Parent Perspective slides

7/29/2019 Parent Perspective slides

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On December 12, 2010 I received the call many parents fear -- my 16 year old sonwas involved in a car accident.


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He was a passenger in the back seat of a car that hit a utility pole at a high rate ofspeed.


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When my husband and I arrived at the accident scene, the back right side of the carwas completely gone. My son was out of the car when we got there and seeing thedevastation, it was hard to believe he could have survived the impact.


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Two decisions contributed to this miracle; he was wearing a seat belt and he madethe decision to sit on the left side of the car that evening. My son was indeed luckyto be alive.


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He was transported to the hospital having indicated he blacked-out upon impact.Other than a headache and a bruised knee, he appeared to be fine. After severalhours of observation, he was diagnosed with a concussion and sent home. Wewatched him closely and, like most parents, we assumed he would get better aftergetting some rest and taking it easy for a few days.


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But as the days progressed, his health increasingly declined his brain wasswelling as a result of the impact. What we would soon realize was that this mildtraumatic brain injury wasnt going away anytime soon. The chaos was justbeginning.


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Dizziness, eye stigmas, balance problems, issues communicating and processinginformation, sensitivity to light and sound, fatigue, irritability and a constant,stabbing pain in the back of his head contributed to the challenges of this new wayof living. These are the classic symptoms of a concussion or mild traumatic braininjury as it is also known.


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While my son attempted to return to school, it was not possible with so manysymptoms affecting him. Beginning with an examination from our pediatrician, wewere referred to a Concussion Specialist who was affiliated with a local ChildrensHospital. Upon evaluation, a brain function test was performed to confirm what hehad been experiencing.


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Upon review of the test results the specialist indicated complete brain rest was theonly solution to heal these awful symptoms. Other than watching television orlistening to music, he was required to rest and refrain from reading and the use ofany electronic device such as a computer or video games. Essentially, there was tobe minimal brain stimulation. Quite a change for him, especially in the world we live

in.


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Like a domino effect, all of his activities and life as he knew it came to a dead stop.This wasnt the way a sixteen year-old should be living his life. However, it wasnecessary since the brain needed to heal or those devastating effects might causepermanent damage. Every few weeks we would see the doctor and the brain restcontinued for six weeks until the symptoms began to subside.


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He was out of school from late December thru April that yearand was only able toattend school part-time thru year-end. He received home schooling for each of hissubjects once he was feeling better. The devastating symptoms forced him to quithis job, discontinue all sports and refrain from any type of strenuous physicalactivity. Socially, while his friends were becoming independent and getting together

on weekends, he was unable to join them.


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As a parent I was obviously not prepared for my sons life to change so drastically. Iknew very little about recuperating from a concussion and the many facets of thisinjury. You question why this happened and how you are ever going to get throughit. I certainly did not anticipate how difficult it would be to navigate on my own to findresources that would help him.


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Brain injuries in youth dont come with an owners manual for the parent. Whetherthey result from an accident or sports injury the outcome is the essentially the same.Brain injuries dont have an expiration date and they dont just go away in aspecified period of time. Unlike using a cast for a broken bone, adjustments in dailyliving, learning accommodations and compassion seems to be the way to fix this

situation.


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Brain injuries can have devastating effects on the child and the family since they areoften long-term and misunderstood by teachers and employers (if they are ofworking age) -- not to mention the childs friends. Many of those awful symptomsare embedded in an otherwise normal-looking young person who fights theirdraining effects every single day in silence so as not to bring attention to himself.


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It all hit home for me when my son told me he was tired of facing those dailysymptoms and that he just wanted to feel normal again. As a parent, its a lonely,painful place and you feel helpless because you cannot fix the problem for yourchild. Few people understand the journey and only another parent with a similarexperience can relate. You realize how important it is to have resources who can

offer help and support.


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My son was a junior in high school at the time of the accident. This was animportant school year for him SATs, college visits, and particular attention paid togrades and attendance so many issues and unknowns -- how would I handle this,who would help my son through this difficult time? When would these symptomsfinally go away?


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This maze of abundant questions and few answers was unsettling but like all Momswe somehow find our way and connect with the resources we need to help ourchildren.


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I likened the experience to fitting the pieces of a puzzle together and there weremany pieces in all aspects of his life. This was a difficult journey but truly aninvaluable experience. Today my son is a college student pursuing a degree inaccounting having graduated from high school on time with his class. While hecontinues to have daily head pain along with some learning issues, the appropriate

accommodations are in place to offer him what he needs to succeed. MildTraumatic Brain Injuries can occur in a variety of ways including car accidents, falls,recreational and sporting activities. The after effects, even those that are subtle,may require short or long-term changes to be made for your child.


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If your child is experiencing the residual effects of a brain injury similar to what Ihave described, you will need to reach out for resources. Thanks to help from ourphysician and a Pennsylvania-based organization known as BrainSteps, we wereable to pull together a team of helping hands to get us through this challenging time.These resources were truly the life-line for my son, my family and me.


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Here are some things that I found to be most helpful in helping me to connect to resources.

Locate a pediatric concussion specialist to obtain the most optimal advice on treatmentoptions for your child. Work with the medical team to understand your childs injury andtreatment plan. Offer your own thoughts based on what you know about your childs dailyliving and his or her activities.

If your child is out of school for an extended period of time, work with your childs guidancecounselor to obtain information on setting up home schooling to ensure a successfultransition back to school. Once that occurs, be sure the school nurse and teachers are on-board with any accommodations your child requires.

Check to see if your state has a school re-entry program for Brain Injured youth. They willliaison directly between your child and the school throughout the transition. They alsoidentify resources to address medical, social and community needs.

Upon return to school, ask to have your child tested as soon as possible to identify his orher special education needs. This will determine the extent of learning disabilities sinceconcentration is often effected following a brain injury. A medical 504 plan or an IndividualEducation Plan may be formulated to provide required accommodations for your child.


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Emotional support for you and your child can be most helpful. J oin a Parents Groupor on-line discussion group. Seek a licensed professional therapist to work with yourchild to help process the after-effects of his or her situation.

Keep the lines of communication open between your medical practitioners and theschool so that your childs needs are directly met. Frequent updates with his or herteachers prove beneficial as it relates to issues which may arise.

Since brain injuries do not have an expiration date, your child may require ongoingaccommodations which may extend beyond high school and into college. Again,reach out to the appropriate personnel to identify his or her learning needs.


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In closing, I leave you with words of encouragement if your situation is similar tomine. We are in a world where we have access to so much information and brilliantpeople whose life calling is to work with brain injured youth and support theirfamilies. Never stop trying to find solutions that will offer your child help during thisdifficult time. Research, reach out and remember that you are the most important

advocate for your child.


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