Remember The Titans (Spinal Cord Injury)

    Remember The Titans is a classic movie that focuses on racism in a town that revolved around football. While the movie is mainly about racism and football, there is an injury that happens to the main player. It is a spinal cord injury. I have to do an assignment in which I write a reflection on a topic that will be covered in my Neuro Aspects class, and we must use a resource for this assignment. So, I chose to watch this movie for the millionth time, because I love it, and write a reflection on part of it. The main reason I chose this movie was because I grew up around sports, and I feel as if I can relate to it. 

    So, I will not cover the whole movie or talk about the racism part, however, I will discuss one of the key part of the movie, very briefly because I do not want to ruin it for you. A player ends up in a car wreck after the game. He ends up paralyzed in both legs, which is called diplegia. This is a serious spinal cord injury, and although it did not specify, it is probably a complete spinal cord injury due to the bilateral impact. While I have seen this movie several times, I never used an OT mindset. But, this time I did. I noticed that at first his confidence and personality were at an all time low which is reasonable. In addition, I think it is important for OT's to understand that someone who has an injury like this will be in low spirits for a little bit. That is when we come in and try to give them something to live for! 

    The next thing that I noticed was his performance in things that would usually be very easy for him such as getting in and out of bed. They were limited and some even gone. I don't think I will ever truly understand what it is like to be paralyzed because I think it is something you can only know if you have been there before. The movie shows certain aspects of his life that are more difficult, and I really understood how much he had to adapt his life in order to have a new normal. I also got to watch someone build themselves back up and enjoy life to the fullest. This is why I want to be an OT. You do not actually get to see a therapist in action during the movie, however, you can imagine how much of an impact an OT could have in this situation. Overall, I encourage all people to watch this feel good movie. It is so relatable to the therapists community, and even to people who are not therapists. I will always "Remember The Titans".