These Boots are Made for Walking!

THESE BOOTS

                   ARE MADE

                                 FOR WALKING

 

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow,

Don't walk behind me, I may not lead,

Just walk beside me and be my friend.

- Albert Camus                             

January 6, 2013

           Acquired brain injury.

           We've been hearing those words tossed around much more in the last few years and mostly they've been repeated in the hockey world.  I would go one step further and guess that most have heard them for the first time in connection to Sydney Crosbie.  I am happy folks are talking about this condition.  It has been hurting folks for a very long time - with its symptoms, its stigmas and its invisibility.

          Here in my hometown a group of survivors of ABI have been meeting weekly for leisure and support.  Our participants are great friends and represent a milifraction of  Canada's population of those living with an acquired brain injury.  So it is for all ABI survivors that I will keep this blog and I welcome your personal stories.  Please share the experiences and insight that you have gained along this winding road so that we may all understand this disability better.  My goal is to see acquired brain injury become visible and stigma free.


          Since my own brain injury in a catastrophic car accident, it's not so simple anymore to sit down to my keyboard and share thoughts in the orderly fashion I used to be capable of.  In fact it is downright difficult now.   So right here, right now, I'm going to be forthright and just admit that the blog that will stretch out over these pages in the next months  won't meet the writing standards I used to set for myself and nor should it.  It is written by someone who has been there, is still living through the daily struggles and can identify with what many of you are going through.  What is important here is to have a place to talk to each other openly.

          I have learned how to budget the limited energy I was left with, how to manage daily tasks into blocks of time with rests in between and when to just hire folks to do the things I can no longer do.    Some creative passions such as writing and painting have been tempered by cognitive impairments such as lack of focus, concentration and recall.

           I'm also a bit of a loner at times and a life long activity has been hiking solo - a time for being with my own thoughts - a time for meditation.  I always felt fresh and new after that 90 minutes of bliss.  Walking, however, is difficult now as a severe balance disorder has resulted from the brain injury.  Around the house I can move about supporting myself on furniture while walking outdoors requires a rollator walker for balance.  In April I hope to increase daily my endurance in walking to the point of being able to hike some stunning river trails here with the use of a more rugged, outdoorsy walker.  So hiking through the constant dizziness is the personal goal I intend to reach.

            I have let go of the desire to create some beautiful piece of creative writing and this will instead serve as a place to share with brain injury survivors, caregivers and the people who are just a part of our daily lives, the day to day challenges of living with an ABI.

            I hope that you will walk with me through this continuing journey of discovery and progress and that you will be able to share your own experiences and thoughts.

            So get your hikers laced up and walk beside me!