My Brain Injury - Article One

On May 13, 1997 at 4am in the morning I woke up and I was paralyzed on the right side of my body.  When I arrived at the hospital the doctors told me that I have suffered a stroke.   I was 40 years old at the time.  I soon learned that having a brain injury and living with a brain injury were very different.  

During the past 13 years the road to recovery has been filled with many hills and valleys and now it is time to share my experiences and give some answers to people who have brain injuries and the people who care for them.

The types of brain injuries are as varied as the people who have them.  Some brain injuries are in the form of strokes, sports injuries, car accidents or other traumas that cause our brains to become damaged.   The source of the brain injury is not as important as the similarities that exist in the recovery process. 

There is a book available called The Brain That Changes Itself by Dr. Norman Doidge which I read about a year ago.  This book has become a very important part of my recovery because there are case studies backed up with scientific research that convinces me that “science has  finally caught up with my brain injury”  I suggest to anyone who has a brain injury or the people who are caring for someone who has a brain injury to read this book.  Here is the link to Dr. Doidge’s book www.normandoidge.com .  In future columns there will be excerpts from Dr. Doidge’s book to provide recovery information that brain injured people can use in their recovery.

It is a scientific fact that listening to Mozart stimulates the brain.  Try It! and see if it makes a difference. 

Jean Oostrom lives in Springwater Township and suffered a brain injury 13 years ago and has created a website www.livingwithmynewbrain.com  where people with brain injuries and their caregivers can find answers.   Email me your story and questions at jean@livingwithmynewbrain.com

Our Soldiers and their Recovery from Brain Injuries

Today I can't stop thinking about our young men and women in our forces who are returning from combat with closed brain injuries and being labelled with PTSD.  The term PTSD can be used to simplify a condition or so that people understand  there are soldiers who are suffering and looking for answers.  We must start to talk about the brain and brain injuries.  People must be more open to discussion about brain injuries so that the road to recovery can be easier for the brain injured and their caregivers. 

My mission is to educate people and provide a forum where people can feel comfortable talking about their brain injury and know that anything they share is something I have already experienced. 

If you know of somebody who has served our country please ask them the write on my blog, visit my facebook page and read the information on my website.

http://www.livingwithmynewbrain.com/

I know that we need to start the conversation and see how the conversation can aide in recovery.

Why do you think brain injury survivors become their brain injuries?

When I first had my brain injury there were so many changes I was just trying to make sense of all that was happening.  As time went on and my questions were not answered I think the whole focus became the brain injury and finally everything that happened in my life was because of the brain injury when actually things were happening in spite of the brain injury.

I couldn't get anybody to listen to me and answer my questions so to get to where I am today I just had to rely on my instincts and every day get up and put my feet on the floor and keep on trying.

In the 13 years since my stroke I have learned that "I am not my brain injury" I am so much more than a little damage to my brain.  I have learned that people still don't want to talk about the brain injury, I still have a lot of questions, I still don't have all my memories back but all those things do not make me who I am. 

Who I am, a person who wakes up every day and tries to be thankful for what I have experienced and how I can share it with others.  It wasn't easy but it was worthwhile because I have learned so much about myself and others and hope that I will be able to continue to share my story so others can find strength in dealing with their own brain injuries and the brain injures of the people around them.

Finally to sum up the answer to the question above.  We become our brain injuries because we don't get answers that will help us deal with our brain injuries so without answers we fall into dealing with our brain injuries the best we know how and we live with our brain injuries so they become a big part of the decisions we make and how we live our lives.

Dr. Doidge and Brain Injuries

I just watched a great show on the Nature of Things about research and how technology is making breaking ground on the treatment of schizophrenia and other brain disorders.  It is amazing what research is being done so that people who live with brain injuries find out that there is advanced information out there. 

Here is the link to:

Changing Your Mind

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/natureofthings/2010/changingyourmind/

The Brain That Changes Itself

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/natureofthings/2008/brainchangesitself/

Fixing My Brain

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/thelens/2008/fixingmybrain/



Everyone who is living with a brain injury or are caring for a brain injured person should read these stories.

Art Therapy

Why is Art Therapy so important in recovery?  Because it uses another part of the brain.  There is some connection between being creative that stimulates the brain.  There are many ways to be creative and lots or organizations that promote the healing qualities of art.  Very early in my recovery I went to the art store and picked up a lump of sculpting clay and started to sculpt miniature sculptures.  It was very therapeutic on many levels.  I was being creative, I was doing physio on my damaged side and it also gave me some confidence that I could actually do something productive because I had lost so much.

Please share your story about how Art Therapy has helped in your recovery or if you are a art therapist please write what you do and how it has helped your clients.

Parents of Children with Brain Injuries

There are so many people who have children who have experienced brain injuries and feel totally helpless because people will not answers their questions.

I have a section on my website http://www.livingwithmynewbrain.com/ under the Answers Tab where I have tried to answer questions from the brain injured point of view.

I would ask that people share their stories on this blog so that people can see that there are some things that are similar with all brain injuries and that recovery is possible but it takes time.

If you have a story to tell please post it here.

The Brain - Frontal Lobe Damage

Frontal Lobe Damage

The frontal regions of the brain are called the "executive" regions of the brain because they are involved in rational planning, recognizing consequences of behavior, long-term memory, inhibiting behavior (such as unacceptable social behavior), impulse control and are also strongly involved with attention and concentration. These regions allow us to "step back" emotionally from situations to evaluate them intellectually and make rational decisions about what to do and how to do it. These regions are the "high road" that ensure we are not driven just by emotional reactions, the "low road".

The inability to inhibit unacceptable social behavior is a well-known possible consequence of frontal lobe damage.

Here are some links that may help people learn more:

Here is some information about a classic early case in neuropsychology about a man called Phineas Gage who had a frontal lobe injury. Here are some links about him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Phineas-Gage-Neurosciences-Most-Famous-Patient.html

http://lecerveau.mcgill.ca/flash/capsules/articles_pdf/phyneas_gage.pdf

Here are some Google searches on "frontal lobe injury"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontal_lobe

http://www.neuroskills.com/tbi/bfrontal.shtml