Traumatic Brain Injury | Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury

TBI – Survivors, Caregivers, Family, and Friends

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Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . Abi

Survivors SPEAK OUT! Abi

presented

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Abi – brain injury survivor

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

Abi

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

Columbia City, Indiana, USA

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

I had my TBI (traumatic brain injury) at age 20.

4. How did your brain injury occur?

I was hit by a freight train in a suicide attempt.

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

I knew I had a problem when I started speaking, as my voice pitch changed quite a bit. Also, when I was asked to remember things from the day before, I had trouble doing so.

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

I was taken to a hospital right away. In addition to the problems noted above, I also had a messed up back and an amputated right arm, so those were tended to right away. I was also immediately given stitches to close up a wound on my head.

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

I don’t think I was in a coma, but I don’t recall very well the two days after my incident.

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 occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy both as an inpatient and as an outpatient. I was in the rehab inpatient therapy for at least six weeks. I was in outpatient therapy even longer, but the outpatient therapy focused more on my missing arm. I also had in-home therapy.

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

I have poor balance and slurred speech. I experience personality changes.

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

I believe my life has changed for the better, as I’ve met so many who are worse off than me.

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

I miss nothing from my pre-brain-injury life, as my personality changed for the good. But I do miss people understanding me.

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

Abi – brain injury survivor

I like to meet others with a TBI and other disabilities.

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

I dislike my slurred speech and sounding different than I used to.

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

Yeah – meeting those worse off

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

I’m much better, as I’m more social.

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

Yeah. I went from being deathly shy to a social butterfly.

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

My mother is my main caregiver. Yeah, I do understand what it takes. It’s hard work.

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

I plan to have a family and to be a counselor helping suicidal people.

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.

Don’t give up. Don't Give Up

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

My advice is Don’t give up, and be you.
(Disclaimer: The views or opinions in this post are solely that of the interviewee.)

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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(Photos compliments of contributor.)

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Survivors SPEAK OUT!

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On the Air: . . . . . . . . . . . . “Another Fork in the Road” Guests: Joel (caregiver) and Bart (survivor) Goldstein . . . . . . . . . . Topic: Father and Son Tackle Brain Injury

On the Air: “Another Fork in the Road”

Guests: Joel (caregiver) and Bart (survivor) Goldstein

Topic: Father and Son Tackle Brain Injury

presented

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

images-1 What better day than Father’s Day to meet, father and son, Joel and Bart Goldstein! Joel has been fighting and advocating for his son, Bart, ever since Bart was in a motor vehicle accident when he was sixteen-years-old. That accident caused Bart’s brain injury.

Joel Goldstein – caregiver & author of “No Stone Unturned”

Joel is the author of “No Stone Unturned: A Father’s Memoir of His Son’s Encounter with Traumatic Brain Injury.” Both Joel and Bart shared their ups and downs as they continue to traverse the maze of brain injury.

Bart Goldstein – brain injury survivor

Both father and son offered some good information about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), Omega-3 vitamins, cranial sacral therapy, and Reiki, an Eastern practice used for healing.

03 Joel and Bart Newspaper

You can learn more about Joel and Bart on Facebook at NS Unturned and at brainline.org. Read his article, “When the Dust Finally Settles: Strategies for the Long-Term Caregiver.”

“No Stone Unturned” by Joel Goldstein

See you “On the Air!”

On the Air: “Another Fork in the Road”

Guests: Joel (caregiver) and Bart (survivor) Goldstein

Topic: Father and Son Tackle Brain Injury

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of guests.)

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

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

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On the Air!

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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 SPEAK OUT! Itty-Bitty Giant Steps will provide a venue for brain-injury survivors and caregivers to shout out their accomplishments of the week.

If you have an Itty-Bitty Giant Step and you would like to share it, just send an email to me at neelyf@aol.com.

If you are on Facebook, you can simply send a Private Message to me. It need only be a sentence or two. I’ll gather the accomplishments and post them with your name on my blog approximately once a week. (If you do not want your last name to be posted, please tell me in your email or Private Message.)

I hope we have millions of Itty-Bitty Giant Steps.

Here is this week’s Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

Sherrie Crusha son

Sherrie Crusha – Survivor

Sherrie Crusha (survivor)…My biggest accomplishment is raising a young man who will be a Marine in a few days. 🙂

Rayne Patterson (survivor)…In early April, I graduated high school at age 30.

