in an hospital after a stroke or any other accident. It is sad, you spend 60% of time alone and only 15% of your time moving. This is not the ideal environment to promote brain recovery following a stroke. So Dr. Krakauer and his scientists partnered with engineers, coders, and artists from MIT to create a machine that promotes activity, engagement, happiness, and brain recovery. They want to make the hospital room more like the rat cage as soon as possible to take advantage of the window they have found to exist for recovery.
     I was really drawn in by the presentation given by Dr. Krakauer. I would recommend anyone who has a loved one that suffers from or anyone whose job will have them treat someone who suffers from a stroke to watch the video. It will show the importance of early intervention with the individual and give hope of a recovery. The video will also challenge you to think outside the box and reach out to others who have expertise you do not in order to help those who suffer from stroke to the fullest.

References: 

Krakauer, J. ( 2015, April) A Critical Window for Recovery After stroke [Video]. TED Conferences https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjkgm6x3LlY