Occupational Therapy in the Media
On December 14 of 2016, Fox 5 News reported a story titled “Georgia two-year old already a comeback kid.” The story is about a two-year old boy whose shoulder got caught in the birth canal during delivery. The boy, Kason, suffered an injury to his brachial plexus which left his entire left arm paralyzed. This article and video specifically caught my attention because I recently learned about this possible brachial plexus injury at birth in my anatomy course. The condition is called Erb’s Palsy, and it causes arm weakness or loss of motion. In Kason’s case, he experienced complete paralysis from his shoulder to his fingers. Kason underwent two surgeries and by the age of two Kason became a determined little boy who meets with an occupational therapist every week. This news report definitely reflects the profession of occupational therapy accurately. The discussion of Kason’s therapeutic journey is factual and holds the work that OT practitioners do in a very positive light