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Life Lessons Learned From TBI: #BLACKLIVESMATTER

Life Lessons Learned From TBI

in Life Lessons
July 20, 2020
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Life Lessons Learned From TBI: #BLACKLIVESMATTER

by Amy Zellmer, Editor-in-chief

The past few months have been a roller coaster of emotions for many of us.

The United States began to shut down on my birthday while I was still vacationing in South Carolina. My drive home was surreal, to say the least.

As we began to understand that self-isolation was about to have a whole new meaning, we turned to technology to help us stay connected.

Just as we were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and restrictions were starting to slowly lift, we were plunged down the roller coaster hill yet again, this time by the death of a black man named George Floyd.

This one hit me hard. Minneapolis is my home — born and raised.

Systemic racism is affecting all of us, whether we realize it or not. I see it in the brain injury community — people of color are less likely to be listened to and get treatment for their injuries.

Minorities under the age of 65 and 25 are dying at 2x and 5x the rate of similar aged white folks, respectively.

Dr. Mark Heisig wrote in an Instagram post, “With overwhelming margins like that, it cannot be blamed on choice, behaviors, or factors within individual control. In America, your culture and environment are largely handed to you by birth. Same country, different skin color, different world.”

The moral of the story: We need to do better. We need to acknowledge this glaring gap in the healthcare of our fellow people of color. We need to lift each other up, and help one another get the resources and care they deserve. The color of our skin should not have any bearing on the treatment we receive from the healthcare system. #blacklivesmatter

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In 2017, Arizona was 56.4% White, 31% Hispanic/Latino, 4.7% Black/African American, 4.2% American Indian/Alaska Native, and 3.6% Asian/Pacific Islander. Roughly 58% of Arizona's population under the age of 25yo is "minority," while about 81% (8 of 10 people) older than 65yo are white. . . [Pictures 2-3] When looking at healthcare trends between white people and minority populations, there are vast differences in healthcare scores and outcomes. Approximately 6.6% of the minority population in Arizona never sees the age of 25, while this death rate is only 1.3% in our white population. Approximately 37.8% of minorities in Arizona never see the age of 65, while this death rate is only 19.6% in our white population. Is that just chance? . . [Pictures 4-9] Let's look at "health scores" of the AZ white population compared to minority populations. Us white folks tend to have 60% of the "better" factors and only 20% of the "worse" factors. Black and African Americans in Arizona have 9% of the "better" factors and a whopping 80% of the "worse" factors. . . With overwhelming margins like that – it cannot be blamed on choice, behaviors, or factors within individual control. Choices and behaviors are largely influenced by opportunity supplied by the culture and environment. In America, your culture and environment are largely handed to you by birth. Same country, same state – different skin color? Different world. . . These are margins that quite blatantly wave flags that say, "Hey! Something is not right for these minority populations. There must be a systemic error! Light-skinned Asians and non-Hispanic Whites are doing fine while darker-skinned minorities are not – what the f*** gives?!" . . While the last two paragraphs are not unarguable statistics, the carousel above contains hard facts. These numbers are not opinions. These are numbers are Arizona public health data. We need to do better. We need to listen better. We need to vote better. We need to embody the American vision of "liberty and justice for all." . . Black lives matter ♥️

A post shared by Dr. Mark Heisig (@drmarkheisig) on Jun 4, 2020 at 1:12pm PDT

 

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  • Neuro fatigue is beyond tired, it’s when you’re brain says “I’ve had enough” and shuts down everything. It often a sneaks up on you when you least expect it, making it hard to manage. 

If you’ve never experienced it, it’s truly hard to understand. But please believe us when we tell you we’re done and need to rest. And that rest may look different for everyone. Some may need a nap. Some may just need a quiet space. There’s no right or wrong way to rest. 

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  • A traumatic brain injury is the ultimate “invisible injury” as no one can see what’s happening inside your brain. Even imaging doesn’t show a TBI (unless you have bleeding or severe trauma). It’s impossible to explain to others, and even doctors don’t take us seriously or know how to help us. 

It is incredibly frustrating to go through life being told “there’s nothing we can do. You’ll just have to give it more time and see what happens” and even more frustrating when you find out that there are doctors out there who truly DO know how to help us!  Like @integratedbraincenters 

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  • I remember how I would literally need to lay down after taking a shower because it was so exhausting. And something like going to the grocery store and bringing them in and putting them away would require me to do nothing else for the rest of the day. It was a one-chore kind of activity. 

These are normal, every day things we take for granted before brain injury, and afterwards they require soooo much energy and effort. It’s truly hard for someone who hasn’t experienced a brain injury to understand. 💚

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  • You totally got this!! 
Is it gonna be easy? Nope. 
Is it gonna be worth it? Absolutely! 

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  • The Chair Yoga Pocket Guide is trending on Kickstarter! We’re over half-way to our goal! Can you help us get there by pre-ordering an autographed copy of the book?? 

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  • I remember folks would talk to me and my brain would take forever to process what they were saying. They would be into the next subject and I’d still be trying to decipher their first sentence. It was frustrating and exhausting. 

Friends would tell me to “try harder” and concentrate. But that’s not how it works with brain injury. 

It’s like if you drop your laptop and scramble it’s processor. 

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  • #Repost @integratedbraincenters
Recovery as defined in the dictionary is a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength. 

Missing from this definition is that recovery is a continuum. We often hear in recovery post surgery that a patient is a percent recovered (Sue is 80% recovered post hip replacement) demonstrating that recovery is not an all or nothing situation but is rather a spectrum. 

Not everyone will make a 100% recovery but most people can move forward in their recovery in some way, even if it is only 10% or 70%. 

To say that recovery is not possible in any capacity is probably untrue. The more severe the injury the more likely you will never be the same person you were prior, but that does not mean that you can’t get back to doing the things you love and contribute to your family and community.

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  • No two brain injuries are the same, therefore, no two recoveries are the same. Don’t compare yours against someone else’s, as you never know what they’ve already gone through. 

Focus on YOU and your recovery. What could you try differently? What should you maybe give up? I personally gave up alcohol and gluten and that was huge for me and my inflammation. 

#braininjury #concussion #tbi #pcs #neuroplasticity #functionalneurology #funcneuro #neuronerd
  • I know one of the biggest lessons I had to learn from my TBI was asking for help. 

It wasn’t something I was used to, and the first few friends I asked laughed at me, which made it even harder to try again. 

But it was a beautiful lesson for me — as someone who is fiercely independent it is important to ask for help when I need it it — in allll areas of my life. 

What was your biggest lesson from TBI? 

#braininjury #concussion #tbi #pcs #braininjuryawareness

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