Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors

Beth's Brain Injury Blog

2008-11-27T02:12:00.002-06:00

Beth is now maintaining Beth's Brain Injury Blog and updates it far more regularly than I've been able to update this one. Since she has been living with a brain injury for over 18 years, she provides great information.

Take a look a Beth's Brain Injury Blog.

Brain Injury Questions Answered

2008-07-12T04:56:00.003-05:00

Early in 2006 ABC News questioned several members of the medical community about Brain Injury. They prefaced the answers by saying, "Scientists and doctors have only just begun to unravel the mysteries of brain injuries. Here, some of the country's leading experts answer your questions about brain trauma."

How durable is the brain? How much trauma can it take?

"That depends..."

How difficult is it to rehabilitate the brain? Meaning can you re-create ability or function that is lost?

"Each case is unique..." said one doctor.

"The brain cannot be rehabilitated per se..." said another.

Do brain cells ever grow back?

"Dead brain cells do not grow back, and there is no consistent evidence that surviving neurons can replicate..."

What are the critical things to look for in the days after brain damage? What is the recovery time in terms of stages? How long does it take to know what damage is going to last?

"It can take days or even weeks to have a good idea." said one doctor.

"It may take weeks or even months to fully ascertain function that is permanently lost because of the potential for overlap of brain function." said another.

The country's leading experts are saying what those of us who live with brain injury everyday already knew. No two brains are alike; therefore, no two brain injuries are the same.

Common problems associated with brain injury were not part of the questioning. Those problems involve memory, cognition and behavior. Those are the very things we write about in Brain Injury Survivor's Guide, and we write about them from the perspective of "been there, done that."

That's why we discuss the very strategies we used to compensate for an injured brain. Frankly, it's information the leading experts don't have, because those leading experts have never had a brain injury.

New Brain Injury Site

2008-06-18T04:44:00.002-05:00

Brain-Injury-Online.com is a new searchable website that contains a lot of information for persons wanting to know more about brain injury: symptoms, types, rehab, and more.

The search feature includes all pages on two brain injury sites: Brain-Injury-Online.com and BrainInjuryGuide.org.

Brain-Injury-Online.com features information for veterans as well as rehab facility listings and brain injury attorney listings for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Try the search feature by clicking here.

Note From a Reader

2008-05-15T01:58:00.002-05:00

Thank you for your book [Brain Injury Survivor's Guide] and the unique, practical and real information it contains.

My daughter, who is now 15, suffered a severe closed concussion on 12/2/07. It resulted in a 'mild' Traumatic Brain Injury. Only recently have we been able to 'embrace' what is going on. I am no longer a blink away from crying. :)

Your book has made me smile and even laugh as we encounter this new life. The best effect of your book is that your compassion, appreciation and sincere understanding is evident in every sentence and somehow, those words on each page have made me not feel so alone.

For that I am forever grateful. Thank you.

(Names removed for privacy purposes)

Support Website has New Video

2008-02-29T05:07:00.004-06:00

The support website for our book, Brain Injury Survivor's Guide, has a new video about Living with Brain Injury. It's a 30 minutes interview with a survivor and a therapist and contains a lot of good information.

Living With Brain Injury Video

We now have seven videos on our site. You can visit the Brain Injury Guide Video Page by clicking this link.

Brain Injury Survivor's Guide TOC

2008-02-26T04:08:00.003-06:00

Table of Contents for Brain Injury Survivor's Guide:

Welcome to Our World
Dedication
Chapter One - Code Blue!!!
Chapter Two - Beth's Message to Brain Injury Victims
Chapter Three - Larry's Message to Family Members
Chapter Four - Dealing with Doctors
Chapter Five - Dealing with Your Brain
Chapter Six - The Cycle of Response
Chapter Seven - Dealing with Getting Organized
Chapter Eight - Dealing with Common Problems
Chapter Nine - Dealing with Behavioral Issues
Chapter Ten - Little Ol' List Maker, You
Chapter Eleven - Sources of Information
Chapter Twelve - Professional Organizations
A Special Thank You from Beth
The Beginning

Brain Injury Movie - The Lookout

2008-02-18T02:23:00.004-06:00

The Lookout is an action adventure movie, rated R, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Most people will remember Gordon-Levitt as the son on the hit television show Third Rock from the Sun.

Gordon-Levitt prepared for his role by visting the Betty Clooney Foundation in California and hanging out with victims of brain injury. He said, "You can read about [TBI] all you want, but once you spend time with a [TBI Survivor], you start recognizing them as individuals, as opposed to lumping them in with everybody else who might have those symptoms. [It was] just like hanging out with anybody else, except for certain moments when you'd realize, Okay, that just reminded me that your brain doesn't work the same way mine works. You've been through something I haven't been through."

