Reflection: You're Not You
"You're Not You"
Swank, H., Greenspan, A., Prince Azim of Brunei, Di Novi, D., Smith, M. (Producers), Wolfe, G. C. (Director). (2014). You're Not You [Motion picture]. United States: Entertainment One Films.
You're Not You tells the story of Kate, a 35-year-old pianist who resides with her husband Evan. The movie begins with Kate playing the piano at her friends' request when her hand begins to shake and, consequently, she misses a few notes. The movie then fast-forwards to one and a half years later. At this point, Kate has been diagnosed with ALS, uses a walker to maneuver her way around her house, and relies on her husband for dressing, toileting, and showering. Kate just recently fired her caregiver due to the fact that she "made her feel like a patient". Therefore, they begin to search for a new person to care for Kate. After interviewing a girl named Bec, Kate decides to hire her, despite Evan's disapproval, solely because she has experience in caring for her late grandmother who had ALS. After being hired, Bec slowly learns how to care for Kate while also growing closer to Kate as a friend. Evan is always focused on work, and Kate is eventually heartbroken after finding out that he has been having an affair with his secretary. Bec is very careless in her relationships with guys, and she and Kate struggle together to figure out why they give their hearts away to guys who only make them feel invisible. Meanwhile, Kate's condition begins to worsen, her muscles become weaker, she transitions to using a wheelchair, and has coughing fits and difficulty breathing/talking. Kate and Bec go to a birthday party for Kate's friend's child, and Kate asks to hold her friend's baby. She ends up having a coughing fit while holding the baby, which scares the both of them, and Kate has a mental breakdown. Bec takes Kate to a public pool, where they meet John and Marilyn, who has ALS as well. The four become good friends and end up spending Thanksgiving together. Later on, Marilyn ends up in the hospital and on a ventilator, and Kate tells Bec that she refuses to die in a hospital while hooked up to a machine. Eventually, Kate learns from overhearing Bec talking to her mother that Bec has dropped out of college, and she makes Bec leave since she feels that Bec's role as a caregiver is an inconvenience to her life. A few days later, Bec informs Kate and Evan that Marilyn pass away, and the two attend her funeral as a couple. Kate eventually tells Evan that she thinks he never saw her for who she really was, but she always wanted to be the girl she thought he wanted her to be. Therefore, she thinks they were both in the wrong. Kate's ALS continues to cause her health to deteriorate, and her coughing fits become so severe that she ends up in the hospital. Bec discovers that Kate has given her the final say in whether she ends up on a ventilator, so Bec tells Kate's family that Kate needs to go home to die peacefully in her own bed. Once they are back at her home, Kate makes Bec promise that she will date a boy who sees her in the way that she (Kate) sees her. They remind each other of how much their friendship means, say their final goodbyes, and Bec holds Kate as she has a coughing fit and eventually passes away. The movie ends with Bec sitting on a porch with the guy that Kate encouraged her to date, proving that she took Kate's advice to heart.
I chose to watch You're Not You because I wanted to learn more about ALS and because it paints the perfect picture of the beautiful relationship that can unfold between a caregiver and client with ALS. Throughout the movie, I challenged myself to really focus on Kate's abilities and how they changed throughout the progression of her condition. In the beginning stages, Kate was able to walk with a walker and could sit up on her own, only needing help with dressing, toileting, and showering. However, as her health worsened and muscles became weaker, she had to begin using a motorized wheelchair and needed help feeding herself as well. In her end stages, Kate was barely able to speak or breathe and had constant coughing fits. I thought this movie did a great job of accurately depicting Kate's condition of ALS and its progression through the stages. As we learned in class, voluntary muscles usually begin to weaken first with ALS, followed by involuntary muscles used in swallowing and breathing, and the movie made this process very evident.
In addition, the journey of Bec and Kate's relationship with one another is the main component that makes this movie heartwarming and inspiring. Bec was in a stage of her life where she felt like a useless failure, not being able to succeed at anything. Likewise, Kate's ALS made her feel invisible and unworthy of her husband and friends. Through spending so much time together and taking the time to focus on their own identities and worth, Kate and Bec become best friends who are determined to see themselves for who they really are and not for who others want them to be. Their relationship is proof that a caregiver can provide friendship and social interaction in addition to the standard caregiving services. This movie also brought to my attention the incredibly tough decision that clients with ALS and their families must make when determining when/if to stop treatment because, ultimately, the client's health is not going to get better. What is so interesting about ALS, however, is how the person's mind stays sharp throughout their whole life, which makes this condition a very hard one to live with since they are always fully aware of what is occurring within their body and surroundings. In response to watching this movie, I am more aware of the condition of ALS and the symptoms and side effects that are presented with it. I now truly understand the importance of energy conservation techniques and compensating for losses in muscle strength with ALS. As a future OT, I will strive to make sure my clients with ALS are comfortable while also seeing that they are as safe and functional as possible. This is a very well-produced movie, and I would highly recommend that any health professional watch it in order to learn more about the physical and psychological effects that this disease has on individuals and their families so that they are better able to empathize with their circumstances and struggles that come with ALS.
