Alexandria Shaw-Villagrana

Eportfolio Reflection
Great Stroke Adventure

During this in-class assignment, my role was the caretaker of a patient who had a stroke.
This assignment really opened my eyes when I sat down to write the reflection and I had to put
myself in my patients’ shoes. Meaning I could only use 1 hand and had to wear glasses that I
could barely see out of. What should have been a simple task for any everyday person was made
extremely hard. Above I copied what my reflection was under the simulated conditions of what a
stroke patient goes through every day. As you can see, my reflection barely makes any sense.
I chose to put this assignment in my Eportfolio because it had the greatest impact in this
course. What I take for granted every day, there is someone out there doing it under these
conditions and not complaining because it has become their new norm. As a caretaker I had to
watch my patient struggle completing tasks like walking or using the bathroom, but had to make
sure they were safe without helping too much because they wanted to be independent. Watching
them struggle was very difficult because I wanted to step in and help. What takes a non-injured
individual to complete those tasks now took 2-3x the length for a stroke patient.
This assignment really helped me put myself in someone else’s shoes and gave me an
accurate understanding of what it is like to have to do things differently after a severe injury. The
Great Stroke Adventure came at a good time in the program curriculum because my next rotation
is in an acute care setting and with this newfound empathy, I hope to become a better physical
therapist assistant.