ABSTRACT

This is the first book of its kind to include the personal accounts of people who have survived injury to the brain, along with professional therapists' reports of their progress through rehabilitation. The paintings and stories of survivors combine with experts' discussions of the theory and practice of brain injury rehabilitation to illustrate the ups and downs that survivors encounter in their journey from pre-injury status to insult and post-injury rehabilitation.

Wilson, Winegardner and Ashworth's focus on the survivors' perspective shows how rehabilitation is an interactive process between people with brain injury, health care staff, and others, and gives the survivors the chance to tell their own stories of life before their injury, the nature of the insult, their early treatment, and subsequent rehabilitation.

Presenting practical approaches to help survivors of brain injury achieve functionally relevant and meaningful goals, Life After Brain Injury: Survivors’ Stories will help all those working in rehabilitation understand the principles involved in holistic brain injury rehabilitation and how these principles, combined with theory and models, translate into clinical practice.

This book will be of great interest to anyone who wishes to extend their knowledge of the latest theories and practices involved in making life more manageable for people who have suffered damage to the brain. Life After Brain Injury: Survivors’ Stories will also be essential for clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, and anybody dealing with acquired brain injury whether they be a survivor of a brain injury themselves, a relative, a friend or a carer.

chapter |8 pages

Introduction

chapter |14 pages

Tim's story

A seemingly mild injury just waiting to be understood

chapter |14 pages

Natalie's story

The phoenix rising from the ashes

chapter |13 pages

Eliot's story

Rehabilitation through golf and family

chapter |13 pages

Kate's story

Recovery takes time, so don't give up

chapter |12 pages

Jose David' Story

From medical student to medical anthropologist

chapter |9 pages

Tracey's story

Quality of life with locked-in syndrome

chapter |14 pages

James's story

Returning from the ‘dark side'

chapter |12 pages

Claire's story

A face is not a person

chapter |13 pages

Jason's story

Putting a spanner in the works

chapter |8 pages

Christine's story

One day I woke up and there I was! 1

chapter |12 pages

Adrian's story

Dealing with potholes on the road to recovery

chapter |14 pages

Lorraine's story

‘I just want to be able to look after the bairns' 1

chapter |12 pages

Vicky's story

‘Lifting the stone eggs from my heart'

chapter |9 pages

Robert's story

Understanding is key to invisible injuries

chapter |16 pages

Alex's story

Calming the drama and sticking with life

chapter |14 pages

Karen's story

Putting the pieces back together again