On June 16, 2021, I will be speaking on the topic of “I Am More than My Brain Injury — Defining and Creating My New Normal” through Zoom to the members of the Brain Injury Services — Adapt Clubhouse in Alexandria, Virginia.
Click on the link for an outline of the program.
“I Am More than My Brain Injury – Defining and Creating My New Normal” Part 3 Zoom Presentation
To access links to resources spoken to during this program, click on this link: Resources for Ongoing Brain Injury Recovery Empowering the Individual, not the brain injury
Quotes that Inspire me to Own my Power in My New Normal
Below is a Brief Bio of the Speaker
My name is Craig J. Phillips. I sustained an open skull fracture and a traumatic brain injury in a e damage, a severe brain bruise with brain stem involvement. I also fractured my left femur and remained in traction for 6-7 weeks. I then was placed in a full body cast (Spica) for 5-6 months. After being taken out of the Spica cast, I learned how to walk, talk, read, write and speak in complete sentences. I also underwent 2 EEG’s and a battery of cognitive and psycho social testing. The results were shared with my parents, but not with me. Once my external wounds healed, the impact of my traumatic brain injury went invisible. I graduated on time with my high school class and then went on to college, although the testing done in 1968 showed that I would probably not succeed beyond high school academically. It took me 10 years to obtain my undergraduate degree (2 universities and one college) and 3 ½ years to obtain my graduate degree (2 graduate schools). I had a long history of getting and losing jobs. I applied for SSDI 3 times and was a client of the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation in Florida and North Carolina. After my 2nd DVR evaluation, in North Carolina, my vocational rehab counselor told me that I was unemployable. Shortly after being told that I was unemployable by DVR I was approved to begin receiving SSDI at the end of 1999. Although I had diligently applied myself both academically and vocationally I felt like someone all dressed up with nowhere to go. Nevertheless, I had a desire to use what I had been seeking to do all my life. On February 6, 2007 I created Second Chance to Live. Since that time, I have written 1912 articles, 12 eBooks, 428 video presentations, 20 slide show presentations and 35 inspirational posters. I am a keynote speaker and a workshop leader. Over the past year I have had the opportunity to give keynote presentations to Brain Injury Associations, Brain Injury Support Groups, Brain Injury Clubhouses through zoom in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Indiana, Texas, Colorado, Nevada and in August, North Dakota. Please note that I am available to be of service to survivors, caregivers, and professionals and can be reached at [email protected].
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