YOU did it!

Congratulations to contributors!

As I say after each post:

Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

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

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

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

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(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photo compliments of contributors.)

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Itty-Bitty GIANT Step

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Caregivers SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . Joel Goldstein

Caregivers SPEAK OUT! Joel Goldstein,

(father of survivor, Bart Goldstein, and author of “No Stone Unturned”)

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Joel Goldstein – Caregiver of son, Bart & author of “No Stone Unturned”

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

Joel Goldstein

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

New Paltz, New York, USA

3. What is the brain-injury survivor’s relationship to you? How old was the survivor when he/she had the brain injury? What caused your survivor’s brain injury?

Our son Bart was sixteen when he suffered a severe TBI (traumatic brain injury). He was a passenger in an auto accident.

4. On what date did you begin care for your brain-injury survivor? Were you the main caregiver? Are you now? How old were you when you began care?

I became Bart’s caregiver on January 29, 2001, the day of his accident. My wife, Dayle, and I were and remain Bart’s main caregivers. We remain involved in Bart’s life, but he has now progressed to semi-independence. He resides in his own apartment an hour and half away. We visit and break bread with him every Sunday and on holidays. We participate actively with his “team,” made up of a Benefit Coordinator (a certified specialist or a social worker who is an advocate for the survivor, a CIC (Community Integration Counseling) counselor, and an ILS (Independent Life Skills) trainer.

5. Were you caring for anyone else at that time (e.g., children, parents, etc.)?

My wife and I were responsible for our eleven-year-old daughter, Cassidy.

6. Were you employed at the time of your survivor’s brain injury? If so, were you able to continue working?

I was Director of Human Resources at a medium-sized company. I was lucky enough to be able to take whatever time was needed to care for Bart, especially while he was in the acute phase. My wife, Dayle, worked at home as a Reiki Master. She stopped most work to care for Bart.

Joel Goldstein – Caregiver for Survivor son, Bart

7. Did you have any help? If so, what kind and for how long?

Friends and family helped look after our daughter while Bart was an inpatient (four months). Close friends and a wider “conspiracy of decency” in our community helped for several years, post-injury. Here is a short YouTube video, “No Stone Unturned: Traumatic Brain Injury and the Conspiracy of Decency,” that addresses that issue:

8. When did your support of the survivor begin (e.g., immediately – in the hospital; when the survivor returned home; etc.)?

My and my wife’s support began immediately in the hospital.

9. Was your survivor in a coma? If so, what did you do during that time?

Yes. Bart was in a coma for 30 days. Dayle and I were at his bedside.

10. Did your survivor have rehab? If so, what kind of rehab (i.e., inpatient and/or outpatient and occupational, physical, speech, and/or other)? How long was the rehab? Where were you when your survivor was getting therapy?

Bart had all the standard therapies, plus many unconventional ones. Here is an article, “Fighting the “TBI Wars”: New Alternatives for TBI Survivors,”published by Brainline, that addresses this question succinctly:

11. What problems or disabilities of your brain-injury survivor required your care, if any?

Joel Goldstein (caregiver) and son, Bart – brain injury survivor

Bart’s injury was very severe – 30-day coma, nine-month rehab, and then years at home reintegrating. He struggled with the full gamut of intellectual, physical, and emotional deficits that come with a severe TBI. Gradually, with time and alternative therapies, these struggles have eased very considerably. Today Bart lives semi-independently, in his own place, with a part-time job, and with new fiends. He is moving on with his life.

12. How has your life changed since you became a caregiver? Is it better? Is it worse?

Our focus for over a decade was almost entirely Bart-centric. Pastimes were eliminated (e.g., Taekwondo) and volunteer activities were diminished. (I was president of our local branch Y at the time of his accident, but I resigned shortly after.) People we were accustomed to seeing regularly (especially Bart’s friends and their families) dropped away. We were angry about the friends moving on with their lives, but eventually we forgave and moved on too. Life is both better and worse, in different respects.

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

I miss old hobbies, sports, travel, and activities that have been shelved in order to be more focused on essentials.

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

My life is more simplified and focused. I have a new sense of mission and compassion. We have founded the BART Foundation (Brain Alternative Rehabilitative Therapies) – a 501(c)(3).

