TBI – Survivors, Caregivers, Family, and Friends

Posts tagged ‘TBI Survivor Interview’

Survivors SPEAK OUT! Annie Ricketts

Survivors SPEAK OUT! Annie Ricketts

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Annie Ricketts – Survivor of Brain Injury

1. What is your name? (last name optional)

Annie Ricketts

2. Where do you live? (city and/or state and/or country) Email (optional)

Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

3. On what date did you have your brain injury? At what age?

July 23, 2000    Age 36

4. How did your brain injury occur?

I flew off a horse.

5. When did you (or someone) first realize you had a problem?

I was diagnosed with a severe TBI (traumatic brain injury) in the hospital.

6. What kind of emergency treatment, if any, did you have?

None! On the day of the injury, I was left in the waiting area alone and unconscious for four hours. The next day, I was taken back to the hospital by ambulance and admitted. I had no scan – no observational tests were taken at all. I was sent home three days later without seeing a specialist.

7. Were you in a coma? If so, how long?

I was unconscious after the accident, but never in a coma.

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?

As an outpatient, I had occupational and speech therapies from year 5 to year 6.5 post injury. These therapies were repeated in years 10, 14, and 18.

9. What problems or disabilities, if any, resulted from your brain injury
(e.g., balance, perception, personality, etc.)?

My problems are complex and multiple, but there is no visible physical impairment.

10. How has your life changed? Is it better? Is it worse?

It is fabulous!

11. What do you miss the most from your pre-brain-injury life?

Nothing

12. What do you enjoy most in your post-brain-injury life?

Living life with a purpose

13. What do you like least about your brain injury?

My executive-function impairments intrigue and fascinate me. There is nothing I like least. I accept everything and continue to work on improving.

14. Has anything helped you to accept your brain injury?

I had a total loss of self-awareness, so I didn’t ever have any problems with acceptance. It is a different journey.

15. Has your injury affected your home life and relationships and, if so, how?

My family didn’t understand – it took a lot of time. Now, I get a lot of understanding and support.

16. Has your social life been altered or changed and, if so, how?

I have been isolated since the injury, and I want to remain this way. I had a normal social life before.

17.Who is your main caregiver?

My daughter.

-Do you understand what it takes to be a caregiver?

Yes, absolutely.

18. What are your plans? What do you expect/hope to be doing ten years from now?

I hope to be doing what I am doing now – only less hours!

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 survivors with your specific kind of brain injury.

Annie Ricketts – Brain Injury Survivor

Neuroinflammation starts straight after injury. It is like a switch being flicked ON. For many people, this inflammatory response continues until it is addressed. Research shows it can last upward of 17 years post injury. If you would like to know more about this and how inflammation creates and exacerbates symptoms, please visit globalbia.org.

20. What advice would you offer to other brain-injury survivors? Do you have any other comments that you would like to add?

Take care of your body – it is connected to your brain.

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Survivors SPEAK OUT!

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SPEAK OUT! Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

SPEAK OUT! Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

itty-bitty-giant-steps-for-blog

Andrea Coffey – Survivor of Brain Injury

Andrea Coffey (survivor) … I cooked for the first time today – just something very simple.

I’m kind of proud of myself.  Frozen pesto pasta! I threw some chicken in it.cartoon_chicken22-1

 

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Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . . Nolan McDonnell — Survivor of Brain Injury

Survivors SPEAK OUT! Nolan McDonnell

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Survivor of Brain Injury – Nolan McDonnell

1. What is your name? (last name optional)

Nolan McDonnell

2. Where do you live? (city and/or state and/or country) Email (optional)

San Jose, California, USA     Nolan@CoachNolan.com

3. On what date did you have your brain injury? At what age?

My traumatic brain injury occurred on April 23, 2017, at the age of 31.

4. How did your brain injury occur?

I was the victim of a robbery. I was held at gunpoint and then shot in the head. My brain injury is bilateral, as the bullet went through both sides of my brain.

5. When did you (or someone) first realize you had a problem?

I was found in my car, which was riddled with bullet holes. I had an entrance wound in my skull from the bullet.

6. What kind of emergency treatment, if any, did you have?

I had seven blood transfusions, a craniotomy, and maybe some other things.

