For the last six years my son has been on quite a journey, first to recover from the physical trauma and then to adapt to a changed outlook for his future. There was a whole family on that journey with him and it has been pretty overwhelming at times. In the early days there was Mike in a coma and the rest of us trying to will him awake. It was difficult and frightening being in a high tech intensive care unit, not understanding the language of the medical people. The individual in a coma will not likely remember those terrible days in ICU and neurotrauma. The patient’s loved ones are under enormous stress watching and supporting the rehabilitation process.

We were told it would take one year to for the healing to be complete. It is impossible not to give all of the attention to the crisis, so it meant for at least one year everything and everyone else is neglected. Then we had to come to terms with the fact that while our boy had made a magnificent recovery, he suffered severe deficits. It was going to be an ongoing aspect of our lives. It can be a long time after the initial trauma before the caregivers run out of steam. Adrenaline can carry people a long way, but when it stops pumping, look out.

I have had to learn a lot about neuroscience to help my family negotiate this very difficult and complicated path we are on together. One of the most important insights I have gained is: that the best support comes from those who have shared the experience. I learned this by contacting my local brain injury society and joining a caregiver support group. It has been a very powerful tool to helping me move forward in a positive way.

I have always found strength in the group. A very wide variety of people have come and gone during the last couple of years. There have been men and women, parents and spouses. Their experience with traumatic brain injury comes from accidents, strokes, tumors. Each person has a unique perspective, just like each brain injury is completely unique.

Something that also strikes me with the support group is that we get a lot of people who come once or twice and then they disappear. Knowing statically how many people are dealing with the results of accidents, strokes and tumors, there must be people out there who could really benefit from this type of support.

So, with that in mind, I hope that this home page will lead to a web site that can support individuals with brain injury and their caregivers as well as provide education. Most traumatic brain injuries are preventable so it is possible that education could lead to a reduction of lives destroyed by this tragedy.