15. What do you like least about brain injury?

I dislike the timeline – Bart’s recovery from his TBI will be a lifelong challenge. Some issues, like perseveration, are terribly stubborn.

16. Has anything helped you to accept your survivor’s brain injury?

Bart Goldstein – Survivor with Father, Joel Goldstein (author of “No Stone Unturned”)

I have been helped by the usual suspects: faith, hope, love, humor, music, family, friends, and fun.

17. Has your survivor’s injury affected your home life and relationships and, if so, how?

We’re all walking-wounded in some ways – reminiscent of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

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

The caregiving life can often be isolating.

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

We have formed the BART Foundation (Brain Injury Rehabilitative Therapies), a 501(c)(3) educational charity. The mission of The BART Foundation is to promote better outcomes for brain-injury survivors by answering three questions – which alternative therapies are likely to work, where can they be found, and how can they be afforded?

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

Our best advice to caregivers is succinctly summarized in this article. “When the Dust Finally Settles: Strategies for the Long-Term Caregiver,” published by Brainline.

“No Stone Unturned: A Father’s Memoir of His Son’s Encounter with Traumatic Brain Injury,” by Joel Goldstein

To learn more about Joel Goldstein and his son, Bart, read, “No Stone Unturned – A Father’s Memoir of His Son’s Encounter with Traumatic Brain Injury.”

(Disclaimer: The views or opinions in this post are solely that of the interviewee.)

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

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of contributor.)

As I say after each post: Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” 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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Caregivers SPEAK OUT!

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Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . Bart Goldstein

Survivors SPEAK OUT! Bart Goldstein

presented

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Bart Goldstein – Survivor

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

Bart Goldstein

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

Delmar, New York, USA

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

My brain injury happened on December 29, 2001. I was almost 17.

4. How did your brain injury occur?

I was riding with friends in an auto, and we had an accident. I was in the back seat. We were just teenagers clowning around. There were no drugs or alcohol.

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

I was in a coma after the accident.

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

I was airlifted to emergency surgery. Later I was given a trache and a G-peg (feeding tube inserted directly into the stomach by percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy).

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

Yes. I was in a coma for a month.

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?

Bart Goldstein – Survivor

I had speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy as an inpatient for three months at Helen Hayes Hospital. Then I had five more months of therapy as an outpatient at the hospital.

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

I have problems with walking, my speaking sensibly, control of anger, partial blindness, and memory.

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

I am much more of a planner now than I was prior to accident. An article, “The Journey Back,” from Brain Injury Awareness Month a couple of years ago answers this question and most of the others: http://spotlightnews.com/uncategorized/2014/03/20/journey-back/

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

See the Spotlight article (address given in the answer to the question 10).

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

See the Spotlight article (address given in the answer to the question 10).

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

See the Spotlight article (address given in the answer to the question 10).

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

I’ve been helped by my Christian faith, my parents, and my sense of humor.

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

See the Spotlight article (address given in the answer to the question 10).

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

See the Spotlight article (address given in the answer to the question 10).

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

My folks are my main caregivers. Caregiving takes a lot of love and more.

Bart Goldstein – Survivor with Father, Joel Goldstein (author of “No Stone Unturned”)

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

I hope to continue to heal and to find a good woman and settle down.

Learn patience. It’s a long haul.

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

Keep your faith and your sense of humor. Try alternative therapies.

(Disclaimer: The views or opinions in this post are solely that of the interviewee.)

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.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of contributor.)

As I say after each post:

Feel free to leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

Please follow my blog. Click on “Follow Me Via eMail” on the right sidebar of your screen.

If you like my blog, click the “Like” button under this post.

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

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it intact with your enemies. That works for me too!

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Survivors SPEAK OUT!

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On the Air: . . . . . . . . . . . . “Another Fork in the Road” Panel: Cognitive & Memory Deficits After Brain Injury

On the Air: “Another Fork in the Road”

Panel: Lisabeth Mackall and GeorgeAnna Bell

Cognitive & Memory Deficits After Brain Injury

presented

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

images-1 Memory loss and cognitive deficits are both prevalent for many survivors after brain injury. Memory loss literally leaves many folks feeling a loss of control over their lives. Cognitive deficits can leave one feeling less than whole.

