Vietnam Veterans Mentorship: How to Manage and Control Anger?

Like every week, yesterday I met with a group of Vietnam Veterans in the New Mexico area. The group is conducted by a counseling professional. I need to say, every week it is so refreshing to meet with them. The group is very uplifting. There are only two OIF/OEF Veterans in the group; all others are Veterans of the Vietnam War. Most of them are living with Post Traumatic Stress that resulted from their experiences in combat. The Vietnam Vets have welcomed and embraced me, regardless of having fought different wars. They always have great advice. I always tell them that they are great mentors because they already walked the path I am walking today. I thank God every day for putting them in my life!

Yesterday, we had an awesome discussion on anger and managing it. It seems that anger is common amongst Veterans of all wars. In the conversation, we addressed those things that trigger anger. Amazingly, most agreed that on of the biggest triggers seeing people in the communities that act like they are the center of the universe and disregard those around them. For example, those people at the grocery store that leave the shopping cart in the middle of the isle while they go read labels or browse products. Yes, those folks are irritating. Some mentioned the way of how others drive brings anger in them. The trigger that stood out was seeing others behaving disrespectfully, selfish, and discourteous.

After the military, anger is a feeling that I personally deal with. I do not drink, but I can see how alcohol can blur judgement and affect how someone reacts and manages the anger. My advice to those that do drink alcohol: if anger is present, stay away from alcohol. The consequences can be long lasting and in some cases can be catastrophic.

Some thoughts shared were how the feelings of loneliness or worthlessness can put an exponential to the anger we may experience.

How to cope with it? During the group session, we discussed on ways to manage anger.

1. Try to withdraw from situations that trigger anger.

2. Try to put things and experiences into perspective.

3. Recognize that we cannot change everything or everyone.

Some situation are difficult to put into perspective because of our structured way of thinking and because of the military experiences. While in the service, as leaders we fix or raise a flag when we see wrong things or misconducts. Outside the military, it is not as such. Most times, we cannot engage on situations and we cannot correct people the way we used to do in the military. Maybe that sense of feeling impotent can bring anger.

After a Traumatic Brain Injury, the management of emotions becomes harder. Abstract thinking may become a problem. I am a witness to it. We may take things the wrong way, we may take it with meanings that were never intended. This may result in a reaction that is out of line or totally incoherent with the situation at hand. Remember, always try to stop, think and gain awareness on what is happening. In my opinion, being aware of our surrounding and our emotions is fundamental in order to control our reactions.

Bottom line is: we are going go get angry, and probably more often than somebody that has not been in a combat situation. Combat experiences may exacerbate emotions. Whatever the situation try to apply common sense. The ultimate goal should be to manage our feelings and to stay out of trouble. Remember, our behavior and reactions will affect our relationships and our well being.

http://www.tbiwarrior.com

The Road Ahead is...

Good Morning everybody. Its Friday!! After a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) everything becomes harder. If you are a TBI survivor you know what I mean. Not been as effective, efficient or functional as we use to be, can be frustrating. If you know anybody that recently had a brain injury please relay this to them. IT DOES GET BETTER!!!
I am experiencing what the doctors call lingering effects from a brain injury. I can tell you all that even that's taking me longer than the average brain injured person, the recovery is steady. Once a symptom is resolved normally it has resolved for GOOD. The recovery has been steady. Some things take longer than others but today I can say, ALL is getting better. The emotional issues start to resolve, you will notice it right away, you will start to feel better. I have been thru it.
The road ahead is not easy, but really, who said that reaching goals was going to be easy. Like most achievements in life, recovery takes hard work and dedication. Treatment is given to you, but you have to get as much from it as you can. With the right guidance and treatment from my therapists I have been able to make improvement and succeed. Treatment doesn't end at the rehab center. It takes a lot of work at home. If I decide to stay on the couch and feel sorry for myself then nothing will get accomplished. Aside from the BI, let's say I want to loose weight or perhaps find a job, any of these requires me to get up and do something for myself. Well, so is the brain injury. We have to get up, go, and get it. You will get as better as you want to.
My message to you today is: THE ROAD OF RECOVERY IS NOT EASY. ONLY YOU HOLD THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS. GET UP AND STAND TALL. THIS IS NOT THE END. THE END IS FAR FROM HERE. BRING YOURSELF TOGETHER AND WALK.
Have a good weekend everyone.

