SPEAK OUT! – Lisa Parker McGreggor
by
Donna O’Donnell Figurski
1. What is your name? (last name optional)
Lisa Parker McGreggor
2. Where do you live? (city and/or state and/or country) Email (optional)
Tampa Bay, Florida, USA parkermcgreggor@yahoo.com
3. When did you have your TBI? At what age?
July 24, 2000 I was 15 – only two weeks shy of 16.
4. How did your TBI occur?
Car accident
5. When did you (or someone) first realize you had a problem?
When I didn’t get up at the scene
6. What kind of emergency treatment, if any, did you have?
I had a G (gastrostomy) peg (feeding tube). My spleen was removed.
7. Were you in a coma? If so, how long?
Yes. I was in a coma for three months.
8. Did you do rehab? What kind of rehab (i.e., inpatient or outpatient and occupational and/or physical and/or speech and/or other)? How long were you in rehab?
Yes. I had rehab at the hospital for six months. Afterwards, I was still going, but insurance would only pay every three months.
9. What problems or disabilities, if any, resulted from your TBI (e.g., balance, perception, personality, etc.)?
I have a problem with my balance. My mood is an issue. My right arm is drawn up.
10. How has your life changed? Is it better? Is it worse?
My life may be better, but it’s lonelier.
11. What do you miss the most from your pre-TBI life?
My freedom
12. What do you enjoy most in your post-TBI life?
Food
13. What do you like least about your TBI?
The fact that it exists
14. Has anything helped you to accept your TBI?
Reality
15. Has your injury affected your home life and relationships and, if so, how?
Yes. It made me reliant on my parents. I hardly ever go out, so I don’t have a boyfriend.
16. Has your social life been altered or changed and, if so, how?
Most of my friends left.
17. Who is your main caregiver? Do you understand what it takes to be a caregiver?
My mom is my main caregiver. Yes, I understand what it takes.
18. What are your future plans? What do you expect/hope to be doing ten years from now?
I don’t have any plans.
19. Are you able to provide a helpful hint that may have taken you a long time to learn, but which you wished you had known earlier? If so, please state what it is to potentially help other TBI survivors with your specific kind of TBI.
You can never “quit.”
20. What advice would you offer to other TBI survivors? Do you have any other comments that you would like to add?
Be strong.
Enjoy the ride. Life is shorter than you think!
Thank you, Lisa, for taking part in this interview. I hope that your experience will offer some hope, comfort, and inspiration to my readers.
(Disclaimer: The views or opinions in this post are solely that of the interviewee.)
(Photos compliments of Lisa.)
If you would like to be a part of the SPEAK OUT! project, please go to TBI Survivor Interview Questionnaire for a copy of the questions and the release form.
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