Lisabeth Mackall – Caregiver, Author, Speech Therapist

My panel, caregiver, Lisabeth Mackall and survivor, GeorgeAnna Bell joined me to discuss how memory loss and cognitive deficits affect them personally and how the deficits hinder their family dynamics. They offered suggestions that have worked for them.

Click on the link below to listen to the show.

GeorgeAnna Bell – Survivor

See you “On the Air!”

On the Air: “Another Fork in the Road”

Cognitive & Memory Deficits After Brain Injury

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of panelists.)

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

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

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

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

Feel free to “Like” my post.

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On the Air!

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Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . Ina M. Dutkiewicz

Survivors SPEAK OUT! Ina M. Dutkiewicz

presented

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Ina M. Dutkiewicz – Survivor

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

Ina M. Dutkiewicz, pronounced “Ena”

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

Milford, Michigan, USA inadutkiewicz@gmail.com

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

I had my brain injury on February 3, 2010. I was 43 years old.

4. How did your brain injury occur?

While driving to work, I slid through a stop sign because of black ice. I was hit by a pickup truck.

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

I was immediately put into a coma.

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

I was in the Neuro-Intensive Care Unit for three weeks. A feeding tube was in my belly, and an incision was made in my forehead (to relieve the pressure on my brain from bleeding, I think).

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

Yes. I was in a coma for a total of four and a half weeks. My coma was not medically induced.

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 started inpatient rehab for six weeks at a head injury place where I had to live (Origami in Mason, Michigan). Then I was able to transition to outpatient rehab. I still have to return daily for therapies and doctor appointments. I have done physical therapy, occupational, speech, and language therapies, driving therapy, and vocational therapy

How long were you in rehab?

I did rehab for a total of five years. I still do counseling every other week.

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

I have gait issues, memory problems, and word-finding difficulty. My personality changed. (I’m more docile – easy going – now.) My pelvis was broken on both sides from my seat belt, which means I have daily pelvis/hip pain. I have also had a headache every day since my car accident. Some days, they’re only pressure; others, pounding.

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

My life has changed 100%. My husband divorced me a year after my car accident, so now I live with my mom. I do not work. I am on disability, which is barely enough to live on.

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

I miss my friends.

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

I like that I am more laid back and not as serious.

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

I dislike that I feel lost some days. I’m not working, and I don’t have anything worthy to put my hand to. My kids are now grown and living on their own. They have their own families. Also, my ex-husband has moved on to a girlfriend. It’s like I was left behind. 😦

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

My Christian faith has been a HUGE help to me.

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

I have no friends from my past (pre-TBI) life. It is sad.

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

My life has totally changed. I now spend my days with my mom – going to things she enjoys at the Senior Center. I am not really with people my age. While I enjoy the time with her, I long for age-appropriate friends.

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

My mom is my main caregiver. Yes, I realize how my TBI has changed her life. I know that she has had to give up things to support me.

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

I really would like to get a part-time job in the future. My experience is with office work. I was an Executive Assistant before my car accident, helping with payroll and AP/AR (accounts payable/accounts receivable) on top of taking care of all correspondence that left the car dealership I worked at.

Ina M. Dutkiewicz – Survivor

I19. 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.

My helpful hint is that it is okay to be different. In a lot of cases, brain injury truly is an invisible disability. In outward appearance, we look “normal” (whatever that is). That means that we can easily blend in, but oftentimes it is hard to keep up. We need to find our own group of people to hang out with who understand where we are coming from and what we deal with on a daily basis. A support-group is a good place to start.

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

Don’t give up on yourself. Others can turn away and leave you, but your strength comes from you – no one can ever take that away from you. AND, you can rely on yourself to struggle through your low days and celebrate your victories!

(Disclaimer: The views or opinions in this post are solely that of the interviewee.)

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.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of contributor.)

As I say after each post:

Feel free to leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

Please follow my blog. Click on “Follow Me Via eMail” on the right sidebar of your screen.

If you like my blog, click the “Like” button under this post.

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

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it intact with your enemies. That works for me too!

Category:

Survivors SPEAK OUT!

