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Wednesday 13 June 2012

Half Full is a great starting place

I may have been hard hitting in my last blog with regards to fellow TBI survivors who feel they can make it on their own.
Allow me to clarify my position for you.
In life we do not get to where we are without feedback and help.  We start with our parents guiding us, enrolling us in sports, school, music and from there we begin to network.
We gain employment through our efforts and referrals.
From those referrals we learn of better career choices and climb the ladder of success.
We also have setbacks along the way from scraped knees to broken hearts and someone is always there to help us back onto our feet.
Why should we think it should be any different when we are suddenly brain injured?
After the brain injury it should not matter why or whose fault it was but rather how we can overcome and what resources will we need to tap into to ensure the best outcome for me.
Why in your time of your greatest need would you abandon all that have used in the past, your networking skills, and choose to go it alone?
Yes, it is a new endeavor and yes it is frightening or even embarrassing to admit you need help from the last place you thought you would ever be, however it is a resource and you will benefit.
Let's face it, brain injury will conjure up the "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" mentality in some less educated people.
Mental health in general has some pretty negative overtones that can frighten some people.  This is born from a lack of understanding.  Some friends may abandon you out of this reason.  Not to worry because throughout life you will gain some friends and lose others. Why would you think it would be any different now?
The new friends will understand your needs and stand by you rather than toss your aside.
You are not a freak show.  You are simply brain injured.  You may have speech, memory or mobility issue but you are still you and are desperately important to your family so you owe it to them and moreover to yourself to at least give it your all.
It is in the end, a new career choice, fraught with all the uncertainties, like riding the bike for the first time or the new job or getting your driver's licence.  Look at it like it is, a challenge, one you will overcome, and most important it is one you will master to the best of your ability.
Is your cup half full?
It is incumbent on you to see that it is because so much is riding on your recovery and your loved ones are counting on you to have great hope for the future like you did before the accident took place.

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