7. Were you in a coma? If so, how long?physical-activity-clipart-10

Yes – fifteen days.

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?

I have or had speech, occupational, physical, stretch, recreational, massage, and craniosacral therapies and acupuncture. It has been two and a half years now, and I put in eight hours a day, five days a week.

9. What problems or disabilities, if any, resulted from your brain injury
(e.g., balance, perception, personality, etc.)?

I was a paraplegic – I could not move from the neck down. I worked hard to overcome this, however. I still suffer from extreme spasticity, muscle imbalance, and minimal range of motion on the left side of my body, as well as in my legs.

10. How has your life changed? Is it better? Is it worse?

My life is better after my traumatic brain injury. Before the injury, I did not know how short, valuable, and fragile life is.

11. What do you miss the most from your pre-brain-injury life?

I miss skateboarding, making new friends at school, the freedom to get up and do anything I wanted at any given time, athletics, not having a caregiver, living alone, and having guests come over.

12. What do you enjoy most in your post-brain-injury life?

I like my perspective on and my valuing of both life and people. Life is so valuable to me now – more meaningful and beautiful.

13. What do you like least about your brain injury?

I love everything about my brain injury. Life is more important to me now.

14. Has anything helped you to accept your brain injury?

No

15. Has your injury affected your home life and relationships and, if so, how?

Yes. We had to make everything wheelchair-accessible, and someone always needs to be with me. Also, with my injury, I can’t get up and go make myself a sandwich or go to the store and get something that I want. Somebody needs to do those things for me. I am a lot more limited in that aspect, but it’s not a big deal if I plan ahead.

The biggest aspect about this question is addressing the invisible injury. People look at me and see that I’m strong, and they expect that, at any moment, I can just get up and start walking, hiking, or going on dates.

16. Has your social life been altered or changed and, if so, how?

Not really for me. I have always been a very social person, and my wheelchair is a great conversation starter! People come up all the time and ask me what happened. I am always making new friends.

17. Who is your main caregiver? Do you understand what it takes to be a caregiver?

My mother

18. What are your plans? What do you expect/hope to be doing ten years from now?

(not answered)

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 survivors with your specific kind of brain injury.

This is a tough question because no two injuries are the same, but I will share my input and what worked for me to get my legs strong again.

Learning how to use my legs has been especially difficult. My parents bought an assist-bar at Home Depot and mounted it to the wall, a little below chest height. I can use my wheelchair to wheel up to the bar and practice standing up, do squats, stand up, and let go and learn how to balance.

Another great thing that I would love to share is to go to your local community college and check out adaptive PE (physical education) classes. The community colleges by my house have adaptive PE – they have standing frames and parallel bars, and all of the equipment and workout-machines are wheelchair-accessible. Adaptive PE programs usually have water classes as well.

20. What advice would you offer to other brain-injury survivors? Do you have any other comments that you would like to add?

Nolan McDonnell – Survivor of Brain Injury

I would suggest that other brain injury survivors take initiative and demonstrate that they want to help themselves because that will encourage support from other people. Also, always continue doing exercises and stretching. Try to increase your range of motion, and workout constantly. Fitness creates a mind-body connection and promotes new neurological pathways. Additionally, if you take care of yourself physically, you tend to eat better – and proper nutrition is very important for a healthy brain.

 

Stay Safe and Healthy!

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Survivors SPEAK OUT!

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TBI Tales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Friend? The Need for Better Understanding of Brain Injury

A Friend?
The Need for Better Understanding of Brain Injury
by
Alan Gregory

presented
by
Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Alan Gregory 1

Alan Gregory Brain Injury Survivor

 

I was working at my minimum-wage, 3- to 4-hours-per-day job when an old friend came in. He asked why I was working there and not at my former job. (I had been an accountant at a large manufacturing firm – a job I held for more than 30 years.) I told him I lost my job after I suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Of course, my friend didn’t know what a TBI was, so I explained it to him. He then assumed I must have been in a car accident. But, when I explained to him that I had slipped on ice and landed on my head, he rolled his eyes and moved on.

