On December 16th, 2016, Cari Casper-Bassler fell in the parking lot at Belleville West High School during an unexpected ice storm. She was leaving school and as she was walking to her car, she fell and hit her head on the slick pavement, only to wake up moments later realizing that she had blacked out. As time went on, and her speech began to slur, major headaches occurred, and many other side effects began to surface. Mrs. Casper-Bassler drove home that night not realizing how serious her injuries legitimately were from the fall. As time passed, she decided she needed to seek medical attention. Once she was told that she had a concussion and her brain was reacting slowly to simple everyday tasks, she knew she was in for a long, life-changing …show more content…
recovery that would either make or break her. “At first I did not believe anything was wrong with me, but then I was like ‘ you’re like Dory’,” Mrs.
Casper-Bassler said. She began to realize that she had short-term memory loss when she started to do things repetitively. For example, she ate a bowl of cereal while watching television with her husband, and as soon as she sat the empty bowl down, she told her husband that she was hungry and was going to get a bowl of cereal, not even realizing she had just finished a bowl of cereal. “I started to lose my speech, had dizziness and was unable to move my hands, arms, and legs all of the time. When it got progressively worse, I wasn’t sure if I was going to come out of it,” Mrs. Casper-Bassler said. The concussion was what had caused her short-term memory loss, and she had to relearn how to do almost everything that people do on a daily basis, such as talking, spelling and writing, just to name a few. As an art teacher, it was devastating for her not being able to simply use her hands. She even had to attend physical therapy and learn exercises to strengthen her brain again. “It roughly took nine months for me to get better and I cannot say that I am one hundred percent now,” Mrs. Casper-Bassler …show more content…
said. She is back to work after missing the remaining 2016-2017 school year and is ready to get back to her new normal, as far as teaching goes. Her brain still gets tired, and at times, she struggles with remembering people’s names and choosing the words she wants to say. “I would not change what has happened to me at all,” Mrs.
Casper-Bassler said. “I learned a lot about who I am and how strong I can be.” Dan Krause, a Belleville West teacher missed having her around at work and did not think it was the same while she was out. ¨Work was completely different without Casper; even though we had a good sub it was impossible to fill her shoes,¨ Dan Krause said. ¨She has a big presence and she goes out of her way to make you feel happy and important. Teachers were not the only ones who had missed having Casper around. Many of her art students felt the same way and missed seeing her in their classes. ¨I really missed Casper´s friendship and attitude, and I hope she never has to face anything like this again,¨ senior Dylan Kelly said. Over the years she has taught at West she made it her mission to be a safe place for any student, and she has even told them to call her Mama. ¨Casper has inspired me to continue drawing in my free time, even though I am not an art student or in her class,” senior Felix Heitman said. “I feel like the Casper makes the school better and she is willing to help all students even if they aren’t in her
class.” This has been a long and trying time for Mrs. Casper-Bassler, but she will not let it stop her from doing the things she loves to do with all of the people she loves. She is very determined and will use her setbacks as stepping stones to move forward in the healing process, no matter how long and hard that road may be. “Set your goal and don’t let anything else get in the way,” Mrs. Casper-Bassler said.
Debi Palmer, the creator of the Brain Injury Connection, has said that she has problems with finding the right words. She suffered a head injury in 1992 when she had tried to get off her bike at an intersection. When Palmer fell, she struck her head on the pavement. For months after, she felt exceptionally tired, and she had amnesia for two weeks after the injury. Co-workers said that her personality could change fast, and she was forgetful. What made matters worse was that not even Palmer understood what was going on with
When Miss Hancock came to teach at the high school, she was filled with eccentricity and liveliness. This enthusiasm quickly turned into disappointment as the students swiftly discounted Miss Hancock. The student's first impression of Miss Hancock was that she was a joke, and they didn't take her very seriously. This rapidly dampened Miss Hancock's spirit "By then, stripped of 15 years of overblown confidence, she offered her material shyly, hesitantly, certain of rejection, of humiliation," (Pg.
The Cornerstone speech was made by Alexander Stephens, the vice president of confederacy on March 21, 1861. To Alexander Stephens the blacks and the slaves were not equal to the whites but could have rights like education and marriage. The whole speech was over the North and South wanting separation because the disagreement over the North wanting the blacks to have equal rights meaning take away slavery. Abraham Lincoln who was the president around the time of the speech was for the North and Alexander Stephens the vice president of the confederate was for the South. The North were trying to enforce the constitution and equal rights for the slaves, while the South wanted to succeeded from the North and to become the Confederate States of America. In the cornerstone speech, Stephens explains his views on the North and South states with the main focus on equal rights of slaves and gives his opinion on what to do if changes are not made.
Cable shows qualities of an experimentalist teacher, she was also professional and had a positive attitude. Mrs. Cable shows qualities of an experimentalist teacher in a few different ways, she did hands-on activities with the kids and she develops rapport with her class. Mrs. Cable had the students play the matching game where they found two cards with the same amount of dots. This is a hands-on activity because the students are literally using their hands and participating in the activity (Farris 2014). Mrs. Cable also develops a rapport with the class because she has a relationship with every student (Farris 2014). For example, while the class was lining up for special Mrs. Cable had a conversation with one student about her new puppy (Farris 2014). In First Year Seminar, the class discussed the evaluation of professional and personal dispositions, these are the requirements a student at York College of Pennsylvania must meet to be accepted to student teach. These requirements include having a professional attitude, organization, personal enthusiasm, etc. (Hesson 2015). I believe these dispositions should not only be for student teaching, but for all teachers; I also believe Mrs. Cable met every one of these dispositions. Particularly, I found Mrs. Cable to be exceptionally professional, she wore professional attire that was modest for early elementary schools and she had a professional attitude. Mrs. Cable was
An example of a bad memory is one night Melinda can’t sleep so she goes out onto the roof of her house and has a flashback of the night she was assaulted.
