Vision Problems

            Vision problems may occur after a TBI (traumatic brain injury).  Vision problems affect 20% to 40% of all brain injured people.  I have vision problems that I never had experienced before my accident. 

            I experience double vision when I look up.  This happens because the eyes are round and when I look up at something the image is hitting off the bottom part of my eye, making the second image look higher then real image. Something similar may be happening to you, if you have experienced a brain injury as well.

            People with brain injuries are very likely to experience vision problems because 40-50 percent of the brain is involved in vision.  Your vision is located in the occipital lobe of your brain, which is located in the back part of your brain.  The reason why so many people with brain injuries experience problems with vision is because when you get into a motor vehicle accident the brain can be detached from the skull, then momentum forces it back and forth making the brain collides with the skull.

            I went to the eye doctor to see if they could solve the problem with my eyes.  I was even going to accept surgery on my eyes if that was the only way to fix my double vision.  The only thing was that the doctor said surgery wouldn’t fix the problem because my cerebellum was very badly injured in my automobile accident.  Instead I received a pair of glasses, which I think is a better option than surgery. They help to alleviate the problem and I’m happy with the outcome.

The Toledo Mudhens

     I went to a Toledo Mud Hens game on Saturday the 10th of August. The Toledo Mud Hens are the Detroit Tigers minor league team. They played against the Indianapolis Indians, who are the Pittsburg Pirates minor league team.

     The starting pitchers were Jair Jurrgens for the Mud Hens and Jameson Taillon for the Indians. Both of the starters had let up 4 runs before they were pulled. The Indians pitcher had lasted 7 innings compared to the Mud Hens starter who only lasted 5.2 innings. From the showing of the numbers it looks like the Indians had done better then the Mud Hens. Ben Guez, who is a Mud Hen, hit a homerun in the bottom of the 3rd to tie the score up 3-3. In the bottom of the 4th the Mud Hens took a 4-3 lead over the Indians when Kevin Russo hit a ground ball to the right fielder, which scored Danny Worth. Kevin Russo, for the Mud Hens, was picked off from 1st base during the same inning, the bottom of the 4th. In the top of the 6th the Indians tied it up 4-4. It stayed tied and the game went into extra innings. The next run was scored in the bottom of the 10th by Danny Worth doubling and scoring Danny Dorn. The Mud Hens won the game thanks to a couple of Mud Hens players.

     The majority of the ball park was very handicapped accessible and easy to get around. The handicapped seats are good as well. I went all the way around the stands without a problem, and I went into the store with minimal difficulty. Some help was needed getting in and out of the bathroom because of the type of doors they have. Some help will be needed with the stall doors too. The stall door could not be closed because my wheelchair was too large for the stall. That was the only problem I experienced with the park and their accessibility.

Overall, I think it was a good game and a good learning experience for me. The Mud Hens had won the game 5-4 in the 10th inning thanks to Danny Worth and Danny Dorn. I learned to never assume a place is 100% handicap accessible, even if they are a big, well known place.

Memory After TBI

                Problems with memory are a very common problem for people who have experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  A lot of people think of memory as being “good or bad”, but it is a lot more complicated then that.  There are a couple different types of memory I’m going to explain here.

                To start things off, I’d like to say that everybody has memory for taste and smell.  The majority of people know the taste of sugar and the smell of a rose.  More importantly there are visual memory and hearing memory.  Visual memory is what we see; it allows us to remember where we have been, where you’ve put something, or what you’re eating.  Visual memory is stored in the right hemisphere of the brain.  We have a special part in our brain for verbal or hearing memory.  This is stored in the left hemisphere of the brain. The hearing part helps a person remember what they have read because things we’ve read translate into language.

                Next, I’d like to talk about immediate memory and short-term memory.  Immediate memory doesn’t last to long. It might last just for a couple minutes.  You use immediate memory when a school teacher tells you a math problem and you have to remember it long enough to write it down immediately.  When a person has a head injury their immediate memory might not be affected, but most head injured people experience problems with short-term memory.   Immediate memory is something that is quickly “spit back”, but short-term memory is information remembered after 30 minutes. An example would be if the teacher said the math problem and it wasn’t written down, then the teacher asks if anybody remembered the math problem 30 minutes later. I would have difficulties remembering it, as would most people with brain injuries.  Short-term memory is what affects a lot of brain injured individuals.

                The last type of memory I’m going to talk about is long-term memory.  Long-term memory is information that is recalled after a day, a couple weeks, or even 15 years.  Long-term memory is the least effected by head injuries.  In fact, a lot of people with head injuries will say, I can tell you what important thing I did 15 years ago, but I have trouble remembering what I just did 15 minutes ago.

                Information flows in through the middle of our brain and branches out like branches on a tree.  Before the information heads off to the different areas of our brain, it is channeled and filtered by a system.  When the brain is injured, the middle areas that information passes through get pressed on because of swelling. The middle area of the brain is also resting on a bone in the skull.  Forward and backward movement of the brain in an accident can cause the middle areas to be ripped or scraped.

                What can we do to help us remember stuff?  It helps to get organized. For example, always put money in the same place.  This way the second you have to grab some extra cash, you know right where to look. Another way which will help, and I do it a lot, is to write things down.  I write down the groceries I need to buy throughout the week, this way when the day comes that I do my grocery shopping, I have my entire list right at hand. I do this because there is no way I could possibly remember it all.

Kayaking..Should I do it?

          Should I kayak?  That's the big question I'm asking myself.  There are a few pros and cons to doing it. I'm going to tell you about them in this article, so you should leave me some advice saying if I should go kayaking or if I should not go kayaking.

