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Advocacy and Abuse

A woman advocating for her loved one to another woman

Advocacy tips and how to recognize and report abuse of a person with a disorder of consciousness

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Legal Issues: What Kinds of Legal Issues Should I Be Aware of As a Caregiver?

A wooden gavel on wooden table with books and scales of justice

Legal issues after severe brain injury

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Long-term Needs: Information About Taking Care of My Loved One Long-term

A young female doctor speaks to an eldery woman in a wheelchair

Long-term care after a severe brain injury

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Discharge Planning and Tips: What Do I Need to Know When They Say My Loved One Needs to Be Discharged?

Two nurses attend to a patient laying in a hospital bed

What to know when your loved one with a disorder of consciousness is discharged from the hospital

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Long Brain Injury?

David and his wife smiling in bright pink Hawaiian shirts

Well, it finally happened. After successfully dodging COVID for over three-and-a-half years, the virus finally struck our household. Since the outbreak, my biggest fear about COVID was having a preexisting brain injury — what might the virus do to further compromise my already challenged brain?

Decision Making: What Are Some Resources to Understand Decision Making for My Loved One?

A couple are looking at a computer screen

Decision making for my loved one with severe brain injury

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How Do I Interact with My Loved One When They Have a DoC?

Person holding a loved one's hand in hospital bed

How to interact with loved ones in a coma, unresponsive wakefulness syndrome/vegetative state, or other disorder of consciousness.

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What Assessment Tools Will Be Used to Determine My Loved One’s Level of Consciousness?

Nurse checks levels of equipment on a patient in a coma

Assessment tools used to determine one’s level of consciousness after severe brain injury

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Dressing Up for Halloween is Not Just for Kids – The Healing Fun of Renaissance Festivals

U.S. Air Force veteran Russ Ware as a royal guard at the Renaissance Festival

At the end of the day, I don’t really care why playing a role at the Renaissance Festival alleviates some of my husband, Russ's symptoms of PTSD, I am just glad it does!

My External Brain

David and his wife smiling in front of tall pine trees

Many years ago, I was introduced to a phrase that, before my brain injury, had not been part of my vocabulary: “compensatory strategies.” Why? Because prior to my injury, there had been nothing to compensate for. I was a fully formed and completely functional adult. Strategies were for board games.

Healing Trauma After Pregnancy Loss: A Journey with Yoga

A yoga mat rests on a blonde wood floor with bright green woods out the tall windows

In this personal essay, learn how yoga helped one mother process the trauma and impact of her late-term pregnancy loss.

What Part of the Brain Is Damaged in a Person with a Disorder of Consciousness?

A neurologist uses a pen to point to an MRI on a computer monitor

Showing what part of the brain is damaged in a person with a disorder of consciousness

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What Types of Treatments Can Facilitate Recovery in People with Disorders of Consciousness?

Nurse checks an IV bag while other doctors and nurses attend a patient in a coma

Treatments for disorders of consciousness like coma and unresponsive wakefulness syndrome/vegetative state

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Will My Loved One Regain Consciousness and What Should I Expect for My Loved One’s Recovery?

A young black person in a coma lying in a hospital bed

Information about regaining consciousness after a DoC like coma or unresponsive wakefulness syndrome/vegetative state

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What Is Caregiver Fatigue and Burnout?

A woman cradles her head in her hands, exhausted

Burnout, fatigue, and exhaustion experienced while caregiving for a loved one with a severe brain injury

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Serious Brain Trauma, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), Found in Young Athletes

Graphic representation of an x-ray of a brain in a football helmet

In this case series of 152 contact sport athletes younger than 30 years at the time of death, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was found in 63 (41.4%), with nearly all having mild CTE (stages I and II).

“Stay on target!” When the Slightest Change Causes Huge Explosions Thanks to PTSD

Russ building a Star Wars Lego set wearing a Star Wars shirt

Triggers are weird. A seemingly innocuous thing happens or there is a tiny deviation from routine and you or your loved one loses it. From the outside, it seems like a total overreaction but for the person who has been triggered, it is a fight-or-flight response.

My Relationship with Depression

My life will forever be marked by that day in November of 2010 when I sustained a brain injury after being hit by a car while riding my bicycle. It was a true "before and after" scenario. However, an unexpected consequence followed: my decades-long depression disappeared. I was as stunned as anyone …

‘People Feel Expendable’ — Military Could Lower Suicide Rate With Focus on Quality of Life

A person sits in a dark tunnel, their head in their hands, a gun and liquor bottle in the foreground

Bryan, who deployed to Iraq in 2009 as a psychologist in the Air Force started to view active-duty suicide as “death by a thousand paper cuts,” he says.

What’s Gone… and What Remains

David and his wife smiling, her hair whipping in the wind in front of her face

A perfect example would be the day — about a year after my injury — when I decided to go out for a bike ride … in a snowstorm. My plan made perfect sense to me...

What Are Disorders of Consciousness?

Digital graphic of a face looking up at a burst of colorful lines

The term “disorder of consciousness” (DoC) describes a group of conditions that involve difficulty with awareness that includes coma, unresponsive wakefulness syndrome/vegetative state, and minimal conscious state.

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