Awaken: A Message of Hope - The Lee Staniland's story

One June afternoon, 30 years ago (1978) in Somis, California I had decided to ride my horse. Now I only had a bareback blanket and a hackamore for a bridal. And truthfully, I was not the best rider.
I also was riding her in my pasture which was scattered with walnut trees.
She ended up taking me under a tree and I smashed my fore-head on a branch and then the back of my head on the ground.
My husband found me there, after how long, I have no idea.
After being in a coma for 6 weeks, I awoke. But my first memory was probably a few weeks later in another hospital, to the sound of voices in a hallway, having no idea were I was. I would remember little bits and pieces of my stay at that hospital. It was probably 3 months.
I had been paralyzed on the whole right side of my body.
I had to relearn to talk, walk, and everything else on how to take care of myself, and that is nothing compared to having to relearn how to think.
This has been an amazing journey and I have met some of the most wonderful people. I can look at it this way because I was blessed to get most of my faculties back which a lot of our folks don’t.
There are a lot of people that helped me along the way but I have to say the 1 that helped me the most was my ex-husband. That might sound strange, but he made me do everything myself and that is what made me what I am today. If it wasn’t for that, I might still be sitting in a chair waiting for someone to do it for me. That was the best medicine I could have asked for.
The BIC wasn’t around in those days, but about 10 years later, a man named Dave Stork wanted to get a group started so his daughter could have other brain injured people to socialize with and just look what it has grown into. What was once the BISGvc is now BIC!
So I have made it my lifes work to be there and to guide fellow BI’s to a better life.
I just want you all to remember to be careful and aware of things around you because brain injury can happen to anyone at anytime.
Thank you.
Lee, a BI Survivor TRAGEDY
'Brain Injury Lasts a Lifetime' ' you can curl up in a ball or you
www.BrainInjuryCenter.org can learn what you are suppose to'

Words of Advice from Mark Palmer from realistichope.com: In response to the posting "Could I ever do anything right?

Reading your post brought back memories of an individual I meet a couple of years ago, he was sad much like you describe, I listened, I asked questions, I listened some more and asked about his biggest most significant worry, he blurred out that "my daughter lost her dad" My response "have you given your daughter a chance to fall in love with her new dad"

I saw him a couple weeks later; the only conversation was "I did, she did"

I encourage everyone to let both their family land yourself love the person you are today, not the person that you remember from yesterday.

You and your family are very blessed to be together, start building from where you are today, all of you can and will find the opportunity to have a wonderful fulfilling life based on the reality of today. \

The words come from my personal experience 46 years after my injury. Please drop me note to tell me about your smile tomorrow. Best... Mark Palmer

Could I ever do anything right?

Ahhhh, where to start? So many thoughts rushing thru my head right now. As I sit here in Starbucks drinking a green tea frapuccino trying to get my thoughts lined up. It is so frustrating to see and feel that anything I do in regards to my responsibilities as a family man, I do wrong. In rehabilitation I do everything right and I put all my effort in doing it right and successfully. What I'm I missing when doing regular life things? I know that is not emotional. What could it be that I'm missing? I have a supportive and loving wife. I have a great support network. But it seems that I keep making the same mistakes that end up in things being messed up. Could it be attention issues? I don't know.
The path to recover from a brain injury is tough. To many things to figure out. To many things that will never be the same. Plus, I know I will never be the same.
Yes, I'm having a sad moment. Not depressed. Just sad. I understand that everybody gets sad and everybody have issues. But it seems that what I used to do naturally I now have to put extra effort to accomplish it. Could it be the impulsivity? I don't know. As I keep messing things up, it takes a toll on my family life. Even though I have an angel as a wife, yes, Roxana is an angel, and I know she tries her hardest to understand sometimes I know she gets frustrated and upset. It's hard for her to see that I'm a changed man after the injury. I do recognize is as hard for her as it is for me, and at times it might be even harder for her.
I just received a very supportive email from a very good friend as I was writing this. That email filled me with joy as it brought a smile to my face. Thank you Mercy.
I understand the emotional stages of healing. This might be part of them.
Please if anybody has any words of advice on how to cope with this, it will be greatly appreciated. Please send the to tbiwarriors@hotmail.com. I will post them here. Thank you all for listening. Big hugs to all.

