Exploring the Many Skills and Talents of Occupational Therapy
Lou Figueroa
Course Length: 1.0 contact hours (.1 AOTA CEU)
PRIMARY Presentation Category: General and Professional Issues
SECONDARY Presentation Category: Limb Loss, Mental Healthand Wellness
Intended Audience: Introductory
Short Abstract:
In this presentation, Lou focuses on activities of daily living, functional transfers, and mental health following traumatic events. Attendees will hear how occupational therapy taught him the life skills necessary to function in everyday environments
Full Abstract:
Foundational Knowledge / Knowledge Based highlighting the various occupational therapies within the limb loss community. Lou shares his own personal experience encountering 5 OT specialties that helped him regain the life necessary skills to function in every day environments.
Lou discusses the challenges of being a bilateral amputee sharing functional transfers, mental health, spirituality and strategies to achieve a healthy quality of life. Attendees will hear Lou’s incredible transformation of being bed ridden in a hospital to being fully functional sharing his message and traveling the globe with prosthetics.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain how occupational therapy plays a critical role in the rehabilitation process following life changing events
- Identify a better understanding of occupational therapy’s role with clients who are coping with limb loss and amputations
- Recognize occupational therapy’s role in addressing the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of a patient
Educational Value:
How this presentation will advance the practice or professional development of participants and/or the profession. Occupational Therapists will hear a first hand patient’s perspective of recovery highlighting the various OT specialties Lou encountered
Company Affiliated With: Inspired Balance
Financial Disclosure: Employee of: Inspired Balance
Lou Figueroa
Growing up in Southern California before moving to Colorado with his family in 1991, Lou Figueroa was an avid snowboarder and mountain biker who enjoyed the great outdoors.
At the age of twenty-seven years old, while out with a group of friends in the downtown district of Denver, Lou encountered a beverage laced with an unknown substance, experiencing a rapid onset of intoxication. In a daze, lost and disoriented, he walked nearly two miles before stumbling into the Union Station rail yard. In the early hours of the morning, a train was approaching when they saw Lou’s body at the last minute. The conductor and the engineer on board believe Lou had been struck fifteen minutes prior to their arrival. The result would be the loss of both legs.
After surviving a week-long coma gripping to life, Lou awoke in the hospital on life support and feeding tubes to the realization his life would never be the same. Since his amputations, Lou has traveled across the globe sharing messages of hope and inspiration to hundreds of audiences including medical associations, colleges, and universities.
His passion is taking business professionals through the journey of change and transformation. Lou speaks on topics relating to limb loss, pain management, substance abuse, and wellness following traumatic injury.
Today, Lou lives in Santa Barbara, California where he advocates for drink safety and alcohol awareness.