COLLEGE AFTER A TBI ( traumatic brain injury)    

    Four years ago I would have never seen myself in the position I’m in today. Back then my goal was to get a bachelors degree, now I’m just lucky to be able to return to college. Looking back to before my accident, things used to come natural to me. Afterwards, I have had to fight hard for what I wanted but in the end all of my hard work paid off.

     I always received good grades in high school and in college. I consistently got A’s and B’s during high school, and I was even placed in advanced classes in both Math and English. I spent minimum time on homework; it just seemed to come natural to me. Things didn’t really change after high school, my freshman year of college I took a full load of classes (12 credit hours) and worked about 30 hours a week. I even managed to make it on the deans list with my busy schedule, which I hope to do again.

     One night changed everything in my world as I knew it. I was in a serious car accident, which could have taken my life. I spent about 2 months in the hospital and then I was discharged to a variety of therapies at Special Tree, each focusing on different deficits so I could reach my personal goal of returning to college. My physical therapy team worked on my gross motor skill and strength, my occupational therapy team worked on my fine motor skills like my hand writing, and in therapeutic recreation we worked on skills I needed to be independent in the community.

      After three years of hard work my support group and I decided it was time to enroll for classes again. All my therapies have gotten me this far, but speech has helped me regain many skills needed to return to college. Some of those skills include increasing memory recall, communication, organization, and planning. Without these skills there is no way I would have been ready for this class.

     This past august (2011) I returned to college at Wayne County Community College for the fall semester. My tutor and I decided on me taking a pre-algebra class to get used to college again. The first day of class I was extremely nervous about returning to school in wheelchair, and interacting with my classmates. Since the first day my nerves have relaxed and I have found the class to be easy, I am planning on taking a winter class or two.

      Sometimes I get frustrated at all the hard work I have to put into things that used to come easy to me. With hard work and a great support system I accomplished one of my major goals of returning to college. In the future, I plan to achieve the same goals I had before my life changing event.                    
         

Day out at Kensington Metropark       

    
     The other Friday, about a dozen of us spent the day at Kensington Metropark which is located in Milford, Michigan. Since there are only a few weeks of summer left, I was definitely excited about getting outside to get some more fishing in before the water freezes over. We spent our day fishing, picnicking, and some people even took a leisurely cruise around Kent Lake. The weather that day was perfect to be outside and enjoying all of the activities and scenery the park had to offer.

     The first thing we tackled when we got to Kensington, was finding the perfect spot for our picnic so we could eat lunch. We eventually decided to take advantage of one of the park’s picnic pavilions. It offered great views of the river and the nature surrounding us. It was an ideal day to spend outside due to the perfect weather, there was not a cloud in the sky.

After lunch, it was time to cast our lines into the river and catch some fish. Even though a majority of the group fished, only a few people in the group actually hooked one. The Huron River is home to mainly five species: Bass, Blue Gill, Pike, Crappie, and Perch. Both of the fish we caught were Blue Gill. We used worms for bait this time, but we all decided that we have had better luck on other days when using either bread or hot dogs.

 Besides our picnic and fishing, we had the option to go for a boat ride or to continue trying to catch more fish. I chose to keep fishing, but those that went on the boat said it was very relaxing and a good way to see more of the park. The boat they went on was a 37 passenger pontoon boat called the Island Queen II. It offers the park’s visitors a chance to see all of the different islands and bays around Kent Lake, and gives the passengers some history and background of the park. One of my peers shared that the most exciting part of the boat ride for him, was seeing a group of turtles that were each larger than a soccer ball.  

     Everyone looked, and sounded, like they enjoyed themselves at the park. Lucky for us the weather was splendid, perfect for all of the activities we wanted to do. Whether you fished, went on the Island Queen II, or just took in the scenery; the outing had something for everyone.