A Hot July Day In My Life

I take this opportunity to share how a regular day for me is. Well, after waking up yesterday morning, drinking coffee, and get ready to go to Mentis I remembered that I had to take a few pills to Mentis. I owed them this medication because during the past month I forgot to take the medication at home. They kindly provided the meds for me. One of the medication is for attention, I don't rely on my wife to remind me about the meds. If I forget I'll pay the price. I got to tell you that whenever I forget my attention medication I can't focus on nothing. Others claim that I don't listen to them or that I just simply wander off. This happens involutarily and sometimes I notice but if I forget that medication I can't focus, not even to safe my own life. I wish somebody takes video of me being like that. Honestly that has to look funny. So, coming back to me having to take those pills back to Mentis, the good thing was that I remembered that I had to take them back. I put them on a ziploc bag and placed them on top of the counter while I drank some water.
Immediately after I drank my water I was ready to hit the road. So, I went to the garage and got my truck started for it to warm up. It was about 90 degrees yesterday morning. So there was not much warming the truck had to do. So there I was finally ready to be on my way. I got in my Toyota Tacoma and was on my way to Mentis.
Enroute, I made a phone call to my mom. We talked for about 10 minutes. Every time I'm behind the wheel I'm either talking to Roxana or to mom. After I hung up with her I thought about the meds. Where were they? Yes, I know, they were on top of the counter at the house. Well, that mission didn't get accomplish, it'll be next time I guess. I got to Mentis and proceeded to start my day with Physical Therapy. Jimmy made me do a work out yesterday. We started with the regular vestibular exercises and we moved on to something like push ups, ball throwing, and a home made obstacle course in which I had to jump over objects. We finished with stair exercises. All exercises were modified to focus on balance by Jimmy. It was an outstanding session.
During occupational therapy we played a game called PayDay. Raquel, the occupational therapist wanted to focus on attention and multitasking skills. I had to maintain track of all the loans taken by the players along with me being a player too. I didn't win but it was a fun and great game.
During the speech therapy, we worked on deducting reasoning. Vanessa wanted us to solve logic puzzles as the therapy exercise. The puzzles can be obtained from www.printable-puzzles.com. This puzzles are like a matrix with different variables. The goal is to be able to match the variables together. The puzzle gives some clues that are very clear to deduct, others require more thought process to determine the match. I was able to complete the level 4 puzzle. Yeah, amazing accomplishment.
At the second speech therapy, this time with Claudia, it was all fluency. Yes, very tiring. We worked on conversation and phrases, and reading. I have to tell you that my reading has improved a lot. My fluency problem is that I know in my head exactly how the word sounds but when I speak it doesn't come out as clear as I thought it. At the end of the therapy we worked on applying fluency strategies while walking (multi-task). When applying the fluency strategies is hard for me to raise the volume of my voice. In order to engage this problem Claudia and I did an exercise in which we started having a conversation standing 5 feet apart for a while. The we expanded the distance from each other to 15 and 20 feet. This was is a little hard because if Claudia can't understand what I'm saying she'll make me repeat it until she understands. Sometimes she even closes her eyes to avoid reading my lips. If she can't understand I have to repeat until she clearly understands. Yet, this was a very productive session.
After this session I had another speech therapy with Vanessa. This time it was a full hour of doing a level 5 logic puzzle. It was hard. I worked on it but I made a mistake at one point and couldn't keep going. I love those puzzles. So, I took that same puzzle home to work on it. I solved it last night with just one mistake. Yeah!!!
When I got to the house after Mentis, Roxana was waiting on me. Apparently I was not paying attention and I walked past her without acknowledging her. She got upset but it was all good after that. Sometimes that happens, unintentionally not paying attention to my surrounding. So, I started working on this blog posting. It took me last night about five hours and a couple of hours this morning. Before going to bed last night we did the logic puzzle that I didn't finish during therapy. Like I said I was able to finish it.
So, this was my day.
Just making a quick highlight: I'm getting better!!! Awesome!!!
Thanks for your support.

Key #5: Education and Awareness

Education and awareness plays a big role on a successful recovery and rehabilitation. For those of us that suffered the so called "mild" Traumatic Brain Injury it is our responsibility to get educated. I did this once I understood the "lack of initiative" issue. As I accepted this issue I worked to get over it. Even though this is a present issue for other things, I was the one, along with my wife Roxana, that became education hungry. My wife started reading books to me, we started watching videos, and seeking knowledge through my providers and the internet. Sometimes I had to network with people that have nothing to do with the military. All this together gave me a general knowledge about Traumatic Brain Injury. When I was wounded I had absolutely no idea what TBI was.
Seeking information helped me understand the causes of what I was and still experiencing. Brain Injuries brings with it some cognitive impairments but that is not an excuse for somebody not to learn. You have to find what works for you in terms of receiving education. There are so many ways to get educated. If you have a reading and comprehension problem then use videos or audio versions of the books, sometime you can even find video lectures online. Remember when you become educated on your condition you will get answers to many of your questions.
As you may know with this type of injury comes an emotional side effect. An emotional effect that many times could be mistaken for PTSD, but many of the emotional issues I have faced are non combat related, the symptoms are more related to the effect of Traumatic Brain Injury, symptoms that are caused by the fact that I try to be how I was and I can't, I try to do the executive skill like I use to and I can't, try to exercise the way I use to and I can't, among others like grieving, loss, and "mourn". Through education on my condition I learned about this and understanding the symptoms created coping strategies, and relieved most of them. I learned that I'm not alone and that is common to feel an emotional effect after a BI.
Many other frustrations where relieved after learning about BI. I read and was taught by my providers about other TBI problems. For example, Jimmy and Tessa, my physical therapists, explained in detail why balance, motor skills and coordination get affected. My speech therapist, Claudia and Vanessa explained to me why and how my speech fluency was affected along with the cognitive areas like concentration and attention. Dr. (COL) Richard Petri and Eric Spier, my physiatrists, explained to me the overall impact of the injury and they explained what to expect after the injury.
Putting older post together it show how the support network ties with education. In part is the providers responsibility to educate the patients, but do not forget that you are in control of your own rehab. Take initiative and learn about traumatic brain injury regardless of the means you use. Many times providers are blamed for the recovery failures but as you are a crucial part of your recovery, don't make the mistake of failing yourself.
Learn: Empowerment comes with knowledge, only you hold that key.

