New Life after Brain Injury Blog

Archives: Brain Injury

Brain Injury Caregiver: November is National Family Caregivers Month

November 1, 2011
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Did you know that National Family Caregiver Month (NFC Month) is observed every November? The National Family Caregiver Association (NFCA) originated the observance in 1997 to focus attention on the more than 65 million family caregivers who provide 80% of the long-term care services in the US. A study done by AARP showed that family [...]

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Brain Injury Caregiver: After Brain Injury come Havoc, Hope, and Healing

October 11, 2011
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After brain injury hits your family, getting reliable information you can relate to is essential. In addition to the information provided by hospital staff, you might find that memoirs written by survivors and family caregivers provide hope, valuable tips, ideas, and inspiring stories when you need them most. On October 24, 2011, I’ll have the [...]

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Brain Injury Caregiver: The Memories I Treasure Now

September 3, 2011
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Those of you who’ve read Professor Cromer Learns to Read: A Couple’s New Life after Brain Injury know that Alan suffered a massive heart attack and cardiac arrest in 1998. The resulting lack of oxygen led to a severe anoxic brain injury. I’ve written a lot about our journey of rehabilitation, reinvention, and reclamation.  Over [...]

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Brain Injury Caregiver: Effective Research and Treatment Partnerships

September 2, 2011
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This week the National Institutes of Health(NIH) released a statement announcing that NIH will partner with the Department of Defense to build a central database on traumatic brain injuries (TBI). The new database will be called the Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research (FITBIR) database. The purpose of the database is to speed up research [...]

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Brain Injury Caregivers- Post Traumatic Stress Needs Early Treatment

July 28, 2011
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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been in the news recently because so many service members come home traumatized by their battle experiences. Brain injury survivors often have a post-traumatic stress reaction. Family caregivers can also experience trauma and its effects, but we don’t hear much about that. I believe this is an extremely import mental [...]

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Brain injury Caregivers: The Value of Feeling Sorry for Yourself

July 8, 2011
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Brain injury caregivers give their injured family member their all. Every day we give full attention to the cognitive, physical, emotional, and social needs of our loved one. The stress of caregiving is undisputed, and the health hazards abound. Yet, so many caregivers feel guilty if they spend a little time feeling sorry for themselves [...]

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Brain Injury Caregivers- Cultivate Resilience with Life Road Maps- Part Two

June 10, 2011
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I recently participated in the Harvard Medical School course “Building Resilience: The Mind Body Revolution in Health and Healing.” Brain injury caregivers can benefit from reducing stress and cultivating resilience in many ways. The focus of the course was on applying new research about resilience and positive psychology to heal the mind/body mechanisms of chronic [...]

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Brain Injury Caregivers: Cultivate Resilience with Life Road Maps

June 8, 2011
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I recently participated in the wonderful Harvard Medical School course “Building Resilience: The Mind Body Revolution in Health and Healing.” Brain injury caregivers can benefit from reducing stress and cultivating resilience in many ways. The focus of the course was on applying new research about resilience and positive psychology to heal the mind/body mechanisms of [...]

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The Positive Power of Pets- After Brain Injury Pets Bring Fun & Love

April 5, 2011
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Animal assisted therapy has been in the news a lot lately. Articles on health champion how pets reduce stress and lower blood pressure. TV shows profile people who have an assistance dog. Scientific studies demonstrate what we animal lovers already knew- a relationship with a fine pet helps us get through hard times or overcome [...]

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Inside Report on National Brain Injury Day on Capitol Hill

March 21, 2011
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National Brain Injury Awareness Day was honored in the US Congress on March 16. I joined a team from the Brain Injury Association of Maryland (BIA-MD) to present our information, concerns, and recommendations during a very exciting day. While I’ve participated in numerous rallies, hearings, and events at the Massachusetts State House, this was my [...]

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