Lost & Found - A Survivor's Guide for Reconstructing Life after a Brain Injury

By: Barbara J Webster

For people who have suffered from brain injuries, continuing to live a normal life is not easy. Barbara Webster, the author of Lost & Found—A Survivor’s Guide for Reconstructing Life after a Brain Injury, found herself in a frustrating situation where she “couldn’t do anything mentally that she used to do so effortlessly” after a car accident in 1991. The loss of memory and the weak ability to organize are common things to brain injury survivors, says Barbara. However, instead of simply hating herself for her lost abilities, Barbara has overcome the changes and written a detailed guidebook based on her own experience of recovery to help others.

Her book provides a variety of practical strategies to deal with situations in everyday life—from how to make a shopping list to how to read and write better. It is a step-by-step recovery worksheet that all users can apply regardless of the stage in their healing journey. Moreover, Barbara includes her own philosophy of the person and of the world into this book that is insightful and accurate. In order to have a better recovery, Barbara thinks that people should always give themselves positive hints like “I believe in myself” and “I can do it.” By building self-confidence and faith in oneself, the rest of the recovery comes a lot smoother. According to Barbara, the power of the community, including the Brain Injury Association and other support groups, is also very important and influential. This community makes brain injury survivors feel they are not fighting alone in this world and can provide them with more communication and encouragement that their friends and families may not be able to.

Throughout the examples and tips in the book, the bigger message Barbara tries to say is that every human being is unique and has value. Challenges like brain injuries are only part of everyone’s life. They are and can be conquered with strength.

Book review by Kate Xu 

Check out the following link for an interview with Barbara Webster courtesy of Lash & Associates, a leading source of brain injury information: http://www.lapublishing.com/blog/2011/barbara-webster-brain-injury-survivor/

Purchase book from Lash & Associates Publishing  

In the Blink of an Eye: The Reed and Rob Nixon Story

By: Sheryl Brown Nixon

Tuesday, April 4, 1995 is a day that Sheryl Nixon will never forget. At 9:20 PM, she received a phone call that four of her six children had been in a serious car accident while driving home from a church youth group. Two of her sons, 17-year-old Reed and 16-year-old Rob, were sitting in the front of the van and sustained the most severe injuries when it flipped over and the roof caved. In a numb state of shock and disbelief, Sheryl rushed to the hospital to be with her sons. After several hours of waiting, Sheryl and her husband Mark were pulled aside by a doctor who filled them in on the extent of the injuries: Reed and Rob both had collapsed lungs, bruised hearts, broken necks, and suffered spinal cord injuries. It was every parent’s worst nightmare, times two. In the blink of an eye, Reed and Rob became quadriplegic. “Faced with such unbelievable circumstances, feeling overwhelmed and incapable of making rational decisions,” Sheryl and her family began their “uncharted journey.”

One of Sheryl’s recurring themes in the book is how important it was for the Nixon’s to make a conscious decision to reject the “unhappy world of self-pity” and “choose to be happy.” The Nixon’s adopted “maximization” as their family motto. No matter what obstacles Reed and Rob faced, they realized that they “needed to focus on maximizing the positive.” With this mindset, they would keep hope, strive to improve, and make sure to be happy and thankful for whatever progress they made. They knew that if they wallowed in despair, it would consume them and prevent them from recovering to the fullest extent possible. When Reed received his new Tongue Touch Keypad to drive his wheelchair, he chose not to see it as a reflection of his lost independence. Instead, he chose to use it as a way to have fun with those around him; as Reed drove with the keypad hidden in his mouth, he would convince others that he “just thought really hard and his chair moved.”

As Sheryl takes us through the family’s journey, we see how a good sense of humor and faith helped Reed and Rob to maximize their recoveries.  When Rob received his first at home nurse, he joked, “Dad, this is a rip! Have you seen the pretty young nurse that Reed got? And I got a grandma for mine!” When an obstacle arose and no joke seemed able to assuage the pain, the Nixon’s found their strength in a trust in God and being thankful for the blessings they could count. Sheryl’s heart broke when she saw Rob struggling for over 45 minutes to put on a sock “without the use of his hands and fingers, and no stomach muscles to help.” Despite the pain, Sheryl kept her faith and believed in Rob’s ability to learn from his struggles. Now, Rob can get fully dressed on his own in less time than it used to take him for that one sock. Sheryl’s trust and positivity allowed Rob achieve maximization and regain independence.

Through In The Blink of an Eye, Sheryl shares the amazing story of her family’s triumph in the face of tragedy. An accomplished lyricist and poet, Sheryl includes songs that she wrote to clue us in on exactly what she was feeling at the time. She provides a completely open, candid, and truly inspirational window into the Nixon family’s experience. Their amazing triumph is summed up best in Sheryl’s own words: “This whole ordeal has been such a growing experience for our family. While our challenges and trials have not been easy, we have become better people as a result of them. We have grown emotionally and spiritually to levels that we never knew were possible. As a result of the accident that was so devastatingly destructive, our whole family is more deeply connected and united, and we have become stronger still.” 

Book review by Greg McGee, contact him at gmcgee@minutesformemories.org

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Also, check out the below motivational video introducing Reed and Rob...