I wanted to grab him and tell him, “Yes, it’s true, and it totally messed up my life!”clipart-of-person-slipping-on-ice-7

I deal with my brain injury every day. I struggle with the fact that I can no longer financially support my family. Some days, I have to force myself to get up, after I have bounced around the house all night with my head not allowing me to sleep. I used to have a great, salaried job, at which I usually worked ten hours per day. Now, I can barely work a total of ten hours in a week. Ugh!

I honestly wonder what my friend’s reaction would have been if I had told him that I had a heart attack or a stroke or even cancer. I am sure that his reaction would have been sympathetic and understanding with an offer of “If I can do anything …”

k23633524

A little understanding and compassion go a long way.

Well, I don’t want his sympathy. We have survived these past two years without his help. A simple dose of understanding would have been preferable, rather than the perplexed look, the sudden turn and walk away, or the “Yeah, right” head shake that we survivors of brain injury all too often get from others.

 

 

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Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . . Robb Anthony Filippes

Survivors SPEAK OUT! Robb Anthony Filippes

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

 

Rob Filippes 052018

Robb Anthony Filippes – survivor of brain injury

1. What is your name? (last name optional)

Robb Anthony Filippes

2. Where do you live? (city and/or state and/or country) Email (optional)

Evansville, Indiana, USA

3. On what date did you have your brain injury? At what age?

May 22, 2016

4. How did your brain injury occur?

I had a full cardiac arrest.

5. When did you (or someone) first realize you had a problem?

I realized I had a problem when I woke up, and I had to go to HealthSouth Deaconess Rehabilitation Hospital.

6. What kind of emergency treatment, if any, did you have?

Well, I was on life-support … cartoon+infus

7. Were you in a coma? If so, how long?

Yes. One week

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)?

Yes. I was an inpatient at HealthSouth.

How long were you in rehab?

One month

9. What problems or disabilities, if any, resulted from your brain injury (e.g., balance, perception, personality, etc.)?

I lost my short-term memory. Balance is a problem. Sometimes I need to use a cane or a walker. My personality changed; I became nicer.

10. How has your life changed? Is it better? Is it worse?

My life is better.

11. What do you miss the most from your pre-brain-injury life?

Nothing. I was a drug addict for 35 years. (I’m 51 years old.)

12. What do you enjoy most in your post-brain-injury life?

I greatly appreciate that I’m still functioning. I’m very lucky.

13. What do you like least about your brain injury?

I dislike my short-term memory loss.

14. Has anything helped you to accept your brain injury?Shrink 2

I still have a hard time accepting my brain injury. I go to a “shrink” now.

15. Has your injury affected your home life and relationships and, if so, how?

My brain injury actually made my home life better. I was about to lose my marriage over it. (I lost my first marriage from it.)

16. Has your social life been altered or changed and, if so, how?

Robb Anthony Filippes & Wife

Survivor – Robb Anthony Filippes & wife

Yes. I don’t see anyone.

17. Who is your main caregiver?

My wife

Do you understand what it takes to be a caregiver?

Not really. She does everything for me and our family.

18. What are your plans?

I hope to help others with addiction.

What do you expect/hope to be doing ten years from now?

Rob Filippes Survivor 2 0520118

Robb Anthony Filippes – survivor of brain injury

I hope to still be alive and to have helped people, even if it’s one person.

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 survivors with your specific kind of brain injury.

Get counseling right away

20. What advice would you offer to other brain-injury survivors?

Never Give UpDon’t give up!

Do you have any other comments that you would like to add?

All brain-injured people are in my prayers.

 

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Survivors SPEAK OUT!

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Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . . Cheri Marie Johnson

Survivors SPEAK OUT! Cheri Marie Johnson

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

 

Johnson, Cheri Marie Survivor 101717 2

1. What is your name? (last name optional)

Cheri Marie Johnson

2. Where do you live? (city and/or state and/or country) Email (optional)

Hayward, Wisconsin, USA

3. On what date did you have your brain injury? At what age?

September 11, 2016      I was 24.

4. How did your brain injury occur?

I fell down 27 stairs.

5. When did you (or someone) first realize you had a problem?

I was out with my dad. A person from the establishment saw me fall instead of going to the restroom. The doors to the men’s room and ladies’ room were right next to each other, but I was found at the bottom of the stairs – unconscious. So, I was life-flighted to North Memorial Hospital. It was the best TBI (traumatic brain injury) ICU (intensive care unit) near me.

