CNN Health Journal Article - Diagnosed with ALS at 14, she's now
a disability lifestyle influencer
Lauren Spencer, also known as "Lolo", is a woman in her 30s who has been living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for the last 18 years. As a teenager with seemingly no problems, she was faced with a tough reality when she suddenly wasn't able to to accomplish her daily tasks. ALS is a progressive disease that causes the death of neurons controlling voluntary muscles. Spencer's first encounter with not being able to control her muscles was at 14 years old when she was going to grab a plate out of the cabinet and her arm just fell to the counter. That was the beginning of her realizing something was wrong.
The progression of ALS tends to be different for every individual case. Before reading this article, I knew that to a certain extend, but I have never known anyone with ALS to live past 3 years so this was a very interesting story to me. Not only has she been living with ALS 6 times that, she is thriving in her role as a disability lifestyle influencer. Spencer has her own instagram and youtube channel where she uses those platforms to change the way people see disabilities.
In class we talked about how ALS affects the upper and lower motor neurons. If there is damage to the lower motor neurons, evidence will be shown from weakness and atrophy of the muscles. I believe Spencer has lower motor neuron damage due to her lack of ability to lift her arm up to the cabinet. Her muscle had begun to waste away. Learning about at a topic in class makes encountering real life experiences and stories so much more interesting and I understand them tenfold.
I chose this particular article because of the way it opened my eyes to the disease of ALS. I, naively, thought of ALS as a quick death sentence, but Lauren Spencer has shown me that just because 2-5 years is the typical life expectancy, doesn't mean her disease progression has to follow that timeline. It reminds me that as a future occupational therapist, I should never assume progression, symptoms, or complications for any client that I have. Everyone is their own person first. I'm thankful that I chose this content so it could bring me back to the holistic approach and being client-centered - for each unique client.
Bergeron, R. (2019, June 8). Diagnosed with ALS at 14, she's now a disability lifestyle influencer. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/31/health/turning-points-lauren-lolo-spencer-als-disability-lifestyle-influencer/index.html
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