By Ian Hebeisen My mom recently described what she called “a ripple effect” resulting from her traumatic brain injury. Upon sustaining the TBI, it began affecting her life in ripples, starting at home and spreading outward. It affected life with her family and friends, then work, and so on. “It ...
Read moreBy Ian Hebeisen My mom first sustained her traumatic brain injury over seven years ago, leading to frequent fatigue. She’d come home from work and flop down into a chair, trying to regain enough energy to get through dinner. Our family struggled to understand at first – she’d been fine ...
Read moreby Anne Adkinson The term “caregiver” in the brain injury community can be complex and varied. Unpaid family and friend caregivers can be a key to recovery and living well for survivors of head injury. However, calling yourself a “caregiver” when referring to care provided for someone we love who ...
Read moreBy Ian Hebeisen Over seven years ago, my mom received a traumatic brain injury from a car accident. As a result, she sustained nerve damage that often leads to painful contortions in her arms and legs. At first, we couldn’t tell what would set off her arm spasms, but as ...
Read moreby James Heuer A traumatic brain injury affects not only the person suffering from it, but their entire family and friends. Typically, a caregiver can be a spouse, child, relative, or close friend. Stressing the importance of seeking support services for the caregiver themselves is vital. Caring for someone with ...
Read moreBy Ian Hebeisen During my junior year of high school, my dad picked me up after I finished play rehearsal. These car rides home became commonplace, except for one day in particular. I hopped into my dad’s van, and he started our usual car-ride conversation with the phrase, “Now, don’t ...
Read moreBy Tyler Bouwens I hadn’t ever conceived being a caregiver would be part of my story until a reckless and likely intoxicated driver hit my wife, Sophia in March of 2015. She spent a month in the hospital recuperating from a diffuse axonal traumatic brain injury, a broken shin bone, ...
Read moreBy Dr. Emily Reilly, DHSC., M.S. OTR/L, Founder/CEO Purposefully Home Family members, primarily spouses, often adjust their roles and routines to take on caregiver responsibilities. The onset and progression of cognitive decline among loved ones brings unexpected dynamics within a relationship to maintain typical patterns. Small modifications may go unnoticed, ...
Read moreBy Ian Hebeisen My mom never considered herself a morning person. I inherited her night-owl nature, and often the two of us will stay awake after everybody else in the house is asleep. She’ll work on a puzzle; I’ll work on a project of my own. My evenings serve as ...
Read moreBy Ellen Fortini Early one morning in November 2010, Aimee Osgood went to get her children up for school when she slipped on her bedroom floor. As she landed, a screw on her bedframe sliced her arm wide open. She had been experiencing imbalance, but it was the severity of ...
Read moreby Amy Zellmer, Editor-in-chief It’s hard to believe we are already quickly approaching winter. The leaves have fallen, there is a chill in the air, and – depending on where you live — you may already have experienced your first dusting of snow. With changing seasons comes holidays, family gatherings, and other situations that may […]
By JoAnne Silver Jones with Hilary Jacobs Hendel One and a half million people in the United States suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. Attention tends to focus on regaining physical health and brain recovery to the extent possible, including speech, mobility, sight, hearing, and often emotional lability. Having lived with a TBI […]
By Michael Hennes DC, DACNB Our brains thrive on assimilating new information and figuring out what to do next. In fact, the brain’s job is to sift through all of the information we get in a moment and make a decision. Some of these decisions we’re aware of; we think about making them. Is this […]
by James A. Heuer, PA One of the most crucial devices in life, communication is by definition “the capacity to exchange or discuss ideas, to dialogue, to converse with the aim of understanding between different parties.” The importance of it is engraved in day to day work, education, relationships, conversations, and leisure activities. It is […]
By Lynn Garthwaite 9-3-09. 1507 hours: “4828! Officer down!”. Chuck Gollop didn’t hear those words. It was the voice of his partner speaking to the dispatcher, requesting an ambulance and back-up as Sergeant Gollop laid unconscious on the pavement, partially underneath his police-issued motorcycle. “This was truly the day that changed my life more than […]
By Kristen Brown Communication can get challenging when our energy is off. Pulling together a thought, composing an email or text, managing your body language and facial expressions – they can all send the wrong message if we are stressed, burnt out, injured, ill, or simply overworked. One powerful crystal can help you communicate more […]
By Ian Hebeisen Traumatic Brain Injuries can occur in an instant. For some, it strikes at home from a fall, while others sustain a TBI from a sporting related accident. For Melissa Meszaros, it happened on the way to a Judas Priest concert. A tenured entertainment industry publicist, creator of the comic book publicity firm […]
By Amy Zellmer, Editor-in-chief Essential oils are a complementary tool that can help you achieve a healthy lifestyle. They are easy to use, smell great, and have a variety of uses. All oils are not created equal. I personally only trust the Young Living brand because I know they have complete control over their product […]
By Kelly Harrigan Traumatic brain injuries profoundly affect an individual’s ability to perform many cognitive skills, particularly those relating to emotional lability, attention, planning, judgment, and decision making. It is difficult for an affected individual to comprehend these difficulties, and hard for caregivers and loved ones to accept that a person’s cognition fundamentally changed. Frustration, […]
