The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - Report Example

ALS – more than physical Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a nerve disease that affects the human neuromuscular system such that people lose their ability to use their muscles anymore. The patient weakens progressively until the muscles stop responding altogether. The final result is death. Generally the onset of ALS spares the human sensory system as well as the brain region. Consequently, the patient loses muscular function but is still aware of what is happening. In most patients the eyes as well as the bowel regions are spared the disease so that the patient is able to see everything to the end. Most patients tend to lose their claim to life as the respiratory system first gradually weakens and then fails altogether (Al-Chalabi and Leigh). Simply put, the onset of ALS enervates the patient till the last signs of life withdraw under the patient’s own eyes. In the initial stages of ALS the patient can be helped out through the use of physiotherapy (Lewis and Rushanan). However, such mitigation measures are only able to bolster the patient’s morale for a while before the patient slips into deeper loss of muscular function. With every second the realization that ALS will be able to take everything away sets in deeper and deeper. The patient is consolable so as long as the hearing keeps intact, but after the means of communication with the patient go down, the picture is rather grim. The patient’s situation can be better understood if compared to a solitary prisoner – both can see what is happening around them, both can reason but there is little that both can do to change the situation for the better. Put within this context, it becomes clear that ALS is not merely a loss of physical ability but also a loss of everything else that a person holds dear including friends and family. Human communication can do more than just move ideas around. One of the more humanistic sides of communication is the ability to provide each other with consolation when faced with problems. In addition human communication allows the portrayal of problems in more than one way. Other than textual information, visual information has the power to alter opinions and to move deeply embedded ideas from person to person. The picture under discussion (please see Appendix ‘A’) portrays the effects of ALS on the life of an average human being. The picture relies in large part on visual information to portray the consequences of ALS. The collage starts out from minor disability to the final fatal consequences of ALS. Other than this the collage contains textual information that lets the viewer configure an image of what is happening and how far reaching the consequences are. Textual information has been kept as low as possible to provide a mere reflection of the problem. Furthermore, the textual information provided serves as a cliffhanger statement which prods the mind of the viewer to wonder what the real consequences of ALS really. This picture cum collage will be explored in further detail first through the use of textual information and then through the use of visual information. The textual information contained in the collage presented in Appendix ‘A’ is relatively scant and rather minimal in design and application. The textual information begins in a simple manner by declaring “ALS”. The purpose of differentiating this part of text from the rest is twofold. For one thing this method provides the viewer with the idea that he is looking at something related to ALS. A number of nerve and other disorders and diseases are capable of reducing human beings to the states being depicted in the pictures attached to the collage. Therefore, it is important that the viewer be provided with a clear idea that he is looking at something that is being in the direction of ALS only. In this manner the viewer is both apprised of the central theme and his imagination is confined and focused on the matter being portrayed only. If ALS had not been mentioned explicitly it is possible that the viewer would keep wondering what exact problem is being depicted in the pictures attached to the collage. In this case the attention of the viewer would have been diverted from the central theme to figuring out the exact nature of the problem. Secondly mentioning the word ALS in this fashion serves as the topic for this entire collage. Much the same way that the human mind looks for titles for books and headings for essays, the human mind is constantly searching for the topic behind nearly everything they encounter. Furthermore, nearly all forms of human communication contain some focal point that serves as the topic for that communication. This collage uses ALS as the topic and using the word ALS in this location firmly establish the identity of this text as the topic. On another note, the lower line of text underneath “ALS” contains a simple message that serves to focus attention and to stir the imagination of the viewer at the same time. Most people tend to perceive ALS as a problem restricted to the normal physical wellbeing of an individual but the reality is far removed from this position on this issue. ALS tends to affect all facets of life for a human being including his personal life and social life. The images in the collage depict just this same idea that ALS tends to take out much more than just the physical wellbeing of a person. Using the text “More Than Physical” indicates to the viewer that there is something more to ALS than what lies beneath the surface. For example, it is common that when one visits a patient in a hospital suffering from any problem, the patient becomes the prime focus of attention. The suffering borne by the patient is visible as well as disturbing at the same time given that anyone anywhere could get affected similarly. In this manner, the central focus tends to shift onto the patient’s physical condition alone while the patient is actually suffering personal as well as social losses too. This text allows the viewer to switch from the patient’s condition to the personal life and social life facets as well. The images attached to the collage allow the development of a holistic perception of ALS’s consequences. The image on the left shows a person walking with his two daughters with a physiotherapy support attached to his left leg. This indicates that the person is suffering from ALS but is able to cope with it using physiotherapy. In contrast, the image on the right shows the same person with his daughters sitting on a wheel chair. This indicates that ALS has set in heavily and that the patient will soon be lost. The smiles on the children’s faces are contrasted by the forced smile on the patient’s face indicating that he knows what the future holds and he is dealing with it as bravely as possible. The final image portrays the two children standing with a placard that reads “We miss you Daddy” indicating that the patient has been lost to ALS. This image serves as a finishing touch for the entire collage as it expresses the end of the collage and the image contained within it. Works Cited Al-Chalabi, Ammar and P. Nigel Leigh. "Recent advances in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." Current Opinion in Neurology 13 (4) (August 2000): 397–405. Lewis, M. and S. Rushanan. "The role of physical therapy and occupational therapy in the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis." NeuroRehabilitation 22 (6) (2007): 451–461. Appendix ‘A’ Read More