Brain Injury

I had the privilege of attending the Brain Injury Association of Maryland's annual conference last week. What an amazing gathering of people! Health care providers, survivors (as some people who have sustained a brain injury sometimes call themselves), and caregivers were present.

Being able to interact with survivors and their families in an informal setting is so very different from interacting in a health care or school setting. It is humbling to bear wittiness to the Love, pain, and wisdom that so many survivors and caregivers exude. We weren't together to solve someones problem, to need to fix it, or to feel unable. We were all people with a common purpose, to share and learn.

During the conference I was acutely aware of the effort required by many survivors to do the most simple of tasks, such as get to lunch or navigate to the bathroom. As my friend and I were leaving the keynote speaker's presentation (an amazing woman and story - you should check it out - http://kimberlydozier.com ) I heard a voice call out, "I need my wheelchair." Shuffling through the room, surrounded by the crowd of people trying to get to lunch, was a woman, a survivor. I was pulled to her by some unseen force. "Resistance is futile," I learned a long time ago. I would worry about her later if I didn't check. And, besides, I love to help.

When I arrived, the lady ("T") repeated that she needed her wheelchair. So I offered to get it for her. Well that was it for lunch. I never did catch up with my friend. T and I spent the next hour together, me directing her into the elevator (she has a vison problem), her laughing, and then me laughing. We ate with another survivor and they shared stories with one another. I waited on T and she made me laugh. We both got helped!

Incredibly, looking into the eyes of the survivors that I met felt like medicine. I felt my heart swell and my energy level increase. Something about being with the ladies at lunch and the young man in one of the sessions helped me! Maybe being together simply helped me to feel appreciated, something that almost always feels good. And maybe there was more than simple appreciation. Either way, I'm very grateful to have been blessed by such an amazing group of people!