Respect

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts? - Confucius

Being a Rehabilitation Therapist in ABI can be heart breaking, and always makes me think what if I lost all my talents, my passion or my life as I know it. What would I do, how would I feel and how would I want to be treated. Today was a very interesting day. I was in Hamilton most of the day speaking with some men and women who are post injury.

First, I had to explain to them what an Acquired Brain Injury is.An ABI is caused by traumatic and non-traumatic events that injure the brain after a person is born. ABI caused by trauma, accident, assault or penetration of the brain by a foreign object.

The group I was working with was mostly motor vehicle accidents; they either hit the windshield or went through the windshield. The group that i was working with all had frontal lobe damage. The Frontal Lobe is the largest lobe; major functions include: attention and concentration, organization, speaking (expressive language), abstract thinking, awareness of abilities and limitations, Personality, inhibition of behaviour, emotions, Problem solving, planning and anticipation, judgment, mental flexibility, memory, and motor planning and initiation.

The brain are divided into right and left sides. The right side and the left side of the brain are responsible for different functions. General patterns of dysfunction can occur if an injury is on the right or left side of the brain.

Injuries of the left side of the brain can cause: Difficulties in understanding language (receptive language), Difficulties in speaking or verbal output (expressive language), Catastrophic reactions (depression, anxiety), Verbal memory deficits, Impaired logic, Sequencing difficulties, and Decreased control over right-sided body movements

Injuries of the right side of the brain can cause: Visual-spatial impairments, Visual memory deficits, Left neglect , Decreased awareness of deficits , Altered creativity and music perception, and Loss of “the big picture thinking".


If the injuries are dispersed throughout both sides of the brain this can cause: Reduced thinking speed, Confusion, Reduced attention and concentration Fatigue, and Impaired cognitive (thinking) skills in all areas

When speaking with these groups, I try not to sugar coat things. I give them the facts and explain to them that is takes hard work and perseverance to get through Rehab. I also explain that there NO Guarantees that they will get back all that they lost. I try to explain to them to think of it as another chance.

Sorry for the rambling , it was just a long and crazy day.