          I will start by telling you my pros about kayaking.  If I decide to go kayaking, it will be something new to me because I haven't been kayaking since my accident. It will also be a change of scenery because I would be on the water and doing something outside for a change. I would also be able to relax by the water.

          Now I will tell you about the cons. I don't exactly like getting wet, unless I am in the shower or something. I am so nervous about flipping my kayak because that I would defiantly  get wet that way, and it would be dangerous if I flipped my kayak. It will probably be uncomfortable sitting in a kayak having my legs all stretched out for the amount of time I'm in the kayak because my legs are used to me sitting in a wheelchair. Also the company says they have adaptive equipment, but I am unsure how they will make it so I can paddle with my right arm because I have trouble doing stuff with that arm.

          These are my pros and cons to kayaking. Now it would be much appreciated if you could help me decide on if my pros out weigh my cons, or if my cons out weigh my pros.

 

Thanks a lot,

B.K.

 

My Job on the Blog

          One of my jobs at Day Treatment Services, or DTS, is the blog.  There are many useful skills that are used while writing the blog.  Some of the useful skills include interviewing, concentration, and many more that I will talk about throughout this article.

          Creating a blog once or twice a week can be a very challenging task for me.  Skills are needed to write the blog, such as cognitive abilities.  These cognitive abilities include brain storming, spelling, forming correct complete sentences, and forming correct complete paragraphs.  I’m able to utilize the brain storming skills while coming up with article topics.  Concentration is another skill that is needed for the job.  It can sometimes be very difficult to concentrate with all the noise that could often be occurring in the background.  Stuff like other staff or a T.V. can be very distracting.  It can take a lot of energy or effort to stay concentrated on the task that I’m working on.   All of these things are good for my brain to handle because they can be tough.

          Another set of skills that is needed to work on the blog are some computer skills.   Knowing the keyboard can help a lot. Knowing where the letters fall can be very helpful. Your computer type must be known too.  For example, the type of computer that is being used must be known.  Like if a Macintosh computer is being used, or a computer that runs windows, determines the programming that must be known.  I work using Microsoft Word, and am comfortable with that program.

          Interviewing people is a required part of working on this blog too.  To interview people, a topic must be chosen.  After the topic is chosen, a question list must be created.  Then a person that is going to be interviewed must be chosen, whether the person is known, or it might be a totally random interview.  A good thing that comes out of this is that time management skills have to be pretty good, which is another thing the blog works on.  Creating a schedule and keeping to it is a great way to manage time efficiently.

          The way I work on this blog is I pull out a sheet of paper and a writing utensil and create a list of possible topics.  Next, I work with my job coach to determine if research is needed.  Then I create a story web using researched information, already known information, or past experiences.  Past experiences may include previous outings or activities that I was able to take part in.  After the web is created, my job coach and I work together on writing the articles.  I then type the story in paragraph form on the computer.   After typing the story, it is proof read by myself and my boss. Then I post it to the blog page and sometimes add pictures related to the topic.

          I enjoy doing the work for the blog.  The work that I do is like a therapy to me.   I am able to work on many skills that are beneficial to my brain injury rehabilitation.  I hope that you enjoyed reading about one of the jobs that Special Tree has to offer.

Dogs Can Help

          Dogs can be very therapeutic.  At the place that I’m staying at, we have a small dog, it is a Chihuahua.  Dogs can be very therapeutic because they can listen to commands.  You also need to be able to judge like when they have to go outside.  

          The dog at house I’m staying at is very nice.  It is very friendly and it will let you know when it needs something.  It does this by not leaving you alone until it gets what it wants.  If she needs something, like for you to let it out, she will keep bugging you and will run at the door.  If the dog is hungry, she will keep bugging you and run by her bowl.  The dog has learned how to deal with us.

          When it comes down to it, I personally believe that dogs are very

 therapeutic.  I think this because it is another living thing you must learn to deal with.  I also think this because it works on your judgment skills.  When I first moved to the house I thought the dog was just doing all of this to be annoying, but it actually does all this stuff because it needs something.

Wayne DTS at Toledo Zoo

            On Friday, May 10th, Wayne DTS made their way to the Toledo Zoo. At the zoo, we were able to see a lot of different types of animals and their habitats. The weather was beautiful that day, which made it even more enjoyable for the group.

    Upon entering the zoo, we followed a path that let us view some eagles. The next animals we saw were the elephants. The elephants have a new exhibit, which had opened up recently. While we were going through the zoo, close to the elephants, we came across two hippos. Apparently they were so comfortable they were catching some z’s in the water. We took our time getting to the reptile house, taking in the animals we saw on the way. Once in the reptile house we saw snakes and various other animals. When we were through the reptile house, we were able to see raccoons and monkeys. They both had newborn babies with them in the zoo.

    The weather outside was very nice. It was sweatshirt weather and it wasn’t raining either. It was overcast, so it was kind of cloudy that day, which kept the sun from shining on us and making it too hot out. The animals were active, since it wasn’t to hot out or to cold out for them.

    The zoo itself seemed to be well kept. It seemed to be clean, which is good because it lets you know that the animals are well taken care of. The zoo’s grounds were very well kept too. All the landscaping was appropriate for the animal that was being viewed. The zoo was also very handicapped accessible. The staff had no problems maneuvering multiple wheelchairs through the exhibits.

    All in all we ended up having a good time at the Toledo Zoo. Before leaving, we were able stop in the souvenir shop. A few clients were even able to purchase some goods at the store.  We were also able to have a good time at the zoo since the weather was nice which let all the animals be a little more active.