6. What kind of emergency treatment, if any, did you have?

I was in an ambulance, put on a back board, given a neck brace, and brought to Spooner for a life-flight.air-rescue-clipart-14-1

7. Were you in a coma? If so, how long?

I was in a coma for three weeks in North Memorial and then put on the general floor. I was sent to Miller-Dwan in Duluth, Minnesota (of Essential Health-Duluth). I was in another coma for three weeks because I was still bleeding in my brain. It was swollen, so they couldn’t do surgery. They said I wouldn’t have lived.

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?

When I was sent to Miller-Dwan, it was for inpatient occupational, physical, and speech therapies. I was there for four days and then put into another coma after the coma I was in in the ICU. I had a tracheostomy, and, two weeks later, I was put on the general floor for three weeks. There I had occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy. Now I’m in speech therapy. I talk differently, and I have a hard time breathing from the intubation. I am also in occupational therapy. I have bad posture, and it’s hard to breathe that way.

9. What problems or disabilities, if any, resulted from your brain injury
(e.g., balance, perception, personality, etc.)?

I have bad balance. (I recently fell out of the shower.) I am being put on life-alert (helps contact emergency services). I have vertigo when I lie down. My personality has changed – I’m like a different person. I have anger that I can barely handle. At times, it feels like a Jekyll and Hyde disorder.Split Personality

10. How has your life changed? Is it better? Is it worse?

It’s worse. I am so angry all the time. I try to talk to who I am – it seems like I talk to an old friend of the person I used to be.

11. What do you miss the most from your pre-brain-injury life?

I miss singing and working for my kids.

12. What do you enjoy most in your post-brain-injury life?

I enjoy my kids and my dad. They make me so happy.

13. What do you like least about your brain injury?

I don’t like all the confusion. It’s even hard to put one foot in front of the other.

14. Has anything helped you to accept your brain injury?

I’m glad I’m alive and still have my kids.

15. Has your injury affected your home life and relationships and, if so, how?

I can’t work anymore. I’m exhausted. I need help with almost every daily task. I barely know how to take care of myself, but I still know how to take care of my kids. Relationships are a little harder because of my anger issue.

16. Has your social life been altered or changed and, if so, how?

People like to abuse people who they know they can. I have kicked people out of my life – they tried asking me for my medicine, and I will not do that.

17. Who is your main caregiver? Do you understand what it takes to be a caregiver?

NurseI have a social worker and a nurse team help me. I also have a nurse who comes over twice a week to plan my medicine box and write down my appointments. I just did a neuropsychological test, and they are saying I need a guardian.

18. What are your plans? What do you expect/hope to be doing ten years from now?

I’m hoping to feel like I am better, then okay. I hope they can find a way to fix my throat so I don’t have to live with a tracheostomy for the rest of my life. And I hope to find a way to not be so angry.

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 survivors with your specific kind of brain injury.

Find things that make you happy – your kids, animals, activities, etc. It will take you out of thinking about what happened.

20. What advice would you offer to other brain-injury survivors? Do you have any other comments that you would like to add?

I am here if you need to converse with a survivor. It’s nice to open up to someone with the same condition.

Please leave a comment/question. I will respond.

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Survivors SPEAK OUT!

Tagged with:

Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . Jason Westhoff

Survivors SPEAK OUT!   Jason Westhoff

presented

by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

 

Jason Westhoff IMG_9574

Jason Westhoff – Brain Injury Survivor

1. What is your name? (last name optional)

Jason Westhoff

2. Where do you live? (city and/or state and/or country) Email (optional)

Phoenix, Arizona, USA     jrwesthoff1@gmail.com

3. On what date did you have your brain injury? At what age?

March 11, 2012     Age 29

4. How did your brain injury occur?

I was assaulted after leaving a club in Peoria, Illinois.

5. When did you (or someone) first realize you had a problem?

I realized I had a problem around eight months after the assault. I was in the Emergency Room and honestly realized I had lost all control. I had no clue how to go about regaining that control and made many wrong attempts over the next five years.

6. What kind of emergency treatment, if any, did you have?

Hospital thI was knocked unconscious from the assault, and I was transported by ambulance to the hospital. The medical staff noticed the swelling, and, as a result, I was taken into emergency surgery. I had a craniotomy to relieve the swelling.

