Interviewee
Background
I had the pleasure to interview a thirty-three year old lady, “Veronica”, who acquired a traumatic brain injury (TBI) when she was eighteen years old. She was involved in a car accident which left her in a comatose state for a month. Despite this, she has thrived since then, including graduating high school, attaining a 2-year degree and a 4-year degree, and being successfully employed throughout the years. Presently, she works at a local company which assists individuals with disabilities gaining the skills they need to achieve their goals and find employment. She is married, but has no children.
Recovery
After the car accident, Veronica was in a comatose state nearly a month. She remained hospitalized for a total of three months. During her stay, she was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. The injury and following coma negatively impacted many basic skills for her and she was required to undergo extensive therapy to relearn these skills. During the interview, she elaborated on her recovery process. She expressed that she does not remember not being able to walk during her recovery process, but that she has been informed this was the case. Inability to talk was a memory that was vivid for her. Upon reflecting this memory, she went into detail about how she would communicate with others as she
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If one would observe her carefully they may notice her take extra time thinking about her responses, stumbling due to loss of balance, or missing items while reaching out due to poor depth perception. It is important to recognize these limitations, she said, but it is even more important to recognize that for her they do not severely impair her life anymore. Not only does she have a support network which helps her when needed, but she also has strategies she utilizes and accommodations she is provided which mitigate the negative impact the functional limitations may otherwise
Unless it is extreme, you would not guess it. When most people met with the McKays, they said that they had no idea they suffered from disabilities. These injuries can affect a person in different ways that we do not understand. Sometimes even doctors struggle to understand brain injury, which can cause a lot of trouble for people who are suffering from TBI.
Her essay is arranged in such a way that her audience can understand her life - the positives and the negatives. She allows her audience to see both sides of her life, both the harsh realities that she must suffer as well as her average day-to-day life. According to Nancy, multiple sclerosis “...has opened and enriched my life enormously. This sense that my fragility and need must be mirrored in others, that in search for and shaping a stable core in a life wrenched by change and loss, change and loss, I must recognize the same process, under individual conditions, in the lives around me. I do not deprecate such knowledge” (Mairs, 37). Mairs big claim is that she has accepted herself and her condition for what is it, yet she refuses to allow her condition to define her. Through her particular diction, tone, satire, and rhetorical elements, Mairs paints a picture of her life and shows how being a cripple has not prevent her from living her life. She is not embarrassed nor ashamed of what she is, and accepts her condition by making the most of it and wearing the title with
disability. She never let it get into her way of being a normal person. As she stated that one day
Bryson-Campbell, M., Shaw, L., O’Brien, J., Holmes, J., Magalhaes L., (2013). A Scoping Review on Occupational and Self Identity After a Brain Injury. Work, 44(1), 57-67
She stated that her physical environment provides her with the most support in participating in activities of daily living. For example she is able to perform grooming, feeding, oral hygiene and wheelchair mobility for short distances using one-handed compensatory techniques. However, BM is unable to physically carry out her occupations daily without the assistance of a caregiver which limits her ability to engage in occupational roles such as attending church and meeting friend to crochet. She stated that she has very limited functional mobility within her left extremities which interferes with her occupational performance in bathing, dressing, toilet hygiene and all transfers. She has difficulty bathing the right side of her body and using her left hand for bilateral tasks such as tying her shoes and putting on socks. She has difficulty performing toileting tasks and requires maximal
In countries with life expectancies over 70 years of age, people spend on average about eight years, or 11.5 percent of their life span, living with disabilities. The passage "A Giant Step” by Henry Louis Gates Jr is a memoir about how he came to injure his foot, and all the complications that went along with the permanent injury. Similarly “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” is a story about a teen named Junior who has hydrocephalic, we learn the many complications that come along with this disability. There are similarities and differences in how both people live their lives. Both people with their disabilities find it within themselves not to give up and still overcome challenges. On the other hand both mothers aren't the same, their motives for their children are completely different. Junior was also able to live a little more normal life, have freedom meanwhile Gates was held back a little more from
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it,” says Charles R. Swindoll. This statement, although seemingly inaccurate, is brought to life by the testimony of Nancy Mairs. After being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Mairs had every reason to give up on life, but in “On Being a Cripple” she shows her audience that pushing forward was worth the challenge. Her life as a cripple isn’t easy, but through her writing, Mairs hopes to explain and create awareness about her life living with MS. Through her personal experience and positive attitude, Mairs shows her audience that not only is she a source that others can trust but that life is exactly what you make it, no matter what cards you are dealt.
"On Being a Cripple" is an autobiographical essay by Nancy Mairs. The author was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in her late twenties, and has since then lost full use of several limbs. Despite the stigma around the use of the word, Mairs refers to herself as a "cripple". With the use of this word she attempts to accept the reality of her situation without feeling sorry for herself. The author also demands the same of her readers and the people that she meets in her life. Mairs writes to those who wish to learn more about what it is like to live with this debilitating disease and how people react to it. She uses this essay to make a point about how society labels people while telling her story in a manner which cites examples from her life. She describes her life through everyday situations that occur when living with MS. Mairs does not have the same physical abilities that most of us don't think twice about, but she carries on with her life without the need for pity or a new vocabulary that attempts to make her condition seem less severe.
The next conflict that plagued her is that of her health. In the preceding quotation, there was one important note that readers shouldtake into consideration. The fact that she kept persistently tapping the earth in front of her could only indicate one thing-that she was visually impaired. She may not have been completely blind, but she had to have been substantially impaired to have kept tapping her cane in a redundant manner.
While many events in my life have contributed to growth and development of where I stand today, I understand now that my head injury has been the greatest influence. Due to physical and mental challenges, I have had many life changes. Sometimes daily challenges. Whereas, many of my abilities have been restored by the Grace of God, I still have lost my ability to learn quickly, my meticulous speech, and some mental distortions due to the head injury. I am angry and discouraged yet, my heart tells me, I can learn from this experience and help others who are in similar situations. And, that I can help others grow in the Power of Jesus Christ.
The number of children below the age of 19 are treated in American emergency rooms for concussions and other traumatic brain injuries increased from 150,000 in 2001 to 250,000 in 2009. That’s not cumulative, that is actually per year. Everyone should know how and when to treat a concussion, no matter if it is for sports or in general. Concussions can come from anything. Concussions can be an easily preventable injury, however due to poor equipment, a competitive mindset, unrecognizable symptoms, and untrained sports physicians, they are becoming quite common and can lead to potentially fatal brain disorders.
Each year, U.S emergency departments treat an estimate 173,285 sports and recreation concussions. During the last decade concussions increased by 60%. Fewer than 10% of concussions result in loss of conscious. Most people recover from a single concussion. Multiple concussions take longer to recover from. The concussion Clinic at Nationwide Children’s Hospital utilizes the expertise of pediatric sports medicine, physical medicine, and rehabilitation specialists.
Children who suffer from Traumatic Brain Injury might suffer from learning disabilities as a result of their injury.
Head injuries are very serious and dangerous. Some head injuries can cause neurological brain damage. They are commonly found in the sports world, putting athletes at risk. There are a lot of head injuries that are dangerous or could cause serious damage brain and in turn, the body. Because of this, precautions, rules, and guidelines need to be in place to prevent and treat these athletes. If these things are not put in place, it could mean the difference between life and death for these athletes. There are many different injuries that can occur to the head and face. Facial injuries can be very dangerous as it can concern the eyes nose and mouth.
But if you have physical limitations, like I do, the difference is huge.” This shows how her limitations can be decreased if she really