One of the earliest players to bring awareness to brain traumas was Mike Webster, a former Pittsburgh Steeler. In April of 1999, he claimed to be disabled with the NFL Retirement Board. He also had dementia which was a result of the brutal hits he endured during his football career. Webster ran into many problems at the e...
Did you know, that someone suffers from a brain injury every 21 seconds (Haas)? Children get concussions all the time, and most of the time they go unnoticed. The majority of concussions happen when one is playing a sport such as football, hockey, or lacrosse. Many famous athletes have had their careers, even their lives cut short due to concussions. Brain damage and death can result from serial concussions (Schafer). When one suffers from a concussion, one’s brain needs time to recover physically and mentally. Between 2002 and 2006, statistics showed that 52,000 people died from concussions and about 275,000 were hospitalized (Fundukian). Everyone’s recovery process is different (“Injury and Pain Care”). Although concussions seem minor, they are very serious brain injuries that may result in severe damage to one’s brain.
When I think about the moments leading up to my diagnosis I remember feeling weak, confused, shaky and sleepy. I did not notice that I had began sleeping throughout the day. My body was craving soft drinks like soda and juice but not food. Days would go by and I eventually fell into a deep slumber that I found myself only waking up from to use the bathroom. I knew something was wrong and that if I did not get to a hospital it would get worse. Nothing could have prepared me for the life changing diagnosis I would receive.
Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans in 2005. Everyone at Tulane University had an uncertainty if they would be able to regain back their future. It was an obstacle for the students to overcome, but they later on prevailed and attended their graduation. Being a comedian you wouldn’t expect someone to give such a wonderful commencement speech. The guest speaker for the Katrina class of 2009 at Tulane University was Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen gives a speech that not only acknowledges the class’s achievements but inspires them to be greater. I will analyze how Ellen uses Ethos and Pathos by allusion, imagery, repetition, and tone. It is an emotional and inspiring speech that I believe can convince almost anyone.
Jennifer is a 9 year old child who was injured while riding her bicycle. She was hit by a car and suffered several broken bones and traumatic brain injury. While her bones healed, she suffered bruising to her brain. This bruising also caused swelling and damage to her brain. When Jennifer was released from the hospital, she has difficulties speaking, walking, and completing tasks that used to come easily to her.
In the film, “The Alzheimer’s Project: The Memory loss tapes” there was an 87-year-old woman with Alzheimer disease named Bessie Knapmiller. It seems as Alzheimer runs in her family because her older sister has the same disease. Bessie sister is 93 years old and she has lost her entire memory. Bessie sister does not even remember their family members. However, Bessie stage of Alzheimer is not as bad as her sister, she still drives and still remembers people. At times, Bessie does forget others. Bessie went to take a memory test in May and few months later, when she returned she did not remember her doctor or him giving her the exam. When Bessie took her first memory test she could not remember the previous president before George Bush. She
For example, if you were to start cooking something and walk away to do something else and forget about it, it could easily catch on fire and damage personal property and maybe even cause injury or death. I can recall my own experience of short-term memory loss. A lady in our community was frying bacon and left her house and forgot to turn the burner off. Tragically, her youngest daughter was trapped inside the house and perished in the fire. This is an example of how important short-term memory loss can be.
A couple weeks into the school year, she comes to realize that “[she] is [an] outcast”; excluded from all clans and social events because everyone thinks she called the police at Kyle Rodgers’ summer party to break up the fun (Anderson 2). She feels alone and as if no one would listen to what she has to say, therefore she does not attempt to reconnect with old friends, and tell them the truth. After being dumped by her only remaining friend, Heather, Melinda finds herself in quite the predicament; she is now completely and utterly alone. She realizes that she does not even have a ‘disposable’ friend to make her feel better about herself, until her lab partner, David Petrakis begins talking to her more. While conversing with David, she realizes she is finally able to call someone a true friend. She asks if he “lectures all [his] friends like [that]” and he responds by saying “only the [friends] I like” (Anderson 159). She no longer feels alone; she is comforted, knowing that she has someone to lean back on if she feels sad or is in need of assistance. Melinda’s character shows growth and development, as she starts the year with no friends and no social life, though by the end of the year, she has finally succeeded in making a true
Being a student in Mrs. Wroblewski’s classroom always made me feel safe. Whenever something was bothering me, I knew I could talk to her in order to work things out. I knew that if I told her, she would actually do something about it. I still remember when I was sick on the second day of seventh grade and when I came back the next day sh...
She seemed like a whole new girl. “Bullying At School” mentions that a simple hello or smile can change a person’s life, and in this moment, I felt the change in her attitude, personality, and overall presence (2). It seemed that the simplest acts I did seemed to make a world of difference to her. Graduation day, 2015, I sat in my chair watching all of my friends prepare to walk the stage. As the ceremony began, I saw the girl from that day climb the stairs to the stage and begin to speak. She was our Valedictorian. She began, “Dear fellow graduates. I can’t call you my friends because most of you do not even know I exist. My name is Sam Carter. I am your below average student that didn’t fit in like the rest of you. I had one friend and you know who you are. I was gratefully introduced to a friend earlier this year in a crucial time of my life. Everything was piling up and I was being bullied at school. She came into my life at just the perfect time and saved me. The day she helped me pick up my books and stood up for me in the hallway before class was the day that I was going home to end it. My life meant nothing to anyone. I had my goodbye letter written out, the rope in my room, and had my goodbyes said and that day, she showed me that I wasn’t alone and that someone cared for me. The simple things you did for me changed my view on this world. You saved my life. As I