7. Were you in a coma? If so, how long?

After the emergency surgery, I was placed in an induced coma for approximately three weeks. I had another two surgeries during this time.

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?

I had approximately three weeks of inpatient rehab before I was discharged. Afterwards, I continued physical, occupational, and speech therapies on a twice-weekly basis for approximately three months before I returned to school. At this time, I knew something was different, but I did not understand the battles I was fighting.

9. What problems or disabilities, if any, resulted from your brain injury
(e.g., balance, perception, personality, etc.)?

After my TBI (traumatic brain injury), I was a completely different person. It took me years to realize the extent of my injury. My balance and normal body functions were the easiest to check and the most obvious. The major changes, which I am still trying to adjust to daily, are my personality and perception during normal life-events. My injury has placed strains on every previous relationship I had and the new ones I have developed. I honestly feel like two completely different people. I still have the same general personality, but my ability to adjust to unplanned change is the ability most affected. I have a problem with the skill of adjusting in the moment.

10. How has your life changed? Is it better? Is it worse?Better Worse

My life has been extreme on both sides. It seems as if everything is extremely better or extremely worse on a rotating cycle. I am thankful on the whole because of the strength I have found to deal will all issues that have occurred. I am still working every day on my recovery, but I know, through this fire, I will become a better human being.

11. What do you miss the most from your pre-brain-injury life?

I miss my intellect and communication skills. It always feels as if I’m grasping for, but never quite reaching my projected goal.

12. What do you enjoy most in your post-brain-injury life?

I enjoy the communities I never knew about and the social interaction within the “brain-injury-support community”. There is a bond, which I have never quite been able to explain to others, of just knowing how something feels.

13. What do you like least about your brain injury?

Medicine side-effects!Medicine bottle 7Ta6Ezr8c

14. Has anything helped you to accept your brain injury?

Time. It has been extremely difficult to adjust and accept my brain injury.

15. Has your injury affected your home life and relationships and, if so, how?

Yes. It has been hard to be a successful father without the resources desired. Relationships in general have been a struggle because I don’t completely understand myself at all times. There is a constant unbalance in my life since the injury.

16. Has your social life been altered or changed and, if so, how?

Yes. I had struggles – extreme struggles – in my social life, primarily involving drugs and alcohol. Alcohol was a bigger problem than the drugs. I often get so stressed and/or anxious I want to drown my thoughts away. It is very easy just to give up at times.

Jason Westhoff Sheria & Darryl Eubanks

Jason Westhoff – Brain Injury Survivor with Parents, Sheria & Darryl Eubanks

17. Who is your main caregiver? Do you understand what it takes to be a caregiver?

My parents have been my main caregivers, my mother in particular for emotional support, which is where it has been needed most. It took me 2-3 years to start to comprehend the stress involved in being a caregiver, until I really tried to manage Jayla (my daughter) by myself for an extended period of time.

18. What are your plans? What do you expect/hope to be doing ten years from now?

My plans as of this moment are just trying to get my medications set and lowering my mental-fatigue issues. My focus is primarily on understanding my new mind and body so I then have the ability to make the proper adjustments. I love it here in Arizona! By the time I do my radio interview with Donna, I will have been in Arizona for fourteen months. I am currently looking forward to doing more work in the brain-injury community.

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 survivors with your specific kind of brain injury.

Listen! Listen! Listen! I am one of the worst listeners. I have proved this point time and time again. I would suggest to swallow your pride and let people help you.Ear_clip_art-1

20. What advice would you offer to other brain-injury survivors? Do you have any other comments that you would like to add?

My best advice to give to any survivor is to never stop growing. Don’t become content with your situation. We can always improve!

 

If you would like to be a part of the SPEAK OUT! project, please go to TBI SPEAK OUT! Survivors Interview Questionnaire for a copy of the questions and the release form.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

As I say after each post: Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment”anim0014-1_e0-1 below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the upper right sidebar.

If you like my blog, share it with your friends. It’s easy! Click the “Share” buttons below.

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it with your enemies. I don’t care!

Feel free to “Like” my post.

 

Category:

Survivors SPEAK OUT!

