Overcoming

TED Talk: Thriving in the Face of Adversity

By: Stephanie Buxhoeveden

Stephanie Buxhoeveden was 25, in a graduate school program, and loved working out. One day, she noticed her foot was falling asleep. The sensation then crept up to her legs. Buxhoeveden was in nurse anesthetist school. On her first day being able to give anesthesia as a graduate student, she started tripping around and noticing numbness of her legs. She then lost the feeling in her right arm and right hand, and her vision became blurry. 

Buxhoeveden tried to make it to the emergency room in the same building, but then realized that she was unable to make it a few steps to the elevator. Buxhoeveden called her teacher and then went to the hospital to receive testing. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  

MS affects the myelin insulation of the nerves and affects the nerve signals going to the body. Scar tissue starts forming around the nerves creating lesions that do not go away. Buxhoeveden has Relapsing-Remitting MS, which is the most common. She has periods of symptoms, and then periods where MS symptoms are better or gone. Buxhoeveden takes injections, medications, and receives monthly IV infusions to suppress the immune system. 

Buxhoeveden speaks about how her symptoms might not appear to the physical eye when she is in the remitting phase, but she takes medications for pain that is left over from a relapse, has a cane in her closet, and is getting married soon with a backup plan in case she starts a relapse on her wedding week. She states that the most frustrating part of MS is the unknown. She doesn’t know when symptoms will appear and when they will go away. 

Buxhoeveden decided to change her career path to becoming a nurse practitioner to help others with MS. She is now an MS nurse. She notices people getting diagnosed with MS have the same questions and concerns that she had when she was first diagnosed. She wanted to put her academic knowledge and personal experience together to pour into others. Buxhoeveden created a site as a resource for people with MS. She wanted to empower and inform people of their possibilities. Buxhoeveden has taken a role in research to help find a cure for MS. She states MS did not take away her ambitions, but has given her a more purposeful life. She states that life challenges people and interferes with people’s plans. She states that when life becomes unfair, attempt to thrive in the face of the struggle. 

I chose this TED talk for a neuro note because I wanted a real life account of someone with such an unpredictable disease. I learned a lot through the perspective of someone who has been diagnosed with MS. This TED talk really put an emphasis on how to handle life when the hard times come. It is truly an inspiration to see someone further her education, and give back to others when life really threw her an intense curve ball. It is very admirable to hear Buxhoeveden fight back and not let the bad stuff win. I think this experience will help me become a better occupational therapist. This TED talk will hopefully help me to recognize the disease and struggles someone has, and help me empower people to know their story is not over.

I would recommend this TED talk for further information on MS, and to learn from someone with a beautiful mindset to be an overcomer. 

Buxhoeveden, S. (2015, April 3). Thriving in the Face of Adversity. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuLOT6GsAxw