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Brain-injured men tell 8th-graders their stories
They’re not who they were, but they can be who they are.
In a moment their lives were changed forever by car crashes, brain surgery, a major stroke, yet the four men suffering from traumatic brain injury who visited eighth-graders on Friday offered a message of prevention, acceptance, hope and the hard work of slow recovery. The message was enhanced by the drama of their personal stories.
"I died in a car accident. When they brought me back, I thought my mom was going to kill me," said Ed. (Last names of the four men are withheld by request.) Ed was a high school sophomore when he totaled his car in 1997. He was in a coma for two weeks. "They say it was a miracle I made it through the first night," he said. "When I came out of the coma, I found a square piece shaved out of my head and I flipped out." After brain surgery, Ed went though extensive rehabilitation to relearn the basics - how to eat, brush his teeth, tie his shoes. He graduated from high school when he was 20 years old.
"I had to fight for my diploma," he said. Ed said he has trouble keeping a job owing to recurrent bouts with the epilepsy that arose from his brain injury; his seizures also make it unsafe for him to drive, so he cannot hold a license. He walks with a cane, but last summer Ed climbed Tuckerman’s Ravine on Mount Washington. "I never gave up. I give myself goals and learn to achieve them."
Like the other men, Ed attends SteppingStones, a post-rehab program open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., in Portsmouth at the Seacoast Health Community Campus. Funded by the Krempels Brain Injury Foundation, SteppingStones offers social interaction, life-skill training, recreation and support for brain injury survivors.
Most Fridays during the school year, a group of eighth-grade service-learning students from North Hampton School visits SteppingStones to help serve lunch and clean up, socialize with the members, and work on special projects. "The kids provide a sense of community connection," said Will DeGrauw, SteppingStones’ program director.
Service learning is a regular weekly class that combines education with community service, based on student choice and personal interest. Kara Colarusso, Mike MacArthur and Stephen Brown make up this year’s SteppingStones service learning group. The kids worked with members to develop Friday’s presentation for the eighth-grade class.
An introduction by DeGrauw was followed by personal stories and an educational PowerPoint slide show developed by the students. The men then served as a "four-member panel" and answered questions. Here are some things that were learned:
- Every 21 seconds someone in this country sustains a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI is an insult to the brain caused by an external physical force that results in an impairment of cognitive abilities or physical functioning. The extent of the injury depends on what part of the brain is damaged. Speech, language and mobility may be affected. About 5.3 million Americans live with disabilities from TBI.
- Leading causes are motor vehicle crashes, sometimes caused by impaired or inexperienced drivers, and sports-related injuries.
"Wear a seat belt," was the message Russ wanted to drive home. In 1978, Russ was driving to the mall to go Christmas shopping when his car skidded on a slick road and crashed into a group of trees.
"I wasn’t wearing a seat belt, and I probably wouldn’t be injured if I did," said Russ, speaking with a slight hesitation from the affects of TBI. "I learned a lot from that, and now I try to help other people. If you get in a car, wear a seat belt."
For information about SteppingStones, TBI, the Krempels Brain Injury Foundation, or a presentation for your group, visit www.krempelsfoundation.org.
Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2005 Seacoast Online. All rights reserved.