Understanding a Brain Injury

Credit where Credit is Due

First of all, it is important to recognize the person who started this story/analogy: a wonderful man from Ontario named Doug Mitchel. It has been expanded for the purpose of understanding and educating survivors of brain injury and to help those around the survivors understand a little bit more about the experiences and effects of brain injury. The hope is that this helps you.

Full Participation

In order for this story to have maximum effectiveness, it is essential that you follow along with the instructions that are going to be presented. It may seem silly, but the end result is what matters. You will have a better understanding and respect for those who survived a brain injury or a stroke.

Getting to know the survivor.

This is where it starts requiring your participation. Get a regular-size piece of paper, not a tiny piece. Now, in the middle of that paper, write the name of a brain injury/stroke survivor. This person can be yourself, a friend, a family member, or someone you have heard about. The closer the person is to you, the better this will work out.

Now, around the name you wrote down, write down around 3 or 4 characteristics about that person before their injury. For example, they can be honest, trustworthy, happy, fun, loving, etc. The more honest you are, the better you will understand. You do not need to share with anybody if privacy and confidentiality are important to you. This is the original or Version 1.0 of that person, if you will.

Now draw a straight line from the name of the person to one of the characteristics you wrote down.

Your paper should look something like this:

The Injury

Now take the piece of paper and crumple it up into a small tight ball. Punch it to make the ball smaller. You can even step on it repeatedly. Punch it some more, step on it again, and make it as small as you can.  Try to get it even smaller still.

It should look like this:

Reflections

Now place that balled-up piece of paper in front of you. This symbolizes the injury or stroke of the person you wrote down. That person was beaten up and kicked when they had that injury. It was not a choice. Nobody in their right mind would choose this. They were scared and terrified from the experience. They thought the worst was going to happen. You hear all the time that survivors thought they were going to die and were about to give up. It is a scary situation. The person you wrote down experienced that or something along those lines. Take a moment to reflect on that and what they went through.

A new version emerges from the old

Now take that balled-up paper and unfold it. Try not to rip it. Do what you can to make it like it was before you went to town on it. Try to make it flat once again. Place that flattened piece of paper in front of you.

Like this…

This represents the new version of that person. They are still the person you wrote down; they still have the same characteristics you wrote down. But something has changed. That person is damaged like that piece of paper.

Look at the wrinkles in the paper. Now look at that straight line you drew from the name to that characteristic. Before the event that caused the brain injury to occur, it was easy for that person to demonstrate that characteristic. That ease is represented by that straight line.

An introduction to the new world

Now take a pen and draw a line from the name you wrote down to another characteristic, but this time avoid the wrinkles, even the tiny ones, that were a result of the balling up or injury that happened. You may not be able to do it. So, if you do have to cross over a wrinkle, draw a little circle over the wrinkle where you crossed over. Now you can make it to the characteristic, but there are circles and that line is not straight.

Like this…

This represents the new version of that person. Version 2.0 if you will. It doesn’t mean that version is better than the previous version. It means that person is now different. That person has the same characteristics as before. But now that person has to work hard to demonstrate those characteristics. The circles over those wrinkles represent something called Neuroplasticity. It just means that as humans, we have the ability to rewire our brains to learn new things. We do it our entire lives. It is easier the younger we are since the old ways have not settled in yet. But we can rewire at any age. It just takes practice and determination. You never know when those circles will be breached and that line can make its way to the characteristic. It may be a few weeks after the injury or it may be a few years. The point is that today may be that day, so never give up and always encourage yourself or your family/friend.

Embracing 2.0

It is so important to accept and embrace the idea that is now the new version of that person you wrote down, the resilient 2.0. With determination and hard work, that person can progress, learning to love their altered life. Through the process, you can discover the beauty of the new person, uncovering preferences and passions that haven’t been explored before.

Navigating this uncharted territory, that person can learn to be kind to themselves, recognizing the strength within Version 2.0. In this journey of self-discovery, help them to take joy in embracing the unique aspects of this new life. The survivor can learn not just to accept but to embrace the opportunity for growth and newfound appreciation, turning 2.0 life into a story of resilience and self-love.

My hope is that this story helps you to understand a little bit more about the experiences and effects of brain injury and to understand a little bit better what the person you  wrote down is going through