Neuro Note #3: TransFatty Lives

    For this neuro note, I decided to take my professors advice and watch TransFatty Lives, starring and directed by Patrick O'Brien, a young artist who takes us through his journey with ALS.  I was captivated by the fast and exhilarating trailer that we watched in class.  I was confused yet fascinated at the clip in the trailer where his friends are pouring beer in his feeding tube.  All of the other films I had watched on ALS in and out of class were slow and depressing.  I was drawn to the story of Patrick O'Brien and knew I wanted to watch this film.  O'Brien had a strong passion for the arts, especially film.  He was a party animal and crowd favorite that always kept his peers laughing.  When he was 30 years old, he was diagnosed with ALS after several episodes of falling and clumsiness.  Initially, he had many thoughts during this time.  He asked, "Why me?" and "What did I do to deserve this?"  However, he did not remain in this mindset long and he decided to turn this life with ALS into an art project.  He wanted to tell his story to his community with hopes it would spread farther than he would ever be able to reach.  If he wasn't already busy enough making art and sharing his story, O'Brien also falls in love and has a son.  O'Brien states several times that he is making this film to show his son his life before ALS.  Unfortunately, O'Brien rarely is able to see his son son since he requires 24-hour care in a special facility in Massachusetts.  This film depicts an uncensored life with ALS.  Even though it was a little boring at times, my knowledge of ALS and my future in occupational therapy had my eyes glued to the screen.  

    Since I had already learned about the cruel disease of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in class, I only did further research of going to the TransFatty Lives website, which provided me with some information that I missed in the film.  I was able to confirm that Patrick O'Brien was diagnosed with ALS in 2005, when he was told he would have 2-5 years to live.  It has been 13 years and counting that O'Brien has beat the odds and continued to pursue his passion of art and film despite his severe physical setbacks.  When I watched the trailer in class, Patrick O'Brien seemed like a man that liked to party, and this would be a movie where he simply continued to party.  I was pleasantly surprised at what an incredible and respected son, brother, father, and friend O'Brien is.  I laughed many times when O'Brien cracked jokes with his family and friends, even though he could barely talk.  I cried when he met his son for the first time, as ALS had already taken everything from O'Brien except for this contagious smile.  One scene that was particularly hard for me to watch was when O'Brien's father was struggling to put O'Brien in his shower chair.  The scene went on for several minutes, since it was a tub shower and O'Brien had to take frequent breaks to cope with the spasticity that was occurring in his legs.  This is one of the many transfers I will be learning to do as an occupational therapist.  It has reminded me how challenging yet rewarding my journey will be.  Towards the end of the film, O'Brien thanks his nurses and caregivers for all of their hard work.  This brings them all to tears.  Patrick O'Brien has and will continue to touch all of those who are fortunate enough to know him.  Even though he is on a ventilator and has little to no motor function throughout his body, he strives to stay alive to tell his story.  I hope to share it with others along my journey towards being an occupational therapist.  I think the main thing I have taken away from this film is that ALS took O'Brien's body, but it did not take his passion.  He has shown me and others that anything is possible with enough grit.  He followed his heart and has not missed a beat, and I believe that is what has kept him alive.  

O'Brien, P. (Director), & Dupree, M., Greendove, A., Hallinan, D., & Mohiuddin, M. T. (Producers). 
              (2015). TransFatty Lives [Video file]. United States: Oscar Crosby Films.

TransFatty Lives. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://transfattylives.com/