A new decade may bring more hope for brain injury families!

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A new decade may bring more hope for brain injury families!

Marilyn Colter

January 04 2010

Happy New Year! Have you seen how much increased interest about brain injury there has been from the media and the general population in the last half of 2009? While I grieve for the families having to deal with it, the world seems newly interested in helping brain injury survivors

. From treatment and its funding, to the experience of living with brain injury, stories appeared across the world as the violence of war, contact sports and the effects of recession brought the tragedy of brain injury to front pages of newspaper, television news, and the Internet. Sad as it is, the increased attention may lead to better treatments and therapies. Let's hope so.

Our family at Brain Injury Family Resources wishes yours a wonderful 2010. I hope the next decade will produce huge strides in research that lead to exciting new treatments for brain injury survivors and better support systems that will help family members cope. Let us know how you're doing and what you hope for by leaving us a note on our forum.

Comments (2)

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not so happy go lucky, please...
written by lyn , February 22, 2010

Your happy go lucky commentary is devoid of ANY source reference. Even if you had provided any on "increase in brain injury attention", your rambling, sunshiny, overly optimistic rhetoric is not only annoying but inappropriate and even disrespectful of the deep and serious threats at this time, of recent and planned cuts to programs and resources that service brain injured and other disabled. You come across as one of those young, immature, yackity waitresses that most diners can't stand, and wish they'd gone to another restaurant. The last thing survivors and their families need, is a sunshine soldier (look it up on wikipedia or other)."Hope" does not translate or bring into action, advocacy or funding. I don't want to hear or read things like "...while I grieve for the families that have to deal with it, the world seems newly interested in helping brain injury survivors." WHAT THE H***? Only inexperienced folks wd so cavalierly describe TBI as IT. How about coming over to my house for a week...so you can exp. first hand what IT is, and how one DEALS with IT. What I hear in your comment is "deal" with it, as in the snotty American pop culture retort "deal with it". The whole tone of your happy new year commentary with !EXCLAMATION! points rubs me the wrong way. I'll gamble YOU are not a survivor nor family member or caregiver to a survivor, one who doesnt have a CLUE what life is like, hr by hr, day by day. Next time show that more foresight and sensitivity. Give us !NEWS!FLASH! when you can report, and show sources for items lile real breakthroughs and increased funding. While you're at it, here's a big fa fact for you: TBI included, vehicular accidents have caused more physical and emptional trauma over time than all wars combined. SOURCES: crashtest.com, bia.nys.org, aaa.com, us highway safety commission. HAVE A GREAT DAY!

I've been where you are
written by Marilyn Colter , February 24, 2010

After 25 years dealing with brain injury--as a family member, as a caregiver, as an advocate and a spokesperson, I know that the only way we move forward is through awareness. Since I am always reading about brain injury, I don't need a study to show me that the media and government have finally begun to pay attention--increased stories in broadcast and print as well as increased discussion and studies by the medical community and government will bring more awareness. In my own community alone, there are four new brain injury rehab centers within a 40-mile radius, and increasing support for a local brain injury foundation.

I spent nearly 10 years feeling angry, overwhelmed and hopeless, and I finally found that anger only hurt myself and my family. I would never disrespect the agony that brain injury families experience nor the struggle of "dealing with" brain injury, because I’ve experienced it and it is indeed hellish. But I have seen that through awareness comes understanding, and through understanding comes advocacy and funding. Yes the threats are dire for programming and funding for all social services right now, but I will continue to choose optimism, and I will continue to choose advocacy. With the help of others who feel the same, we will bring about more funding and better programming. We WILL move forward to better times with hope and action.

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