Key #4: Support Network

I hope everybody had a wonderful weekend. I did have a great one. Spent time with many friends and family. The things I will mention are based on my personal experience.
I said that I spent time with family and friends this past weekend. A key to success in my opinion is having a positive support network. It is life changing to know that I have shoulders to lean on, ears to listen to me, and many people that give advice, encouragement and motivation. Within the support network the most important piece is the family. Most of us live with a spouse, mother, father, sons, daughters, among many other relatives. This are the people we have access to on a daily basis. It is as important for them to understand the TBI condition as it is important for us to facilitate the education to them. After a brain injury it has been easy for me to think that nobody understand what I'm going thru. A brain injury makes understanding some situations very hard. Sometimes I recognize the meaning of different situations might not be how I see them. I might perceive it different from what it really means.
Let me make a quick pause to talk about perception. For some reason sometimes people tell me something and I take it the wrong way. They probably didn't mean it the way I took it. The way I perceive things at times is off from the real meaning of the intended message. This has triggered arguments or resulted in feelings being hurt. Now that I understand the perception issue I make myself pause and think before I act. This has helped me understand and really look at the real meaning of what goes on. Impulsivity is tied to this too. At times we are too quick on "jumping the gun" and kind of instinctively doing something without thinking. Like I have mentioned before "knowledge is power", we have to learn to stop and think before we act. Understanding these issues has helped on self control and helped my relationships with family and friends.
Going back to Support Network. Support Network is not limited to family and friends, it is broader than that. Compassionate providers are another very important part of the support. The encouragement, motivation, advice and understanding are one of the most valuable things I have received as support of my providers. We always try to demand the compassion and so many other things from the providers. I ask us today to think about how much effort are we putting in our recovery. As we at times get upset about having a provider that seemed like they don't care, or don't put enough effort on our treatment; providers at times get the same feelings towards a patient that doesn't put effort on his/her recovery. Remember that caring goes both ways.
As I mentioned the perception issue. It is important for us to share our feelings with other in the support network. I always try to avoid to keep things that bother me inside of m,e because as you might have experienced it is very easy to get overwhelmed. Sharing our thoughts and feelings with others greatly helps releasing that pressure and that overwhelming feeling. Don't forget self-control. When sharing your thoughts and feelings think before acting because we have to be respectful and tactful.
When building a Support Network make sure you surround yourself with positive people. People that don't care or that draw us in the wrong direction might be very harming to our recovery. For example, people that are always complaining about things in life or people that are always upset about everything have been detrimental to my healing. I have cut them off understanding that I'm not in position to play around with my recovery. Many times I found out that if it doesn't feel good it might not be good for me. It is not that I'm being selfish or that "everything is about me", it is about recovering and healing as fast as possible.
I encourage you to open up with your providers, family, and friends. Expand your horizons and you'll see how many people are out there waiting to help you.
Another element of the Support Network might be a support group. It is a relieve for me to see that other people share the same symptoms I have. Those are the people that I learn from as they share their coping strategies among other things. In my opinion a group should be conducted with these factors taken into consideration: it has to be a safe place, everybody has to commit to confidentiality (what's said in the group, stays in the group), everybody has to be respectful to others, it has to be volunteer and one person talks at a time. The leader of the group should be able to steer the group, meaning that if members deviate from TBI related things, the leader should have the skill to bring it back on track so the group can accomplish its goal.
I close with this: find a support network, be in control of your recovery (you are the most important element in your rehab), trust others, and if you feel overwhelmed talk to somebody. Involve your family and educate them as well as educate yourself. It makes a difference. And most importantly DO NOT USE THE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AS A CRUTCH.
If you have any questions or comments and are unable to post them here feel free to address them at tbiwarriors@hotmail.com.
Big hugs to all.
See you all tomorrow.

