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Life Variables and TBI
What is Important?i can help tbi, LLC provides clients with insight into traumatic brain injury. Traumatic brain injury often consists of multiple injuries to brain physiology and chemistry which occurs concurrently and continues for some time after the initial injury. In addition to anatomical and physical damage, traumatic brain injury causes emotional distress that impacts psychological health for survivors and caregivers.
The aftermath of traumatic brain injury can magnify other pre-existing variables such as genetics, personality, and behavioral-health issues.
Brain injury survivors and their families represent all socio-economic demographic segments of society.
What are the variables associated with traumatic brain injury?
Severity of injury and type of injury
What type of physiological and anatomical damage occurred? Did the injury result in a closed-head wound, skull fracture, penetrating brain wounds, coma, etc.? Which side(s) and/or lobe(s) of the skull and brain were injured? Did hematomas develop in or on the brain? Did other injuries occur to organs, limbs, etc. when the traumatic brain injury occurred?
Age and stage of development at injury
How old was the individual when the injury occured? Was he or she an infant, toddler, child, teenager, young adult, adult, middle age, or senior citizen? How old is the person today? How was the individual functioning prior to the injury? How is the individual functioning today?
Gender
Is the traumatic brain injury survivor male or female?
Elapsed time since injury
How long ago did the injury occur? Is post-injury one month, one year, 1-5 years, 5-10 years, 10-20 years, 20 years or more?
Family Role
What was/were the individual's role(s) in a family at injury? (not mutually exclusive) Was the individual a daughter or son; sibling; cousin; a spouse, separated, divorced, widowed; a parent; a grandparent? What are those roles today?
Family Support
Were family supports in place for a family to support a survivor? What was the impact on caregivers and family members?
Community Support
Is the local community actively involved in supporting the survivor and the family?
Education Level
What was the individual’s education level at injury? Pre-school, elementary school, middle school, high school, college, post-graduate? What is the person's educational level today?
Employment and Occupational Roles
Was the person employed prior to injury? Is the person employed today?
Friends and Social Isolation
Was a vibrant group of friends present at injury? Are friends still there today?
Quality of Care
When and where were the physiological injuries treated? When and where were the psychological injuries treated?
Other Factors
How is recovery from a traumatic brain injury impacted by factors such as:
- Physical and mental health.
- Additional injury (including multiple TBIs) and disease etiologies (at time of injury and currently).
- Mobility, vision, speech, and handwriting impairments.
Residual Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury
How does anatomical damage, such as physical trauma, craniocerebral trauma, organic damage to the brain and skull, and brain surgery impact life? How does emotional and psychological damage impact life? Is the person hopeful or fearful, or both? Is shame and social isolation present?
Does the traumatic brain injury survivor suffer from seizures? Seizures and seizure disorders have a physiological and emotional impact on survivors. How do cognitive deficits impact executive function, cognition, memory, and speech & language? What impacts are there from medication, seizures, sleep, fatigue, waxing and waning energy levels, anxiety, and stress?
What perceived deficits are strengths?
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"It's amazing when you're given hope, what happens."
-Carrie Hess-Jordan, mother of
wounded U.S. Army Specialist Eric Jordan
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