Case Study Analysis: Mrs. S, the Woman Who Turned in Circles
The reason for this presentation is to explain the case study of Mrs. S. and give valuable information on contralateral neglect, impact of the massive stroke, regions of the brain that were affected, deficits experienced by Mrs. S., and therapies and behavioral modification that have been explored by continueing this case study with Mrs. S and her need to turn circles.
Mrs. S.’s stroke had left her unable to recognize or respond to things to the left—including external objects as well as parts of her own body. For example, Mrs. S. often put makeup on the right side of her face but ignored the left. Mrs. S.’s left-side contralateral neglect created many problems for her, but a particularly bothersome one was that she had difficulty getting enough to eat. When a plate of food was put in front of her, she could see only the food on the right half of the plate and thus ate only that much, even if she was very hungry. After asking for and receiving a wheelchair capable of turning in place, Mrs. S. developed an effective way of getting more food if she was still hungry after completing a meal. She turns her wheelchair around to the right in a full circle until she sees the remaining half of her meal. Then, she eats that food, or more precisely, she eats the right half of that food. If she is still hungry after that, she turns once again to the right until she discovers the remaining quarter of her meal and eats half of that ... and so on (Pinel, 2009).
Mrs. S’s suffered a massive stroke to the posterior portions of her right hemisphere, which has caused her to suffer from contralateral neglect (Pinel, 2009). What is a stroke? A stroke is a strangulation of an area of the brain that is caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow, which is the result of a blockage or the rupture of an artery to the brain. These blockages or ruptures can be in the form of a thrombosis, hemorrhage, or embolism (Livestrong, 2011). When a stroke occurs on the right side of the brain, it
Mrs. S.’s stroke had left her unable to recognize or respond to things to the left—including external objects as well as parts of her own body. For example, Mrs. S. often put makeup on the right side of her face but ignored the left. Mrs. S.’s left-side contralateral neglect created many problems for her, but a particularly bothersome one was that she had difficulty getting enough to eat. When a plate of food was put in front of her, she could see only the food on the right half of the plate and thus ate only that much, even if she was very hungry. After asking for and receiving a wheelchair capable of turning in place, Mrs. S. developed an effective way of getting more food if she was still hungry after completing a meal. She turns her wheelchair around to the right in a full circle until she sees the remaining half of her meal. Then, she eats that food, or more precisely, she eats the right half of that food. If she is still hungry after that, she turns once again to the right until she discovers the remaining quarter of her meal and eats half of that ... and so on (Pinel, 2009).
Mrs. S’s suffered a massive stroke to the posterior portions of her right hemisphere, which has caused her to suffer from contralateral neglect (Pinel, 2009). What is a stroke? A stroke is a strangulation of an area of the brain that is caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow, which is the result of a blockage or the rupture of an artery to the brain. These blockages or ruptures can be in the form of a thrombosis, hemorrhage, or embolism (Livestrong, 2011). When a stroke occurs on the right side of the brain, it