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SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . Faces of Brain Injury . . . . . . . . Jenni Palczynski (survivor)

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury

Jenni Palczynski (survivor)

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Brain Injury is NOT Discriminating!

bigstock-cartoon-face-vector-people-25671746-e1348136261718It can happen to anyone, anytime, . . . and anywhere.

The Brain Trauma Foundation states that there are 5.3 million people in the United States living with some form of brain injury.

On “Faces of Brain Injury,” you will meet survivors living with brain injury. I hope that their stories will help you to understand the serious implications and complications of brain injury.

The stories on SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury are published with the permission of the survivor or designated caregiver.

If you would like your story to be published, please send a short account and two photos to me at neelyf@aol.com. I’d love to publish your story and raise awareness for Brain Injury.

 

Jenni Palczynski (survivor)

Jenni Palczyinski 2

Jenni Palczynski – Brain Injury Survivor

Before my stroke, I was a medical malpractice litigation defense paralegal, which I loved. After my stroke, my doctor was nice enough to “prescribe” my pets – a dog and a cat – as “therapy animals.” However, because of my living arrangements, I could not keep them with me for two years, and they had to go into foster care until I was able to get a place of my own. My dog was placed with a family-friend, and my cat took up residence at an animal clinic owned by a close friend of my cousin. They stayed in foster care for two years. During that time, my cat developed fatty-liver disease. Before Christmas two years ago, we thought we were going to have to put him down. But, like his mama, he is a fighter! Because of his being placed where he was, the vet there caught the disease early, and we were able to save him. He is back to being 100% healthy. But during the time he was sick, on the advice of the vet, I would spend several days a week visiting him. He improved so much more when I was there with him.

After all that time, I got to know the vet and the staff at the clinic so well that I started volunteering time – going in and visiting other clinic animals. The animals were placed there and were looking for homes, or the animals were sick, or they had been boarded there by their parents. We soon realized that, by having me around talking to them and loving them as my own, they would also improve.

So, rather than doing a job that I had learned to love over the years, I now volunteer at the clinic tending to their animals. I have gotten to see them get better, and I have even seen some get adopted into permanent homes. If you asked me while I was growing up what I wanted to do,

Jenni Palczyinski

Jenni Palczynski – Brain Injury Survivor

I said it was to become a veterinarian because of my love of animals. Now I have found that my purpose is to give love to those animals, to see them move on to the next chapter in their life, like I am. Other than to see my kids grow up, my new purpose in life is to give love and care to animals in need. It is definitely very rewarding, and it has given me new life-long friends in the process. I also have finally moved into my own apartment, where my dog and cat are spoiled rotten, but they give me all the unconditional love I could ever want or need. It has taken me five years, but I love my volunteer-work in addition to my still being a single-mom to my youngest son (age 16), who is now also back living with me. Life is good.dog_cat_dancing

 

 

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(Photos compliments of contributor.)

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Faces of Brain Injury

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Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . Pamela Ann Taylor

Survivors SPEAK OUT!   Pamela Ann Taylor

presented 

by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

 

Pamela Ann Taylor Survivor 092417

Pamela Ann Taylor – Brain Injury Survivor

1. What is your name? (last name optional)

Pamela Ann Taylor

2. Where do you live? (city and/or state and/or country) Email (optional)

Mansfield, Ohio, USA     Teach621@aol.com

3. On what date did you have your brain injury? At what age?

Age 55

4. How did your brain injury occur?

I have been in three accidents in my life. The last one was a rollover.

5. When did you (or someone) first realize you had a problem?

I had some issues with balance and vision after the second accident, but more recently it has become far worse. This is due to the rollover-accident.

6. What kind of emergency treatment, if any, did you have?0016

I was transported to a Trauma Center in an ambulance, where they found I had a concussion. I was released and told to go home. They had done some tests, but, because they had given me pain meds, they thought that I was throwing up due to the meds and not the concussion. I was throwing up in the wheelchair all of the way to the car, but they still sent me home.

7. Were you in a coma? If so, how long?

N/A

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)?

I have had occupational, physical, and speech therapies.

How long were you in rehab?