Chris Pratt, Gordon-Levitt's character, sustained a brain injury in a car accident. He can be seen in the movie using many of the strategies explained in our book, Brain Injury Survivor's Guide.

Our Review: Beth and I have not seen a movie that depicts brain injury as well as this one does. Chris Pratt displays memory problems and always refers to his notebook. He has problems cooking. His house is "labelled." He has word-finding problems and says, "I call tomatoes lemons, and I know it's not right." His erratic brain filter is responsible for some of the salty language in the movie, just as it is in real life for those living with brain injury.

At the end of the movie, Beth said, "I didn't see anything wrong," as she assessed how brain injury was portrayed. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is to be commended for his excellent portrayal.

Note: This movie is rated R for violence, language, adult content and probably one scene where there is a glance of a nude male behind.

A Long Ago Brain Injury May Account for Today's Problems

2008-02-17T05:36:00.003-06:00

Rolf B. Gainer, Ph.D writes an interesting article about the affects of brain injury. He states, "Researchers at the Brain Injury Research Center at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine are identifying previously unrecognized brain injury as the cause of many psychiatric problems. Wayne Gordon, the Center's Director and his team have identified high rates of 'hidden brain injury' in individuals with other psychiatric and or addictions problems. The CDC acknowledges 5.3 million Americans living with brain injury. Dr. Gordon's research may find a link between mental health problems and addiction in many more cases than imaginable, making the CDC data look insignificant. The research may also lead us to a better understanding of why individuals fail in treatment. The neurocognitive problems from an untreated brain injury may prevent a person from benefiting from the traditional arsenal of medication and talk therapy."

Click here to read more.

For more information about living successfully with brain injury, you should consider purchasing a copy of Brain Injury Survivor's Guide at amazon.com.

The Choking Game

2008-02-16T07:52:00.001-06:00

The Choking Game is being practiced by more and more 9 – 16 year olds who want to get high without using drugs, and a lot of them are dying or suffering life-changing brain injury as a result. These young people are choking themselves until just before passing out in order to enjoy a euphoric moment.

Also known as self strangulation or auto asphyxiation, the “game” also has a number of street names such as Blackout, Fainting Game, Space Monkey, Dream Game, Suffocation Roulette, Pass-out Game, Flat liner, California Choke, Space Cowboy, Airplaning, and Purple Dragon.

According to G.A.S.P. (Games Adolescents Shouldn’t Play), over 60% of the deaths reported worldwide are in the United States. A 2007 Federal Bureau of Investigation report on risky behavior placed the number at 1,000 victims per year.

The brain is the most sensitive organ when it comes to proper oxygen glow. Anoxia is a condition characterized by lack of oxygen. Anoxic strokes are produced when the lack of oxygen in the brain causes brain cells to die off in large numbers, causing a short circuit that affects memory, cognitive skills and behavior issues.

Beth Jameson, co-author of Brain Injury Survivor’s Guide suffered an anoxic stroke in 1990. Her recovery has been a long road. Every parent should read what can happen as a result of anoxic stroke. Children should be educated about the horrific change in their lives when the Choking Game is carried too far.

TBI Facts

2008-02-14T02:51:00.001-06:00

Traumatic Brain Injury Statistics for the United States show:

Over 5 million individuals currently live with disabilities from traumatic brain injury. That's over 2% of the U. S. population. Of course, it does not include family members and friends impacted by a loved one suffering from TBI.

It is estimated that 1.6 million to 3.8 million sports-related traumatic brain injuries occur each year in the U. S.

It is estimated that 1.5 million head injuries occur each year in the U. S.

Moderate head injury has been associated with a 2.3 times increase in the possibility of developing Alzheimer's disease, and severe ehad injury increases the possibility by 4.5 times.

TBI is the leading cause of death and disability among Americans aged 1 - 44.

Males are about twice as likely to suffer traumatic brain injury than females.

30% of soldier admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center have suffered TBI.

Veteran's advocates estimate that as many as 300,000 military personnel have suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Military Tribute Video

2008-02-13T16:39:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Our World

2008-02-13T16:01:00.000-06:00

We are Beth and Larry Jameson, and we've been living with brain injury as a part of our lives for over 17 years. Those years have seen a lot of ups and downs; in the beginning, there were a lot of downs. A lot of downs.

We'll tell you how to find more information about Beth's story, but how a brain gets injured is not nearly as important as developing a lifestyle that enables you to live successfully with it.

If you wish to jump ahead, you can find more information about our book, Brain Injury Survivor's Guide, on Amazon. That link should take you there.

We're glad you're here. Over the days, weeks, months and years ahead, we will continue to provide more and more information about how you can develop a successful lifestyle.