It's Not How Fast I Get There As Long As I Do Get There

I hope everybody is doing well today. Thank God is Friday!!! This week has been an amazing week for me. God has coordinated many uplifting events. First I had the chance to attend the promotion of my former First Sergeant and very good friend Paul. I will start working for him again on a volunteer basis. I'm so happy he's is giving me this opportunity and that finally after so many month I'm going to start to reintegrate and do what I like to do, to be a Soldier. I don't care if is behind a desk, what I care is that everyday will be a day where I can put my US Army uniform and fulfill a mission. In this voluteer job I will be evaluated on my performance and military skills. Feedback will be given to Mentis so that rehab can be adjusted if need be. Thank you to Paul and Becky for being such a support to me.
At Mentis this week I had my usual therapies and more. Yesterday had a farewell to one of the Soldiers that get treated there. His name is SFC William Fraas (Billy). To say goodbye to him the staff at Mentis planned a special outing. He was given the opportunity to pick a place he would like to go. We went to lunch and after lunch we took a trip to the Wyler Aerial Tramway in El Paso. It was so much fun. I had a chance to talk to Billy and I have to tell you he has a wonderful story, a very inspiring story. The only thing that didn't go too well during the outing was that I rode on the back of the van which caused for me to get motion sickness. I felt very sick. That never happened prior to the BI. The day was so long that at the end of the day when I got home I had to lay down for a few hours. My mental endurance is not the same. It is very hard to sustain a good stamina whenever the day goes over 3 hours. I'm working really hard to get that endurance back. I push myself everyday. Since the injury it has improved a lot. At the beginning it was hard to go over 10 minutes and now I can effectively do arount 3 to 4 hours and if I push myself I can do more. But when I get to the point of pushing myself everything becomes overwhelming and confusing. It's very hard to organize my thoughts at that point. At the time it gets overwhelming, pushing myself has its side effects, it starts reflecting physically, I get headaches, the balance issues increase, occasionally I get shakes or tremors, fluency problems increase among other things. But I see it as if I was training for a marathon. The more I push, the farther I'll get, the more endurance I'll built. It's not easy but I have to do it.
During this week I also found out that the unit I belong to had received tickets to go see Toby Keith in concert at Albuquerque, New Mexico on August 13th. Purple Heart Recipients had priority. I was approach and asked if I wanted to attend the event with my wife with all expenses paid to include transportation and hotel. So I said yes. I wouldn't decline a chance like that to go see a great supporter of the troops and one of my favorite country singers.
At the therapies at Mentis they are starting to incorporate more Soldier oriented things. For example in Physical Therapy we are doing "3 to 5 second rushes" which is a military drill. I have to be able to perform this drill in order to return to duty. Also they are incorporating target scanning while moving to ensure I can maintain my balance. This is a very hard task for me to accomplish because moving my head scanning for the targets gets me dizzy, motion sick and upsets my stomach. But again the more I do it the better I get.
Many probably have seen the video from the National Public Radio (NPR). That video was shot several months ago. Since then I have made big improvement. Even people that see me everyday say that there is a noticeable improvement. I do feel my improvement. Recovery has been a lot of work and perseverance. Speech is the area that's has taken the longest. This area has been slow but I have faith that it will get better. Applying fluency strategies takes a lot of focus and energy. An hour of speech therapy for me feels like I ran a marathon. It is very tiring. But I'm going to keep moving forward and be successful at it.
Well, I hope you all have a great weekend. We'll stay in touch. God bless you all.
If you have any questions or comments I will be glad to address them. My email address is tbiwarriors@hotmail.com

Key #3: Goal Setting

Hello again!!! I hope everybody is doing good today. Here is the third part of the series of successful recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury. All I will mention here is based on my personal experience as a patient.
Before I go into the subject I want to mention real fast about me and this blog. One of the areas less affected with my BI is writing. That is the reason I started this blog. It began with the desire to help others and at the same time I used it as therapy to strengthen my writing skills. It does take me hours to write every post. Since I still have trouble with attention, concentration, and mental endurance I have to write a little bit then put it down rest and repeat the cycle again several times until is completed. After I feel is completed I use third parties to ensure is grammatically correct and that it's coherent. If there are any corrections I get told about it and I fix them myself. This helps tremendously in my recovery.
So, back into subject. Goal setting... At the beginning of my rehabilitation during my different therapy sessions nobody ever told me about goal setting. This first 5 months were at a military medical facility. It felt like I was attending the therapy but didn't know which direction I was heading. I went through every exercise just doing them by the numbers without knowing clearly what I was trying to achieve. At this point the providers might have had an idea of goals but it was never communicated to me. I was not part of my treatment team.
Later, as I began in Mentis, I observed that they would include me on the treatment plan. They made me feel that I was not only a subject but I was the center of my rehabilitation. At the beginning they discussed what were my goals, they asked what my plans for the future were and what I wanted the therapies to focus. They asked what skills I needed to perform my job in the military and also they asked for a job description. All this allowed the rehab treatment to be tailored to my needs. The goals covered from treating the obvious impairments to retraining the brain to perform daily living tasks and to perform job related skills. All the goals were clearly outlined and explained. They briefed me on exactly what I needed to accomplish in all different sessions. These goals are revisited at the most every 30 days and some times more frequent than that. The path I had to walk was very clear and I knew exactly where I was heading. All the goals are attainable.
Besides these rehab treatment goals being briefed and discussed, in Speech Therapy they actually taught me how to set goals for myself. Even on my life out of rehab I have to create short and long term goals in order to accomplish even simple achievements. It is extremely important for me to set goals for my day to day living. Being able to see a clear path is crucial in achieving success. It also helps to maintain an organized life, it gives a clear direction.