My first round of physical therapy lasted a few months and helped somewhat with back pain, neck pain, and headaches. I am now in rehab again. I have been going for about four months, and I’m still working with an Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist. Speech therapy did not last as long. I found these places myself through searching and asking my doctor for referrals. A general doctor in my area seemed not to know of TBI (traumatic brain injury) treatments much at all. Be a self-advocate if you can.

9. What problems or disabilities, if any, resulted from your brain injury
(e.g., balance, perception, personality, etc.)?

I have issues with vision, balance, perception, and personality. I’m more aggressive – things escalate more easily. My eyes are like that of a 6-month-old baby – not coordinated.

10. How has your life changed?

I cannot work and cannot drive. I have no income (as the disability stuff is still in process), and I don’t know when I will get an income. I do not go to crowded places or shop for long in fluorescent lighting. I have lost connection with some friends, as I cannot get to them to visit now, etc.

Is it better?

I am home more.

Is it worse?

I get bored, and at times I’m lonely. I wish I could go out to lunch or drive to a friend’s house.

11. What do you miss the most from your pre-brain-injury life?

I miss feeling like I make a difference in the world. I used to travel and do missions work, but now, without an income and a way to get myself to the locations to serve, it is a real challenge to help others. It is forcing me to focus more on myself.

12. What do you enjoy most in your post-brain-injury life?no-noise-1

I do enjoy the solace in that I cannot tolerate noise, etc. much anymore. I am finding ways to write like I used to, and I am finding more time to pray, which I do like.

13. What do you like least about your brain injury?

People don’t understand – I don’t look sick.

14. Has anything helped you to accept your brain injury?

I’ve been helped by prayer and focusing on those who love me unconditionally. Baby steps forward bring joy as well.

15. Has your injury affected your home life and relationships and, if so, how?

The house is more organized and cleaner (LOL). I have made a new friend through needing a driver to take me to therapy sessions. She is a real gem.

16. Has your social life been altered or changed and, if so, how?

My social life is near nil. I can’t get to the places I used to go to.

17. Who is your main caregiver? Do you understand what it takes to be a caregiver?

I do most things for myself, but the financial burden is all on my husband. I would rather it be 50:50 like it used to be.

18. What are your plans? What do you expect/hope to be doing ten years from now?

I hope to be able to travel again. I am beginning to work on my physical healing, including walking more, etc. I have put on weight and need to get back in shape. I also see myself being with my grandchildren more. I hope to be able to drive to local places and get out more with them and others I care about. I am beginning to blog, and I’m hoping that takes off and helps others. Perhaps I will publish another book one day. (I had a book coming out when the accident happened under a pen name – Phoebe Siylor; the book – Molding Sharon.)

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 survivors with your specific kind of brain injury.

Pamela Ann Taylor & dog

Pamela Ann Taylor – Brain Injury Survivor

I would tell you to be an advocate for yourself or your loved one. Seek out what you need. It does not seem as if those in the medical field know what to do. I should have stayed at the hospital and not gone home. Also, I should have been told about therapy and not had to find it on my own. Seek, and you will find some answers. It is a process, and it takes time. Be patient, and keep moving forward.

20. What advice would you offer to other brain-injury survivors? Do you have any other comments that you would like to add?

Find a therapist who knows how to help you. If he or she does not seem to be the right fit, move on. When people comment things, like how long do you expect me to support you in the system, remember that you paid into that system, and it is your right to get help if you need it. Don’t let them kick you down – rise up and be strong. It is hard, but you can do it. Pray – connect with a church and with God – He will always love you unconditionally. I fall back on Him a LOT.

 

HUGZ

You can learn more about Pamela Ann Taylor on her blog. Pamela Ann Taylor Blog.

 

If you would like to be a part of the SPEAK OUT! project, please go to TBI SPEAK OUT! Survivors Interview Questionnaire for a copy of the questions and the release form.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

As I say after each post: Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment”anim0014-1_e0-1 below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the upper right sidebar.

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Survivors SPEAK OUT!

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Survivors SPEAK OUT! Paul McMahon

Survivors SPEAK OUT! Paul McMahon

presented 

by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

 

Paul McMahon 1 082817

Paul McMahon – Brain Injury Survivor from Down Under

1. What is your name? (last name optional)

Paul McMahon

2. Where do you live? (city and/or state and/or country) Email (optional)

Sydney, Australia

3. On what date did you have your brain injury? At what age?

I was 28 years old.

