Neuro Note: Parkinson's

For this Neuro Note, I watched the Ted Talk titled Simple Hacks for Life With Parkinson's, presented by Mileha Soneji. This woman was raised in a large family, where they always looked forward to family events. She explains that one of her uncles was always the center of attention and life of the party, but that all changed when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. He started hiding from the spotlight so that no one would give him the pitiful look that he so dreaded. Mileha hated seeing someone who was once so lively suffer like this, so she took it upon herself to try and help him perform some simple tasks easier. He had stopped drinking coffee and tea in public due to the tremors, because he could not perform this action without spilling on himself. In order to help this, she designed a cup that has “splash guards” all around the small opening so that it would not allow any liquid to come out of the cup. This allowed him to drink and not spill due to his tremors.

Another idea she talked about was his difficulty with walking. He could hardly move around on the flat floor, so she worried about how he could possibly get up and down stairs. He showed her just how he does it, and he did not hesitate for even a step. He was able to go up and down the stairs without tripping, shaking, or missing a step. The continual movement helps him stay focused and allow him to perform the action easier. Mileha had the idea to simulate this action on the flat surface to try and help her uncle with walking. She put a print of stairs on the floor and had him walk over it. Although it was still flat, it gave him something to focus on and he was able to walk smoothly over the printed stairs. Once he got to the end, he froze once again and had difficulty walking.

I chose this video because a classmate watched it and raved about how amazing of a video it is. I took her word for it and decided to watch it as well, and it definitely did not disappoint. We have not study Parkinson’s yet and I have very little prior knowledge to the disease, but I have still seen a few patients with it and have an idea of what it looks like. The cup is an idea that I may have not thought of, but it did not surprise me that it would be a solution for drinking. The stairs, however, completely shocked me. Mileha played a video of her uncle getting ready for the stairs, shaking and moving slowly, and then once he was there, he just sped down them so easily. You could hear how shocked the crowd was when he began this motion, and I was no different. I also am very surprised how much faster he could walk when just a picture of stairs was on the floor. This is such a simple, and cheap, way to help someone with Parkinson’s move easier. It is so important for people, like Mileha, to keep trying different remedies and ideas to benefit those suffering and give them easier ways to perform their tasks.  I would absolutely recommend this video to my classmates to watch for a neuro note, or even just to learn more about Parkinson’s. I look forward to learning more about the disease and how this stairway idea can be applied to more aspects of life.

Soneji, M. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2018, from https://www.ted.com/talks/mileha_soneji_simple_hacks_for_life_with_parkinson_s