This movie is available for free live streaming through Amazon Prime:
https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Not-You-Hilary-Swank/dp/B0756T7WGB/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1527741913&sr=1-1&keywords=youre+not+you
Swank, H., Greenspan, A., Prince Azim of Brunei, Di Novi, D., Smith, M. (Producers), Wolfe, G. C. (Director). (2014). You're Not You [Motion picture]. United States: Entertainment One Films.
You're Not You tells the story of Kate, a 35-year-old pianist who resides with her husband Evan. The movie begins with Kate playing the piano at her friends' request when her hand begins to shake and, consequently, she misses a few notes. The movie then fast-forwards to one and a half years later. At this point, Kate has been diagnosed with ALS, uses a walker to maneuver her way around her house, and relies on her husband for dressing, toileting, and showering. Kate just recently fired her caregiver due to the fact that she "made her feel like a patient". Therefore, they begin to search for a new person to care for Kate. After interviewing a girl named Bec, Kate decides to hire her, despite Evan's disapproval, solely because she has experience in caring for her late grandmother who had ALS. After being hired, Bec slowly learns how to care for Kate while also growing closer to Kate as a friend. Evan is always focused on work, and Kate is eventually heartbroken after finding out that he has been having an affair with his secretary. Bec is very careless in her relationships with guys, and she and Kate struggle together to figure out why they give their hearts away to guys who only make them feel invisible. Meanwhile, Kate's condition begins to worsen, her muscles become weaker, she transitions to using a wheelchair, and has coughing fits and difficulty breathing/talking. Kate and Bec go to a birthday party for Kate's friend's child, and Kate asks to hold her friend's baby. She ends up having a coughing fit while holding the baby, which scares the both of them, and Kate has a mental breakdown. Bec takes Kate to a public pool, where they meet John and Marilyn, who has ALS as well. The four become good friends and end up spending Thanksgiving together. Later on, Marilyn ends up in the hospital and on a ventilator, and Kate tells Bec that she refuses to die in a hospital while hooked up to a machine. Eventually, Kate learns from overhearing Bec talking to her mother that Bec has dropped out of college, and she makes Bec leave since she feels that Bec's role as a caregiver is an inconvenience to her life. A few days later, Bec informs Kate and Evan that Marilyn pass away, and the two attend her funeral as a couple. Kate eventually tells Evan that she thinks he never saw her for who she really was, but she always wanted to be the girl she thought he wanted her to be. Therefore, she thinks they were both in the wrong. Kate's ALS continues to cause her health to deteriorate, and her coughing fits become so severe that she ends up in the hospital. Bec discovers that Kate has given her the final say in whether she ends up on a ventilator, so Bec tells Kate's family that Kate needs to go home to die peacefully in her own bed. Once they are back at her home, Kate makes Bec promise that she will date a boy who sees her in the way that she (Kate) sees her. They remind each other of how much their friendship means, say their final goodbyes, and Bec holds Kate as she has a coughing fit and eventually passes away. The movie ends with Bec sitting on a porch with the guy that Kate encouraged her to date, proving that she took Kate's advice to heart.
I chose to watch You're Not You because I wanted to learn more about ALS and because it paints the perfect picture of the beautiful relationship that can unfold between a caregiver and client with ALS. Throughout the movie, I challenged myself to really focus on Kate's abilities and how they changed throughout the progression of her condition. In the beginning stages, Kate was able to walk with a walker and could sit up on her own, only needing help with dressing, toileting, and showering. However, as her health worsened and muscles became weaker, she had to begin using a motorized wheelchair and needed help feeding herself as well. In her end stages, Kate was barely able to speak or breathe and had constant coughing fits. I thought this movie did a great job of accurately depicting Kate's condition of ALS and its progression through the stages. As we learned in class, voluntary muscles usually begin to weaken first with ALS, followed by involuntary muscles used in swallowing and breathing, and the movie made this process very evident.
In addition, the journey of Bec and Kate's relationship with one another is the main component that makes this movie heartwarming and inspiring. Bec was in a stage of her life where she felt like a useless failure, not being able to succeed at anything. Likewise, Kate's ALS made her feel invisible and unworthy of her husband and friends. Through spending so much time together and taking the time to focus on their own identities and worth, Kate and Bec become best friends who are determined to see themselves for who they really are and not for who others want them to be. Their relationship is proof that a caregiver can provide friendship and social interaction in addition to the standard caregiving services. This movie also brought to my attention the incredibly tough decision that clients with ALS and their families must make when determining when/if to stop treatment because, ultimately, the client's health is not going to get better. What is so interesting about ALS, however, is how the person's mind stays sharp throughout their whole life, which makes this condition a very hard one to live with since they are always fully aware of what is occurring within their body and surroundings. In response to watching this movie, I am more aware of the condition of ALS and the symptoms and side effects that are presented with it. I now truly understand the importance of energy conservation techniques and compensating for losses in muscle strength with ALS. As a future OT, I will strive to make sure my clients with ALS are comfortable while also seeing that they are as safe and functional as possible. This is a very well-produced movie, and I would highly recommend that any health professional watch it in order to learn more about the physical and psychological effects that this disease has on individuals and their families so that they are better able to empathize with their circumstances and struggles that come with ALS.
This movie is available for free live streaming through Amazon Prime:
https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Not-You-Hilary-Swank/dp/B0756T7WGB/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1527741913&sr=1-1&keywords=youre+not+you
Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1198156/reference
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