Key #2: Provider Compassion

Hello again. I hope you all are doing ok. This is the second part of the series of postings I will do in regards to what I think are the key elements is successful BI recovery. Again, this is based on my personal experience and what has worked for me.
Throughout my recovery I have seen many medical providers, ranging from technicians to doctors. Some have been great and effective. Others have been not great at all leaving me desiring so much more care. I have seen many providers that make me feel I'm just another one breathing their airspace, it seemed like I was bothering them. Sometimes there I have seen lack of planning, for example, going to therapy and they didn't know what we were doing at the session and not listening to me among others. Never with those providers I knew what I had to achieve to be successful. For me it was like walking with no direction. At times it felt like the providers were in a throne and I was like a servant that had to praise them. Now, if research was in the air, they were quick of getting interested, like there was their chance to make a name. Some of my providers have being totally pathetic.
Now, there has been the other side of the coin. I've had many providers that do care. They not only see themselves as a provider, they also project themselves as a healing tool. Keep in mind healing from a brain injury is no only taking care of the injury itself, it is taking care of the person as a whole. Many of this other provider (I will refer to them as the Good Providers) many times go out of their scope of duties to take care of the person in a holistic way.
I see that treatment and therapy have better results as this therapist or doctors sit down and listen to the issues presented. For example, many times my different therapists at Mentis listened to other issues, ie emotional, etc. They either do some kind of counseling themselves or refer me to the proper path. Nine times out of ten what they say is enough to resolve any present issues.
As a Soldier, my physical fitness reflect on me emotionally, so the more in shape I am the better I feel. Another example, usually on neuro rehabilitation a physical therapist focuses on dizziness, vertigo, balance, and any other physical effects of the BI, well my Physical Therapists knows how important it is for me to be physically fit and returning to duty so at times they would take me on three to four mile runs. They do not have to do that, but since they are so committed in my goals and in treating me as a whole they go out of their scope of duty to make this happen for me.
Yet, another example, Speech Pathologists normally concentrates on fluency, memory, attention, concentration, and executive functioning. Well, my Speech Pathologists also focuses on my confidence. After the injury I lost most of my confidence, either because of the fluency problem or just for the fact that I couldn't do things with the same effectiveness as before the BI. My SP is taking care of building my confidence again. I do not expect to be the same as before, but is do expect to be pretty close and thanks to them I am reaching that goal. In order to achieve a successful recovery, the providers at Mentis and I set goals that are discussed and planned between us. It is not dictated to me, it is a team effort. I am part of that team.
All of my providers at this time, they are open to listen to any issues and in dealing with them. There are issues that are emotional. There are emotional stages on recovering from a BI. I had learned that at Mentis. There is grieve, mourn, sadness, acceptance, etc. These are part of the healing process. It is because the injury caused an abrupt and sudden change in my life. I learn about the emotional stages of healing at Mentis. This feeling are nowhere related to combat experiences. I understand this now. It is very unique in the Army that any emotional issues are PTSD. So, by them not understanding the problem leads to a delay in resolving issues. Thanks to all the providers I have right now most of the issues are being resolved as they become present.
If you are a provider reading this blog, my message to you is, your compassion, understanding, and listening skills add effectiveness to you expertise. Your patients are human beings like you. Not because you have more academic degrees means you are more than them. Be humble and level with your patients. Making a personal and emotional connection with your patients will help the recover faster. By achieving this you are not only healing the brain injury you are healing the whole person. Do this and you will have a long lasting impact in your patients lives and they will never forget you.

Key #1: Independence

Hi everyone. I want to create a series of postings on some of the key elements of successful recovery from a Brain Injury. All I will mention here is from my perspective and based on my own experience. I do struggle with my brain injury in the present and have not fully recovered.
The top thing I encourage any brain injury survivor is to maintain their independence as much as possible. Of course in some more severe brain injuries is hard to maintain independence as some survivor really cannot perform certain tasks. During recovery the more I do independently those tasks that are harder to perform the better results I get. I figured out that for me the more I do this tasks the faster I get use to do them. At the begining, for some tasks I either needed assistance or required a heavy level of concentration. Now as I do them more I find myself doing those tasks with less concentration and effort. Basically, I see it this way, the more repetition the faster the brain gets retrained and the easier everything become.
So, if you are a brain injury survivor I highly encourage you to put forth effort in maintaing your independence. It is not easy, but remember nobody said this was going to be easy.

HEALING AND RECOVERY STARTS WITH YOU AND NOT WITH THE PROVIDERS.

Are you...???

Are you a Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor? Join me and share your story. You can contact me thru email at tbiwarriors@hotmail.com.
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Many Thanks To

Hello everybody. I know again it has been quite a while since I wrote in here. There has been many things going with me that has been taking the time away.
I want to thank a few people that have been supporting me in so many different ways. I apologize if I forgot somebody, it was not intentional. So here it goes...
To God for walking the healing road with me, and to Roxana for being so loving, understanding, caring, and supportive. Roxana I couldn't get thru this without you, I Love You, you are my biggest blessing. To my family, mom, dad, Zandra and her family, my in-laws, Melissa, Vitin, and Janet and David. To all that have really taken care of me Dr. Petri, Dr. Harris, Jennifer, Amy, Erika, Ismael, MS, BH, HT, JW (you all know who you are) and Erika C. To my former command, friends and their family; 1SG Crow and Becky, CPT Lockhart, CPT Porter, Jermane, Raymond, Nick G and Jake. To all the providers and staff at Mentis: Jose, Eric S, Jimmy, Tessa, Suki, Claudia, Vanessa, Maribel, Raquel, Johnny and Stephen. To the NPR and Propublica reporters: Daniel Zwerdling and T. Christian Miller for helping get so many Soldiers voices out. To KFOX reporter: Derek Shore. To Congressman Teague and his staff for choosing to be our voice. Finally, Simone, thank you for your letter and support. You have made an impact in my life.
I thank God for providing me with so many good people around me. Each of the names I mentioned here have been a great support during my recovery. Without you all I could not have made it. I will always be grateful for you frienship, compassion and support. You all have been great!!! I have no words to express how thankful I am that you all are in some way conected to me. Hugs to all!!!
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An Awesome Day

