Hi and welcome toSecond Chance to Live. I am honored to have you at my table. Thank you for your courage and the sacrifices that you have made while serving to protect our freedom. Our nation owes you a great debt of gratitude. You have honored our great country and you should be honored in return. I have written and published several articles — Living with a Traumatic Brain Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury — 4th of July —Independence Day — to honor your sacrifice and to motivate those in positions of power and influence to provide proactive care and ongoing rehabilitation. Justice cries out and you should be given the best possible care and rehabilitation for however long is necessary given your service and sacrifice while protecting our freedom.
I would also like to thank the family members and friends of our men and women of the armed services. You have also paid a great price and our country owes you a great debt of gratitude. Your love, prayers, and support continue to make a world of difference for our returning heroes. Apart from your love and devotion, many of our valiant service men and women may have given up a long time ago. Thank you for not giving up on those men and women. More will be revealed to you so don’t give up on the process.
In the event that you sustained a traumatic brain injury while serving to protect our freedom, I can identify with you. My name is Craig and I am a traumatic brain injury survivor. My brain injury occurred as a result of a motor vehicle accident in August 1967. In the accident I sustained an open skull fracture with right frontal lobe damage. As a result, I remained in a coma for 3 weeks and in traction for 1 month to set my left femur, which was also fractured at the time of the accident. Following the traction to set my femur I was placed in a full body or Spica cast and transferred to another hospital where I underwent brain and skull surgery. In follow-up to the surgery several EEG’s were completed to determine the extent of the damage done to my brain. I was also given a battery of cognitive, psychological and social tests. The results were given to my parents, which indicated that I would probably not be able to succeed academically beyond high school. These results were not shared with me until after I completed graduate school.
Because neurological rehabilitation was not available in 1967 I had to re-teach myself how to walk, talk, read, write and speak in complete sentences. Despite the data and scientific findings / predictions from the EEG’s and other testing, I was able to obtain both my undergraduate and graduate degrees. If you are interested in an in-depth view of my process, please read my post, My Journey thus Far. Due to the invisible nature of my disability I had to develop strategies to compensate for the injuries to my brain. These strategies have empowered me to succeed beyond all reasonable expectations.
On February 6, 2007, at the encouragement of a friend I created Second Chance to Live to share my experience, strength and hope. The information presented in Second Chance to Live has empowered me overcome many insurmountable odds. The applications offered provide practical solutions for living life on life’s terms. The articles are designed to instill hope, give comfort and provide a motivation to succeed regardless of how life might look. Please read my page, Motivation. On my journey and through my process as a traumatic brain injury survivor, I have learned a very valuable lesson.
Circumstances are not meant to keep us down, but they are meant to build us up!
I invite you visit my Site Map, which can be accessed through a left click on my Site Map tab. When you open my Site Map you will see a list of titles, which represent the articles found within Second Chance to Live. By clicking on the title of your choosing, you will be taken to the actual article. My hope is that as you read material from Second Chance to Live, you will see a new light and that light will lead you to a renewed sense of hope which in turn will give you a new zest for living.
Thank you again for protecting my freedom. You are my Champions.
In the event that you would like to contact me, here is my Contact page. You may send comments and questions and I will respond to you.
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Congratulations on overcoming such an horrific injury.
Blessings,
Shirley Buxton
http://www.shirleybuxton.wordpress.com
Thank you for your tribute to our service members. They need to know that America supports them.
While Americans debate the War in Iraq – many times more bitterly than intellectually – we have forgotten our wounded men and women who are recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals around the Country.
Every week plane loads of seriously wounded military arrive in the United States for medical treatment and recovery – often staying over a year in a hospital. They arrive with few, if any, of their personal possessions. Many are amputees who make the hospital their home-away-from-home while learning to move forward with their lives with the aid of outstanding medical personnel, and physical therapy and occupational therapy staffs.
In 2003, the Angels of Mercy Program was founded to help these wounded men and women and their families. In 2004, Newman’s-Own named the Angels the best volunteer program in American supporting our military. The Program provides clothing suitable for rehabilitation, comfort items, and a broad range of support for young family members who have uprooted their lives to be with their loved ones at the hospital. We need help to keep this non-political, all volunteer program going. Our total effort is on helping those who have given so much, and letting them know their Country cares about their sacrifices.
The web site http://www.SupportOurWounded.org contains many background details, and suggests ways Americans can help. The Angels of Mercy Program can also be reached by phone: 703-938-8930. Our wounded need your help.
Jay Edwards
Co-Founder, Angels of Mercy Program
1355 Balls Hill Road
McLean, Virginia
703.938.8930