4. How did your brain injury occur?

At my birthday party, I fell 3 1/2 floors – off a building onto concrete.

5. When did you (or someone) first realize you had a problem?

The moment it occurred

6. What kind of emergency treatment, if any, did you have?

I had surgeries for my physical condition. I have had no assistance with brain injury.

7. Were you in a coma? If so, how long?

Yes. Three days, I believe

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 was in rehabilitation during my first three months at hospital and then a required three months following my exit. It was six months in total, but I now realise that it should have gone for longer. Part of that was my own fault – by passing the neurological test at the minimum six-month recovery point (Australia). I should have waited longer – to realise the challenges I could face. I needed more time to think of how my second stage of recovery would take place.

9. What problems or disabilities, if any, resulted from your brain injury
(e.g., balance, perception, personality, etc.)?

Paul McMahon 2 082817

Paul McMahon- Brain Injury Survivor from Down Under

I have problems with short-term memory and especially with attention to detail. Attention to detail in quick moments was a great challenge. I work in communications/policy, and so this is certainly a working issue that can’t be avoided. Also, my aura was different, and I could not connect with people as I once did. This emotional issue lasted about three years.

10. How has your life changed? Is it better? Is it worse?

It’s different. I have learnt so much. I have fewer friends, but I knew my intelligence was not taken by the accident. I started a Master’s degree and wrote my book. I am editing now.

11. What do you miss the most from your pre-brain-injury life?

I miss people’s lack of judgement about me. People assume they are helping by telling you what is wrong with you. That is 100%, and it is an instigator for suicide, as you feel no one understands, but tells you how to react. The loss of their lack of judgement is my deepest pain from the brain injury.

12. What do you enjoy most in your post-brain-injury life?

I have learned to be more compassionate. I have a deeper understanding of mental health and realise that I couldn’t understand depression or other illnesses in the same way previously.

13. What do you like least about your brain injury?

I dislike the way people handle my judgement – when you assume you are right, but others judge a situation with no thought of your opinion. It hurts and is damaging psychologically and, at times, in your economic life at work.

14. Has anything helped you to accept your brain injury?

Man Writing BookYes – writing. My book was my therapy. It is safe to say that, if I sell zero books and have zero readers, I will still be happy, as I believe writing helped me heal faster.

15. Has your injury affected your home life and relationships and, if so, how?

Yes. Many friends just ignore me or keep away to feel self-security. I guess the upcoming book tells the rest of the story.

16. Has your social life been altered or changed and, if so, how?

Yes! I felt very anti-social. While I would attempt a little, I needed people to be more open and accepting of my changes. I felt this was a lonely journey, so I took that avenue – different from my old caring self.

17. Who is your main caregiver? Do you understand what it takes to be a caregiver?

I don’t have one.

18. What are your plans? What do you expect/hope to be doing ten years from now?

I will finish the book, earn a Master’s Degree, and be as different as I always am. I’ll be economically safe and live the full experiences of this world.

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 survivors with your specific kind of brain injury.

From the beginning, I felt my brain injury was temporary, so all I can say is to KEEP GOING and DON’T GIVE UP! I learnt that when the accident occurred. I would also say to FOLLOW YOUR PASSIONS. Don’t do only what a therapist tells you – you know you better than any external you-decider.

20. What advice would you offer to other brain-injury survivors? Do you have any other comments that you would like to add?

Paul McMahon & Camel 082817

Paul McMahon – Brain Injury Survivor and Camel

Remember that your passion to follow your dreams may have been limited due to the accident. That does not mean STOP! It means you continue to train your brain in what you love and hold dear. Listen to you!

 

You can learn more about Paul McMahon on his Facebook site (https://www.facebook.com/paulmcmahonauthor/).

 

If you would like to be a part of the SPEAK OUT! project, please go to TBI SPEAK OUT! Survivors Interview Questionnaire for a copy of the questions and the release form.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

As I say after each post: Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment”anim0014-1_e0-1 below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the upper right sidebar.

If you like my blog, share it with your friends. It’s easy! Click the “Share” buttons below.

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it with your enemies. I don’t care!

Feel free to “Like” my post.

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Survivors SPEAK OUT!

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