Well, I know I haven't written anything in a couple of week. Ever since the media story on TBI came out I have been busy and emotional. I think about how could this have happened to me. But at the same time I feel that I rather go thru this myself instead of somebody else. I have the support from family and friends that really gives me the strength to drive on.
I'm not writing too much about my treatment because I don't want to make. this blog redundant and boring. I recently started taking a medication for attention and I got to tell you it works like a charm. I have been resistant on taking medications in the past but I am glad I gave this one a chance. I have made some great progress in the last month. It feels like I broke the wall that I hit. My balance is almost to a minute which I am very excited about. It becomes frustrating when I get dizzy and get vertigo. At times it felt that I couldn't do a lot of things. Jimmy, the Physical Therapist, is working on retraining the brain on what movements the body has to do to maitain balance. So, yeahhhh, we have moved up from the YES and NO exercises.
During Occupational Therapy, Raquel put me on the computer to do some attention sustainment word games. The game consisted of a lot of syllables scrambled and I had to make words based on a given subject. Doing this was a little bit challenging but even though I was below the median I think that I will get better at it. Last night before going to bed Roxana and I did about 5 of these games. She had to slow down for me. Man, she's fast.
I had 2 Speech Therapy sessions. The first one was fluency, which I honestly don't like. I feel embarrassed at time. But I did drive on and did it. The second one was cognitive-memory. On this one I was very impressed. Claudia read me some articles and she asked me questions about it after. I was amaze to see that my memory is getting better. I was able to recall an average of 80% without help on the 1st article. This article was kind of story telling like. The second article was informational and I had a harder time recalling it. But I think I recalled about 70% independently. It was a great session and I felt a big sense of accomplishment.
While I was at Mentis yesterday I was approached by Jose, the administrator and he handed me a letter. This was the most special letter I have received in my life. It was from a lady that I had talked on the phone last week. I have no words to describe what I felt. Feeling the support from somebody that you don't know its amazing and life changing. Simone, thank you. I will alway be thankful from what you and your family did and I will always treasure that letter.
Today, we have the support group here at Ft. Bliss. We are having a workshop on TaiChi. I'm really looking forward to it.
Until next time.
God bless you all.
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BACK: Renewed and Relaxed

Hello, I've been away for a few weeks because I finally took a vacation. Roxana and I went to Disney World to celebrate our anniversary. It was an excellent trip. We were so blessed as we received an upgrade from Disney to stayed at a concierge area at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Upon our arrival to the room Roxana found in the room a floral arrangement, personalized towels, and rose petals forming a heart that I had ordered a few weeks ahead of time. The room was big and comfortable. During our stay there we had dinner at a few of the Signature Restaurants on property. We watched the fireworks from different restaurants on first row. We watched them from the California Grill, Citricos, Cinderella's Royal Table and Narcoosee's.
It was good to stay on Disney property because it allowed me to go back to the room and rest on park days. We couldn't do to many parks because I get tired to quick. Our anniversary day celebration started with a spa treatment. It was awesome!!! The we had dinner at Narcoosee's where they gifted us with a cake and personalized menus.
Also, on during my vacation I was able to see my family and spend a few days with them. It's so bad that I had to come to an end. But I had to get back to business and get into rehab.
This week as I get back to rehab I'm starting some extended hours of treatment. Like I said before now I go Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Now is pretty much full days. I'm looking forward for this next few months to see the challenges ahead and see success.

Until next time.

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The new next

Yesterday we had the TBI support group. As usual it was a great session. About 10 Soldiers came to the group. We discussed different symptoms to include hormonal changes, weight gain, headaches, tremors or shakes, balance among others. Soldiers where motivated to voice their experiences. In my opinion, having a group with the philosophy of "for the Soldiers by the Soldiers", is very effective. This because of participants are able to see that other Soldiers regardless of rank or MOS are suffering the same injury. It is empowering to participate in a group like this.
Today I went to Mentis as is usual for my Thursdays. During speech therapy I was part of a group of about 5 other patients. We discussed stress mangement. In occupational therapy with Raquel for the first time I was part of a group where the participants were only Soldiers. Since it was my first time they focused on explaining to me what as a group they try to target and improve. Mainly is about the emotional stages of healling after a brain injury. In physical therapy we did the regular YESs and NOs but today Jimmy integrated some coordination exercises.
Also, today I was informed that I will be attending the rehab program an additional day per week. This will be Fridays. They added outings in the community, family conferences, and additional speech therapy sessions. In the long run this will expedite my healing process. I can't wait to go back to the old me.

"It will get better before it gets worse"
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After a Long Wait and more...

