Brain Injury with Tammy Kirkwood

‘FAIR – supporting auto accident victims through advocacy and education’

Most people live their lives not giving a thought about what they have accomplished.  We plug along with day to day events or situations.

UNTIL …. Life stops the way you’re use to!   Your abilities change, for example…..physical movement, memory, concentration, motivation, determination, planning (even hourly), mood/behaviour, you change.  This can happen with a motor vehicle accident, or blows to the head, or a fall, to name a few.

After my car accident, the first 6 months involved three different hospitals, for intensive rehabilation.  When my glascow scale reached 8 out of 15, I was discharged and then able to go home from the hospital to the care of my brother Mike.  He gave me 24 hour care for the next 6 months.  He was my rock.  He  rode the roller coaster of recovery with me!

After the accident I had to relearn many things people take for granted.  Learning the skills of sitting up in bed or chair unsupported, being in a wheelchair for mobility, using a walker to re learn how to walk, learning how to use the cane for stability were uphill challenges for me. The basic skills of eating, drinking and  thinking all had to be relearned.  I was a 40 year old woman with the functions of a toddler.

When this unfortunate experience occurs, we are required to work harder, mind & body, than we ever have before just to try and “regain” our abilities.  I looked at my head injury in the beginning, with disbelief, anger, and resentment. I couldn’t believe that this had happened to me.

Through a lot of support from family, friends, and therapists, I was guided in how I could move forward. Do I miss my abilities I no longer have?  ABSOLUTELY YES!  But, I like me and I’m grateful for what I have.  My positive thought has always been, IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE!

I’m trying to share what worked for me with the hope that the ideas, might work or help you.

I took my experience as an opportunity to revise me.  Through working with and through my deficits, I also learned how to adapt, so I could LIVE.

I’ve come a long way since that day in 2008. Today I am the Vice-Chair of FAIR Association of Victims for Accident Insurance Reform. Now I find myself fighting for other MVA victims so they too can have access to the resources they so desperately need for recovery.

more…

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Restarting Your Life – Tammy Kirkwood – beginning my story post accident

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Human books share their stories            Tammy Kirkwood, who incurred an acquired brain injury after she was involved in a horrific car accident four years ago, chats with Miss Petite Simcoe County Jessica Katie Foster during the Get a Life Festival at the Orillia Public Library Saturday. Both Kirkwood and Foster volunteered to share their stories as human books.

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Hundreds rally against cuts to auto insurance benefits             TORONTO – Changes to auto insurance benefits for motor vehicle accident victims passed in the Ontario legislature Wednesday as part of the provincial budget.“God help us all,” Tammy Kirkwood said upon hearing the news. “We’re getting a lot less coverage for a lot more money and I’m not sure why.” Kirkwood was one of hundreds of protesters at Queen’s Park rallying against reductions in auto insurance benefits which they say will have the most effect on victims with catastrophic injuries. The 47-year-old Orillia woman said protesters were “flabbergasted” that the provincial government “was trying to disable our resources and our funding to recover.”

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Orillia woman involved in serious collision slams province’s planned changes to insurance industry          An Orillia woman who was in a car crash seven years ago that left her in a coma worries changes to the auto-insurance industry will have devastating effects. Tammy Kirkwood said the province’s plan to reduce auto-insurance benefits that was passed as part of the budget earlier this year will severely hurt crash victims requiring extensive care.

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The Brain’s Way of Healing

The Brain’s Way of Healing is about neuroplasticity’s next step — healing the brain using totally non-invasive methods, including patterns of energy to resynchronize the brain’s neurons when illness or injury causes them to fire improperly. It’s revolutionary and in some instances shocking — we’ll see people’s lifelong afflictions improved, or, in some cases cured almost miraculously. But these are not miracles, and Dr. Doidge explains the science behind these improvements.  http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/the-brains-way-of-healing

FIVE INCREDIBLE NEW WAYS TO HELP THE BRAIN HEAL ITSELF  http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/features/five-incredible-new-ways-to-help-the-brain-heal-itself