Brain Injury Lawyer

The Children & Adolescents Committee of the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey will again be hosting spring sessions for parents and school professionals on brain injury, with the upcoming sessions focusing on A Sibling's Response to Brain Injury. The sessions will address the feelings of stress, frustration, sadness and guilt that are often felt by siblings of a child with brain injury.

The sessions will take place in two locations: on Wednesday, March 14 from 7-9pm at Children's Specialized Hospital in Mountainside and on Tuesday, April 24 from 6:30-8:30pm at Weisman Children's Rehabilitation Hospital in Marlton. Sue Stephens, a pediatric social worker for the Cancer Institute of NJ and one of the authors of our brain injury educator guides, will be the presenter at Children's Specialized Hospital. Sally Kneipp, Director of the Community Skills brain injury rehabilitation program and neuropsychologist, will be the presenter at Weisman Children's Rehabilitation Hospital. Both sessions will also include a presentation by a sibling of a child with brain injury.

You can download the information here.

Hello Mr. Stern,
I am a traumatic brain injury survivor. Throughout my lifetime, I have taught myself how to overcome many insurmountable odds. These strategies have helped me to prosper and succeed. In the last week I decided to start a blog at secondchancetolive.wordpress.com. The focus of my blog is to encourage, motivate and empower individuals who may have lost hope due to circumstances or events that are out of their control. As a traumatic brain injury survivor, I share from my experience, strength and hope. Second Chance to Live will help both families and individuals impacted by traumatic brain injury to cope, one day at a time.

Per my traumatic brain injury, at the age of 10, I was in a motor vehicle accident. Upon impact -- the Cadillac hitting our VW Beetle -- I was thrown forward from where I sat, behind my father who was driving. On my way forward, I snapped my left femur on my Dad's bucket seat and then hit the windshield. When my head hit the windshield, I sustained an open skull fracture. The injury to my brain resulted in my remaining in a coma for 3 weeks. Upon waking from what I thought was a bad dream, I found my left leg elevated and in traction. Slowly, it became apparent that I was not merely in a bad dream. Although I am unable to remember much from that time in my life, one memory stands out. The right side of my forehead -- where the fracture occurred -- was depressed inward like a shallow bowl. I later learned that my right frontal lobe had been damaged, I sustained a severe brain contusion, and there had been some injury to my brain stem, as a result of my brain being jostled inside my skull at the time of the accident.

In 1967 neurological rehabilitation was not available. As a result, I was virtually on my own. I had to re-teach myself how to walk, talk, read, write and speak in complete sentences. Although my injuries were life threatening and I was not expected to succeed beyond high school, I went on to obtain both my undergraduate and graduate degrees. I have learned that daunting pessimism and negativity is pointless. My hope is that through visiting my blog, those individuals who may have lost hope will see a new light. This light will in turn guide them to a renewed hope, an array of possibilities, and a new zest for living.