BRAIN INJURY AWARENESS

With Summer almost here, I think now is a good time for all parents to consider brain injury awareness. Children are already out riding bikes, skates, skateboards, and scooters.

Soon, on top of all these activities, there will be swimming, climbing trees, basic child summer activities, I know. But there are very simple things we as parents can do to protect our precious children while still letting them enjoy these fun summer activities.

Every single year, without fail, loving parents allow their children to ride in the bed of a pick-up truck. Many absolute senseless and COMPLETELY preventable brain injuries result from this activity. I have spoken to parents of children from the toddler age, all the way to children in their late teens who have suffered serious brain injuries, or even death, from this very preventable activity.

I drive down the same road everyday. And everyday I see the same thing. Children playing, out riding bikes, scooters, skateboards. As the mother of a brain injured son, my heart sinks every time I look at these precious children. Not ONE of them wear a helmet. NOT ONE. And yes, admittedly before my son’s injury, I was also one of those parents who lived with the thought: “It won’t happen to my child.” Well, guess what? It CAN happen. To ANY child.

I understand one of the biggest reasons children don’t want to wear a helmet is because they think it isn’t “cool”. I can tell you from experience what’s NOT cool is watching your child recover from a severe brain injury. Watching him relearn to walk, talk, swallow, dress himself, struggle to communicate feelings without words, even learn to use the bathroom again. And at every single moment not knowing if your child will suddenly stop improving. Living with the possibility that your child may be forced to live like that forever.

I watched my son go from a rotten, fun loving, intelligent, happy 8 year old boy, to a child who was no longer any of these things. He was no longer the same child. His personality was different, his independent abilities to care for himself were gone, his intelligence gone. His ability to tell me if he was in pain was gone. His short term memory was gone. He couldn’t even remember what had happened 5 minutes before. He couldn’t even hug me or tell me he loved me. And what hurt even worse than him not telling me those words? The fact that he didn’t seem to NEED to hug me. His emotions were gone. Every single thing you know and love of your child’s intellect, abilities, and personality changes with a brain injury. Everything.

I know it may  be hard to imagine what I’m trying to explain. But a coma and brain injury are not like on television. You don’t just “wake up” from a coma, and recover from a brain injury and go back to your normal life the next day. It’s a very long, hard process for not only the injured child, but also for the entire family. And a lot of children never recover. We are of the very few who have been blessed with Jacob’s recovery. He is doing amazingly well. He’s back in school, his personality is coming back, and also his short term memory is still improving. But, on the other hand Jacob still has a lot of healing to do. Mostly cognitive. He may never be the exact same boy he was on March 5, 2000 before 4:00 pm that afternoon, but we are blessed and thankful for what he is, and the fact he continues to heal.

Even though it’s too late to prevent my son’s brain injury, there are things I can do to prevent further injury. I also understand that even the most diligent of parents cannot protect their child from EVERYTHING. But there are things we can do, and we have to trust in God for the rest.

Make your child wear a helmet EVERY time they ride their bike or scooter. Every time they put their skates on.
Provide swimming lessons and teach water safety. Drowning is the SECOND leading cause of accidental death in children under the age of 15 in the United States. Only second to automobile accidents. For every child who drowns, four are hospitalized for near-drowning. One third of near-drowning pediatric victims who arrive at the hospital comatose will suffer significant neurologic damage. Children between the ages of 1-4 usually drown in a swimming pool. Most are only out of eye contact for a moment and the immersion is silent. No splashing or screams are heard. Children between the ages of 5-19 yrs most often drown in lakes, ponds, creeks, rivers and swimming pools.

 Never, ever allow any child of any age to ride in the bed of a pick-up truck. Not for any reason, or for any distance. A child can fall out on even the shortest ride.

And the next time your child argues how “uncool” or uncomfortable a helmet is, remind them of what is REALLY “uncool” and uncomfortable. Lying in a hospital bed unable to do ANYTHING. Unable to walk, talk, swallow-even unable to control their bladders and bowels. And possibly never being able to do these things again. Unfortunately, these are the sad truths of a brain injury. And these things can only occur if the child is fortunate enough to survive the accident in the first place. Many aren’t.

The next time you have to argue with your child over a helmet, take them to visit a rehab unit. Log onto the internet. There are many....way too many actually.....brain injury survivors and their families there who are willing to share their tragic stories with you and your child.

I am very sorry if some think I’ve been too graphic in this letter, but if this letter has prompted even ONE parent to insist their child wear a helmet, then it has served its purpose and is worth every word.

As parents, we make sure our children eat healthy, get their immunizations, wear their seatbelts in the car, and teach them the dangers of strangers and drugs. We do everything we can to keep them healthy, safe, and happy. So why do we allow them to do these things that can possibly kill them? These things that are SO very preventable?

Just please remember the $15.00 cost of a helmet and that one fight to get your child to wear it could possibly save your child’s life. Swimming lessons, a pool cover or locked fence around your pool may save a child‘s life, or possibly save them from a life of constant pain and the struggle of recovery

Kim (Jacob’s mom)