The Second Monday- March Report

This is the way Mary Paradis, Co-chair of the Mental Illness Ministry summed up the evening:

Tom West, MIM and SJA member, spoke of his own experiences with brain injury and he invited Dr. Rose Collins, psychologist, Minneapolis VA Medical Center, to speak of Traumatic Brain Injury.  Both speakers did a fine job of helping all of us understand the basics of brain injury.  People who shared comments with me, said things like; outstanding, so very well done, we need both of these speakers at SJA, we need these speakers to return to MIM, we need to consider a workshop with these speakers and include some veterans, this is so timely because of the many returning Iraq military with brain injury.  Tuesday, a few people called me to say that the issue of returning vets and brain injury was in the news again.  Tom West is much loved by neighbors, friends, SJA and MIM members and now we can say that Dr. Rose Collins is a highly recommended speaker to help people understand brain injury.

At one time or another, we’ve probably all seen Tom West. The first thing you notice is his beaming smile, and next you may see his walker and shuffling gait. He suffered traumatic brain injury and was unconscious for an extended period of time. The length of time a person is in a coma is a predictor of the amount of time rehabilitation may take. Tom is one of those who struggled mightily and walked along road to wellness. He credits the work he did at Sister Kenny with his recovery. He says ”Sister Kenny got me thinking again. I thought the rehabilitation would be a piece of cake but it was really hard.” He went on, “when you reach a hump and jump over it, you can get started doing something.”

He introduced his ‘friend’, Dr. Rose Collins, a passionate and articulate woman who talked with expertise and enthusiasm about her work with traumatic brain injury. She is a psychologist and a scientist, deeply involved in studies to shed light on this important subject. He said that serious studies of brain injuries and their effect is relatively new within the last twenty years.

Ronnie Angelus says: "There are three things that make my life work: Talking to my daughter who opens vistas to me and makes me laugh; being in the circle of the Divas, my writing group, who shout "go girl" and give me standing ovations with their smiles and tears; sitting next to Mary and Claude Paradis during Sunday Mass at St. Joan of Arc, which is as close to pure goodness as I will know in this lifetime."

Dr. Collins delineated the types of brain injury, defining the areas of the brain injured and the resulting disabilities. She discussed the areas of cognitive behavior: Doing, Thinking and Feeling and the consequences of injury in each area. Car accidents and falls are the two major causes of brain injury. These injuries can result in frustration, impulsivity, balance problems, apathy or aggression and reduction of interpersonal skills, the ability to translate subtle visual clues. There is potential for “self healing” in allowing the swelling to be reduced but it takes time and patience. It is a sad statistic that 85% of marriages where brain injury is involved end in divorce.

Dr. Collins works at the VA Hospital so she is uniquely credible in discussing the danger to armed personnel who are caught in vicinity of bomb blasts, depending on their severity and their occurrences. Injury may be caused by pressure waves, debris, by being thrown by the force of the blast and multiple blasts. Sometimes brain injuries are overlooked when the medical focus is on other severe injuries. It is also true that a soldier may minimize injuries, because of fears that return home will be delayed. Therefore, when asked if they are having problems, their answer is “no.”

If you ever have the opportunity to hear Dr. Collins, do yourself a favor – go wherever she is speaking. And be sure to say hello to Tom West, whenever you see him. It will brighten your day.