Blogs are being prepared for those coming from Ft. Bragg, North Carolina to Fayetteville in May.
The Fort is completing Brain Trauma month on March 25, 2014. I still have time to make a few remarks about such.
The next event is scheduled for April 10-11. Brain Health Consortium, Brain Health: Partnering to Explore the New Frontier
Topics are:
Behavioral Health
Family Health
Emotional Health
Spiritual Health
Social Health
Physical Health
I have to ask, What does the above have to do with a New Frontier? To treat any person, they must be considered as a whole, combining all types of health, in to one.
I'm waiting to learn the topic for May before I compile my notes. There's nothing like getting a few hours off base, wishing to return if I talk about the same thing. It should be different. I'm not an educated professional brain provider. What do they expect from me? Well, I do have a brain of sorts. That should work.
I feel it is prudent to explore what is currently going on at Ft. Bragg since there are people who will be leaving the base and driving to its closest city, Fayetteville, NC.
on May 7 & 8 to listen to an author who has lived his adult life with a mental illness.
As the subject of the month is brain trauma, I have a couple of experiences to share. Not my personal one that I have in my book, that comes in May. I've talked multiple times with two gentleman who were in the military and both suffer from brain trauma. The situation is the same but how the two deal with their problem differs greatly.
One is angry. He carries a label of being mentally ill and is treated as such. He has a lawn service that he does very well with. I'm not aware of any incident while working but the depression comes and symptoms are the same as a person diagnosed with mental illness. He's pissed! He hates the stigma. He dislikes one on one conversation about such. Going to support groups on mental illness isn't his favorite thing to do, unless the food is good. The fact is his brain cells, his neuo-net, has been severely compromised He got hit in the head. That's it. If people would respect him for his service and understand he is wounded, his world would be a much better place to live.
The other gentleman is 6'4" built like a tight end and would fit in with any NFL team. Instead. he was hit in the head by a swinging pulley on a naval ship. He was injured.
His speech is slurred but if you spend enough time with him, you can understand him pretty well. He participates in psycho-social groups. He's part of the group, unconditionally. Physical appearance and diagnosis doesn't matter. Community Mental Health Centers don't intimidate him. He's loved and helps his peers and his peers help him.
For me, my favorite sport to play as a kid was baseball, bats left and throww left handed. I would be cool, knocking the dirt off my cleats and Boom, hit right in the ear. We wore hard hat helmets, none of the ear protection type. Time and time again, smashed in the head. While stunned, I could hear the apology of a catch who was too lazy to stand up and throw the ball back to the pitcher. As a lefty, you were always in the line of fire. I had a coach who liked me to steal home base, on of the most exciting plays of the game. Nobody knows what's going on, the batter, catcher, umpire and pitcher get confused. But one of our players likes to swing and hit anything that comes running his way, trying to smash it when its on the ground. A brutal play? No way! Such an adrenaline rush never hurt. But trying to lay down for bed, that's a different story. There was a time when I hit the pavement, head first at 45mph. I shouldn't be here writing about it. I wrote about it in my book. You have to read the book for that story.
For now, I'll watch what is going on in brain health until I arrive in Fayetteville.
One thing I'm learning from my son's PRTF placement is that this place specializes in trauma, and how autism actually can be perceived as a brain trauma. We are trying a whole new approach to his behaviors that comes from compassion rather than discipline. Psychological trauma counts too. Teresa
ReplyDeleteTeresa, Thank you for your comment. I find your comment interesting on how autism can be perceived as a brain trauma. I feel the perception of autism is complex. What is happening to the individual in his young years is also complex, so complex I describe it as a "moving target". I've heard many parents who are perplexed by their child's actions, and as young adults as well, who burst out in rage to only ask later why they did it or apologize for their actions. I spent time with a mother and her 18yr son. I sat down with the young adult, listened to what he liked to do and asked if he would show me his art work and comic books he made. I complemented his work and asked questions. He was proud of his accomplishments, and he should be. While looking at his work, he would ask his mother questions about himself, trying to remember prior events. His mother was very calm and candid with her answers. The Oprah show had people like this on her show. They were approached. The mother said no. It seemed liked the word no was not an acceptable word. She was encouraged to tell her story with multiple phone call of incentives; new living room furniture, driving a Cadillac and $5.000 cash. Each time the answer was no, exploiting her son in such away was not going to happen. In jest, she said, "well everyone does have their price" but her concern was finding him a place to live that would be safe for both of them. I had never seen such a compassionate woman.
ReplyDeleteI try to explain, in layman terms, how a person's belief system is formed. See http://mottsmindbook2nd.blogspot.com/2014/03/discussing-your-belief-system-to.html
and a sculpture of the components of a brain cell, What could possibly go wrong? http://mottsmindbook2nd.blogspot.com/2014/03/limb-bark-sculpture-to-identify-areas.html