Julie Helen: I  have a new tool in joining the dots on my health..an AI app

It is impossible to use any smart device now without being invited to use an AI or Artificial Intelligence app. Most of the time, I roll my eyes, and proceed without engaging.

One evening, I was musing about pain and a slight swelling in my knee. It was becoming extremely frustrating because it would be sore for a day and swell. Then it would settle again, and I would convince myself whatever little pull or injury I had given it had recovered, and I could plough on with life again. Then, a week later it would be back again with a bit of a vengeance.

I’ve had plenty of injuries over the years in my neck, shoulders, hip, knees and ankles, and I can usually figure out the triggers and solve whatever is going on. If I can’t, I can usually wait it out, safe in the knowledge that it would pass. This recent injury feels a bit different.

It impacts how I walk, how I get into the car, and how I get dressed. The uncertainty of not knowing when it will activate is draining.

My brain initially went straight to needing a knee replacement. Let me be clear, my brain went there without any health consultation whatsoever. It is just a worry in the back of my own mind. There is always something with my cerebral palsy that I need to be monitoring, and it can be exhausting, most especially when I don’t know how to solve it or what I might be doing to make it worse.

Even more terrifying than the thought I might be doing something to make the situation worse, is the notion that the pain might have nothing whatsoever to do with any movement and may just be a signal of a deterioration due to ageing.

The thing with cerebral palsy is it is a developmental condition. It is characterised by missing milestones in childhood like sitting, crawling, and walking and there is a significant level of therapy and interventions available to children, and then when they become adults there is almost a sense of making it to a finish line and after that it is just about maintaining physical function where possible.

Each professional I encounter, be they an orthopedic surgeon, a physiotherapist, a chiropodist, or a neurologist, they are only ever really looking at their few pieces of the jigsaw of my overall health and wellness. The one exception to that is my GP who is superb but he regularly reminds me that he can only know enough to get me to the right referral. However, referral on to most professionals in public health leads to me waiting for ages and then ending up joining the dots myself.

I have a new tool in joining the dots. I typed all the information I know about my cerebral palsy into an AI app. I listed all the issues from top to toe, including the aggravated knee injury, and asked if anything was overly concerning given my circumstances and if all the niggles make sense. I got such reassurance from the explanations, diagrams, and joined-up thinking. It turns out swelling in my knee might be worse due to not wearing shoes indoors and not drinking enough water and the spasms I have, all perfectly logical.

The app repeatedly showed me key findings about cerebral palsy that some professional or other have told me over my lifespan ,but it is very useful to have it all in one spot. It gives me a good basis for follow up with my real life health professionals.