Tagged with:

SPEAK OUT! Guest Blogger . . . GeorgeAnna Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . How My Brain Injury Affected My Life

How My Brain Injury Affected My Life

GeorgeAnna L. Bell

presented

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Girl Blogger cartoon_picture_of_girl_writing I was diagnosed as being moody at nine years old. I still have that diagnosis to this very day: “mood disorder due to brain injury.” I also have anxiety and panic attacks. I still have today most of the same problems I had back then, just in an expanded manner.

GeorgeAnna Bell – Survivor

I remember one thing that always frustrated me – Before my head injury, I was able to read, comprehend, and retain what I was reading. I remember having A to A+ grades and never getting into trouble. But, as soon as I had my head injury, I remember being hit a lot with a ruler by the nuns, being called “demon child,” not being able to read out loud, and having issue after issue trying to remember what we just learned or read five minutes ago and being told that I was lazy. (Oh, that one always got my goat.) I could not keep quiet or shut my mouth for more than five seconds, and I would speak out of turn. I could not sit still in my seat, and I was constantly moving around and around. These are some of the things I personally remember.

Kids_smiling_girl_cartwheel I know my parents wondered why I acted out, and they took me to multiple specialists during my youth. I was diagnosed with optic nerve damage, but no other problems resulting from my head injury were identified. Each doctor gave my parents the same answer: “There is no logical explanation as to why she is doing this now when she did not do it before the head injury.

I was extremely impulsive and still am to this day. In addition to the moodiness, this has been one of the hardest things for me to overcome. I experience emotions very quickly and intensely. As a child and into my teen years, I was very moody and got aggravated very quickly over the littlest things. I always felt anxious without exactly knowing why most of the time. It still happens to me to this very day. I will have an anxiety/panic attack, and I cannot explain why it happened. Recently, I went to a friend’s house, and I had to leave soon after I got there because I started to have an anxiety attack. I get anxious easily still today because I am so afraid people are going to make fun of me and tease me because I am different. I do not tend to keep friends very long because they tend to find something that is strange or I say something weird and they run from me.

I have absolutely no tolerance for change. I have no patience when it comes to waiting – I have to have everything NOW, NOW, NOW. I am always told I have indiscreet ways for making my feelings known to others. So many people take my statements out of context. I feel that I am acting appropriately, but others do not see me that way. When I change my way of saying something or going about something, I am told I am coming off as hostile or aggressive. I do not see it that way, nor do I mean it in that way either. I try to explain my head injury to others, but they tell me to shut up and act normal and stop giving excuses. Yet, it is not an excuse; it is the truth.

As a child, as a teenager, and even in my adult years, I lacked awareness of my own personal deficits. It was only about five years ago that I started to realize the things I do that cause these issues, and I personally have tried to change them.

I would verbally lash out, cry, become depressed, and literally throw temper tantrums. This went on into my early 30s. I realized that, if I do not change, I will never have anyone in my life because all I do is find a way to push everyone out of my life. It wasn’t until maybe a year ago that I started to try to change things on my own.

I have also tried to seek professional help, even going as far as intentionally getting myself diagnosed as being “severely mentally ill” just to get the help. But, nothing worked. Actually, getting that diagnosis set me back years.

I had NO assistance from the mental health system. They were actually making my problems worse. Now I try to address the fact that there is an issue, and I doggedly try to understand what the physical, emotional, and psychological effects are upon my daily day. I try to rectify those effects that I deem as a hindrance to my social well-being by forcing myself to change the way I interact with others. I started by intentionally going to bars, not to drink, but to interact with others so I could watch how people reacted to certain behaviors. Honestly, this was hard and long. I lost people from my life, but those people were not the people I truly wanted in my life anyway.

I have a problem keeping people in my life as a result of my inability to function properly in certain social situations. The majority of family and/or friends that choose to maintain their relationship with me either ignore or downplay any behaviors that I portray. Only a select few recognize and respond well when my behaviors are considered outside social normality. When people start to see the social abnormalities in my personality, most either ask what is wrong with me, why I am acting like a crazy person, or just never speak to me again by cutting me out of their lives. (Almost always, they cut me out little by little.)

During my teenage years and into my 20s and even 30s, I had depression on and off. It got better after I had a hysterectomy. When my behaviors started to level out a lot, I was able to control myself better and move past other issues by actually learning not to do this or that.

