After Brain Injury

The Stem Cell Industry has madesome great strides, and 60% of stem-cell-treated Traumatic Brain Injury patients have their brain functions improved. But what happens after stem cells is at least as important, as this RN shows us.

 

Janet Cromer has a good idea of what Mark Kelly will be doing when he gets back from outer space.

Soon Kelly will be leaving his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords – who is recovering from being shot in the head more than a month ago – to lead the Space Shuttle Endeavor’s last mission. However, one expert knows that the shuttle mission isn’t the only thing on Kelly’s mind. The way she knows is that she lived through a similar experience.

“My husband, Alan, suffered a severe brain injury as the result of a heart attack and cardiac arrest,” said Janet Cromer, a career RN and healthcare writer who specializes in brain injury. “Mark is going to have a dual role as spouse and caregiver and he is going to be as much a part – if not more – of his wife’s recovery as any doctor working on her case. I know that as he prepares for his mission in space, he is likely also thinking about his mission for when he gets home – what he will do to help his wife recover.”

Cromer is also author of the book Professor Cromer Learns to Read: A Couple’s New Life after Brain Injury (www.janetcromer.com),a chronicle of how she tended to her husband’s recovery, and how it affected them in terms of both their emotional health and their physical health, as well as their marriage. “Her 35 years in the healthcare field, along with her personal journey as wife and caregiver, led her to create the following tips for helping a brain injury victim learn how to read, write and think again.

 

 

·        Prepare for a Long Mission -- Cognitive rehab usually starts in the hospital or outpatient setting. But that’s just the beginning. Healing and recovering from a brain injury can take a long time.  Many people can continue to make progress in specific ways for months and years after a brain injury with ongoing treatment, motivation, and practice.

·        Take Breaks -- The brain consumes an enormous amount of energy while concentrating and relearning material. Build frequent rest breaks into sessions. Take days off from intensive rehab work. We stopped our “rehab week” on Friday at 5 PM and just enjoyed the weekend. The brain also benefits from time to let new information settle in and integrate.

·        Set Realistic Goals -- Set a few realistic goals. Alan cared most about learning to read and write, so our goals reflected his priorities. Make your goal measurable. For example, “Alan will write three sentences in his log book five days a week.”

·        Prepare Training Materials -- We set up a table in Alan’s office as his new “learning center.” I put away his work as a physics professor. Then we added a children’s computer, children’s dictionary, and two reading books at a time. It can be humiliating to start learning basic skills as an adult, so we selected computers and puzzles that looked like they were made for adults. V-Tech makes such products. As long as the tool looked grown-up, Alan was willing to try it.

·        Make Rehab a Routine -- Doing cognitive and physical rehab became part of our “new normal” life. We scheduled time for certain practice sessions in a distraction-free room. Then we practiced spelling at the grocery store or reading comprehension while talking over a newspaper story. Sometimes I asked Alan to read me a poem before bed. We memorized poems together and enjoyed reciting them.

·        Use Music -- The brain stores and accesses music in different ways than spoken words. Alan loved to sing, and sang long lyrics much easier than he spoke sentences. We sang TV commercials as cues to brush his teeth. Alan remembered the lyrics to camp songs and Broadway musicals, so I asked him to teach me. Playing an instrument and listening to music stimulate several parts of the brain and can be a lot of fun.

·        Enjoy -- Revel in hope and love- a new relationship and life can flourish when nurtured with hope and love.

 

 

 

 

Janet Cromer, RN, MA, LMHC, has a career that spans thirty-five years as a medical and psychiatric RN, twenty-three years as a licensed psychotherapist, and seven years as an award-winning healthcare writer, most recently from the American Medical Writers Association New England Chapter. Janet held clinical and leadership positions in hospitals and community mental health programs, and managed her successful private psychotherapy practice for ten years. Janet is a brain injury and family caregiver support group facilitator, educator and advisory board member.

To interview Janet Cromer or request a review copy of Professor Cromer Learns to Read contact Ginny Grimsley at Ginny@newsandexperts.com.


Ginny Grimsley

National Print Campaign Manager

News and Experts

1127 Grove Street · Clearwater, Florida 33755

Phone: 727-443-7115 EXT 207

 

 

TBI IN YOUR FAMILY? Right now treatments are running about $25k. Let us know if you wish more info: don@RepairStemCells.org