Written by Garry Prowe
Reviewed by Marilyn Colter

This book is the first in a planned series for helping families navigate the confusing world of brain injury. Chock full of helpful information for people going "From the Emergency Room to Selecting a Rehabilitation Facility," this volume should be in every hospital and offered to brain injury families in their first 24 hours after the accident as they sit in fear and confusion in the hospital waiting room.

Gary Prowe, whose wife, Jessica, was brain-injured in an auto accident over a decade ago, walks family members through the first shock of learning their lamily member is brain injured. In the first few pages, he offers a brief overview—probably as much as a family member can absorb—and answers some of their questions. What is brain injury? What's the difference between severe and moderate brain injuries? Why do different doctors give me different explanations? Will my loved one be a vegetable? Prowe addresses many of the impossible questions that occur to us as we sit in the waiting room wondering what is happening to our loved one and to families because of a brain injury. One of my favorites entries in the first chapter, and one of the most important for family members, is "Seven Reasons to be Encouraged."

Prowe spent years gathering the information in the book. He worked with a panel of 40 professionals, 150 survivors and 150 caregivers, asking for guidance and advice to create a document that would be most beneficial to families struggling with brain injury. His focus is on helping people succeed in dealing with the reality of brain injury. Retired at the time of Jessica's accident, and with significant health problems of his own, he found himself exhausted and confused, torn by fear and depression, as he sought to cope with everything about Jessica's injury. He advises caregivers to take care of themselves even in the days when you know you must be at the hospital. If you don't, he says, you might not be able to cope when your brain-injured family members comes home.

Successfully Surviving a Brain Injury is packed with information to make the difficult times in the beginning of your journey a little easier. He explains how brain injury stages are assessed, warns of behavioral issues to be aware of when a patient begins to come out of a coma, and gives excellent advice about dealing with insurance companies and Social Security regulations. He provides many checklists to help you make decisions about what rehabilitation facility to choose, whether you will need to hire a lawyer, and other issues. Although he and Jessica have no children, he gives thoughtful advice on how to help children succeed in adapting to their new parent or sibling. None of his advice can be deemed as medical advice as he will tell you, but Prowe's book is a primer that guides brain injury families through the wilderness of the initial days, weeks and months of brain injury decisions. (You can find several of his entries from the book, in the "FYI" section and "Ask Marilyn" section here at Brain Injury Family Resources.)

My one concern about Successfully Surviving a Brain Injury, is that families won't get the book quickly enough to take advantage of Prowe's advice. I am donating my book to my local emergency hospital and strongly suggesting that it be a resource for the families they see in the emergency room who will have to deal with brain injury. Garry Prowe has done brain injury families a great service with his book.

Author web site:

www.braininjurysuccess.org

Reviewer: Marilyn Colter

Marilyn Colter is the author of “Missing Pieces: Mending the Head Injury Family.” Her husband suffered a brain injury in 1982 during surgery to repair a brain aneurysm. She and her family founded the Brain Injury Family Resources web site at www.braininjuryfamily.net

Where to buy “Successfully Surviving a Brain Injury" online

www.BrainInjurySuccess.org/cgi/payByCreditCard.html