Hello everyone. Hope everybody is doing fine. I know I didn't post anything for a few weeks because I have been busy. I the past couple of weeks I have been at Mentis several times having the regular therapies. I had my reeval about a week ago and they decided to extend me for another 3 to 4 months. I don't know the exact end date yet. At times I feel frustrated because I'm so close but yet so far. I'll keep having my faith in God that it will not take that much longer and I will be able to return to duty soon.
Friday I attended the uncasing of the colors ceremony for the 4th Brigade, 1st Armored Division at Biggs Army Airfield. It was a great ceremony. There was the whole brigade after being back from Iraq. I was so happy to see Nick, my gunner that got injured at the same time I was injured. Seeing him standing tall brought a lot of pride to myself. After the ceremony I talked to Paul and LTC Gallivan. Also, I saw CSM Yuraska when he approched me for a hand shake. I felt the support they gave me that day. A lot of time I felt like they had forgotten about me and it saddened me. But friday I felt that that wasn't the case. I am proud to have served with them in combat.
Last Saturday I did the Wounded Warrior Walk sponsored by the group Bridges here at Ft. Bliss. It was a 5K walk were military and civilians participated. It was fun. I walked it with Roxana.
On Sunday I went on a walk around the neighborhood with Roxana. Oh, it's so relaxing for me to go outdoors. It is the best medicine for me. We walked for about 5 miles. It took us a long time but it was really fun. As you all know I recently started running and doing more physical training. I'm not where I was at before the injury but I know I will get there. It is so wonderful to be able to either run or do elliptical training. The more fit I feel the better I am physically and emotionally. When I wasn't able to workout it played a significant role to how I felt. Plus, it gave me a sense of accomplishment and achievement.
Last Wednesday we had the TBI support group. We had about 6 Soldiers showing up. That day it was kind of like a venting session where all the participants expressed how they felt. We talked for about 1.5 hours. It was great. At the end of the group Dr. Podila did acupuncture on the Soldiers that volunteer for it. Acupuncture therapy is by far one of the best treatments I receive. It takes the headaches, tremors and other pains away. I highly encourage all Soldiers suffering from a brain injury to try acupuncture, it really helps.
Yesterday I had dinner with 5 Soldiers I used to serve with. We went to Red Lobster. The time we spent together was great. Seeing them back in the States makes me happy and brings closure to me. After being Medevac'd it has not been easy to deal with the fact that I felt like I left my Soldiers behind. Everyday I thought "I'm here and they're there. I should be there too with them". I got to mention a good friend of mine, Jermane. Thanks brother for always staying in touch with me and for being there for me.
Last night I didn't have a good night. I slept probably for about 2 hours because my left leg was numb all night. It was a painful numbness. Apparently it comes from an injured disc on my lower back. The chiropractor will see me today to try to help me out with it.
Later.

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A Few New Things

Hi, everyone. It's been a few days since my last post. Since the last post my days have been pretty much a repetition of past days. I had two appointments witht the chiropractor, two appointments the acupuncturist, and Mentis today. The highlights of this few days have been that Dr. Petri did needle acupuncture on some knots I have on my muscles. That was painful, but at least it took care of one of the knots. Tomorrow I will go for another treatment.
Last Saturday I began to use Androderm. This is a testosterone patch. It is suppose to bring my testosterone levels back up. Apparently my pituitary gland got affected with the injury because different hormones and vitamins are extremely low. My Primary Care Management order me these patches to try to bring the testosterone to normal levels.
Last Saturday too, I went to a Pranic Healing seminar with Dr. Podila and Mr. Greg Otto from the Warrior Transition Clinic. Pranic Healing is a method of healing using the energy field in the body. It was quite amazing. It was a long day on Saturday. It was overwhelming for me. So overwhelming that on Sunday I had vertigo and headaches. I could not wake up until late.
Today the day started with a run with Jimmy. We ran slightly over 2 miles. It wasn't a good run for me, I was not feeling it. Then during speech therapy we worked on some reading comprehension and fluency strategies. In occupational therapy, Stephen, did a reeval on my grip strength and is up to about 120psi per hand. That's pretty awesome. So much improvement in so little. I'm telling you effective therapy reflects in amazing results. Finally during Physical Therapy we worked on the balance issues with vestibular exercises (head movements, walk, and ball throw). Today I had to close my eyes on some of the exercises and I got to tell you is so hard to keep my balance. When I realize that I am loosing my balance its already too late because when I open my eyes I am too far to the left or the right and at that point is hard to bring myself to balance.
Tomorrow we will have the second meeting of the TBI Support Group at the Warrior Transition Unit. I will let you all know how it goes.

Good Way to Start

Hi everyone, today was a Mentis day as you all know. The day started as usual with Speech Therapy. Vanessa had a family conference so for the first time I worked with Wendy. Wendy is another speech pathologist at Mentis. We started using the motronome. The metronome is a computer that has some kind of sensors that all together work with coordination. I use to hate it because I didn't do to good at it. I was always well below the average. Today, all that time spent with me in the metronome paid of, because when Wendy put me on that machine today I was above average on most of the tasks measured. I was so happy. After the metronome we sat down to work on some reading comprehension. I started good for the first 2 paragraphs. I had to write things down but that's ok, it's all about compensating strategies. Once we got to the third paragraph is when I hit the brick wall. From there on it was very hard to comprehend what I was reading. With Wendy's help I was able to accomplish the task.
Physical Therapy today started like any other session. YESs and NOs. Following that I had to walk on the treadmill giving sidesteps. It should help improve the balance. And we finish with some other side step exercises in the hallway.
During Occupational Therapy, Clint and I had to put another of those electrical circuits, but this time I was in a room and he was in another. We were using handheld radios to communicate. This will help us with communication skills. We were successful at the task.

See you tomorrow!!!