GeorgeAnna Bell’s Service Dog, Amber

Within the last year, I have found one of the best outlets to cope with the changes in my behavior. I now fall back on crocheting. I make things for others who are in need of certain things more than I. For years, I would fall back a lot on my dogs and my boyfriend. Honestly, one of the dogs – my service dog, Amber – helped me break free from my isolation. The attention that people placed on her made me break free of the isolation I had restricted myself to. I interacted with people just by talking. I learned how to cope with my anxiety and my expression around other people.

Thank you, GeorgeAnna Bell.

Disclaimer:
Any views and opinions of the Guest Blogger are purely his/her own.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of GeorgeAnna Bell.)

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Guest Bloggers

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On The Air: . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Another Fork in the Road:” . . . . Substitute Hosts, Lisa Dryer & Cam Compton – M.S. Meets Stroke

On The Air: “Another Fork in the Road:” with substitute hosts, Lisa Dryer & Cam Compton “M.S. Meets Stroke”

presented

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

images-1

Brain Injury Radio Network (BIRN) hosts, Lisa Dryer of “Mess with M.S.” (Multiple Sclerosis) and Cam Compton of “Cam’s Corner” step up to the mic on “Another Fork in the Road” while I, (Donna O’Donnell Figurski) traveled to Michigan for my nephew’s wedding. Party Time!

Lisa and Cam discussed the similarities and differences of each of their brain injuries and how they approach life from slightly different angles. Both hosts emphasized how each brain injury is different and how each survivor responds to the difficulties presented to him or her.

Lisa Dryer – Survivor – Host of “Mess with M.S.”

Cam Compton – Survivor – Host of “Cam’s Corner”

See you “On the Air!”

On The Air: “Another Fork in the Road:” with substitute hosts, Lisa Dryer & Cam Compton “M.S. Meets Stroke”

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

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

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

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

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

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On the Air!

Tagged with:

On The Air: . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Another Fork in the Road:” . . . . Panel: Behavioral & Emotional Problems After Brain Injury

On The Air: Brain Injury Radio “Another Fork in the Road”

Panel: Behavioral & Emotional Problems After Brain Injury with

Lisa Dryer and GeorgeAnna Bell

presented

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

images-1 One of the most difficult aftereffects of brain injury is losing oneself. Depending on the injury and which part of the brain is impacted determines the type of emotional and behavioral change in one’s personality. A person who was agreeable, complacent, reasonable, and calm before the injury may change drastically to one who is violent, depressive, or struggles with anger management. These effects are not easy for others to understand – BUT, have you thought about how difficult it must be for the survivor?

Lisa Dryer – Survivor & BIRN Host

My panel, M.S. (Multiple Sclerosis) survivor, Lisa Dryer, and brain injury survivor, GeorgeAnna Bell, will join me to discuss this sensitive topic.

GeorgeAnna Bell – Survivor

See you “On the Air!”

On The Air: Brain Injury Radio “Another Fork in the Road” Panel: Behavioral & Emotional Problems After Brain Injury

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

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

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

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

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On the Air!

Tagged with:

	donnaodonnellfigursk… on Smorgasbord Book Promotions…
	ME on Smorgasbord Book Promotions…
	petespringerauthor on Survivors SPEAK OUT! Rob …
	donnaodonnellfigursk… on Survivors SPEAK OUT! Mike…
	petespringerauthor on Survivors SPEAK OUT! Mike…

Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury

TBI – Survivors, Caregivers, Family, and Friends

Posts tagged ‘Traumatic Brain Injury’

Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . Abi

On the Air: . . . . . . . . . . . . “Another Fork in the Road” Guests: Joel (caregiver) and Bart (survivor) Goldstein . . . . . . . . . . Topic: Father and Son Tackle Brain Injury

SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

Caregivers SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . Joel Goldstein

Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . Bart Goldstein

On the Air: . . . . . . . . . . . . “Another Fork in the Road” Panel: Cognitive & Memory Deficits After Brain Injury

Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . Ina M. Dutkiewicz

SPEAK OUT! Guest Blogger . . . GeorgeAnna Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . How My Brain Injury Affected My Life

On The Air: . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Another Fork in the Road:” . . . . Substitute Hosts, Lisa Dryer & Cam Compton – M.S. Meets Stroke

On The Air: . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Another Fork in the Road:” . . . . Panel: Behavioral & Emotional Problems After Brain Injury

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