Finding Hope in Daily Acceptance
Reflections on a Brain Injury Survivor’s Wisdom: Brason Lee
I came across a powerful personal reflection about a year ago in the Journal of Adolescent Health titled "Reflections of a Pediatric Survivor of Traumatic Brain Injury: 42 Years Later." This short but profound piece, written from the perspective of someone looking back on their life after a severe TBI at age 18, resonated deeply with me. It’s not a clinical study or dry medical advice—it’s raw, honest guidance from someone who has walked this path for decades. Reading it felt like receiving a letter from a wiser future self. It became a letter I printed and read each day to remind myself and motivate myself that it will get ok. 42 years of wisdom while I am just a couple of years into mine.
Seth Kimbro Saved My Life
How Seth’s legacy in “Giving Light to Darkness” by Laura Kimbro Saved My Life
I’ve written before about the darkness that traumatic brain injury can bring — the memory loss, the isolation, the crushing weight that makes suicide feel like the only way out. In my lowest moments, when the “Who Is This?” type of phone calls and encounters with others and the disappearing friendships piled on top of constant uncertainty, I came dangerously close to believing the lie that my family would be better off without me.
And it quite literally helped save my life.
Where’s Tommy?
I just finished reading Where's Tommy?: A mother’s journey through her son’s traumatic brain injury by Debbie Lennon – It was a heart-wrenching look at the invisible hell of undiagnosed TBI.
If you've ever wondered why someone’s life can spiral so dramatically after what seems like a “minor” accident, Debbie Lennon’s new memoir Where’s Tommy?: A Mother’s Journey Through Her Son’s Traumatic Brain Injury is required reading.
At 16, Tommy Lennon suffered a surfing accident — a surfboard to the forehead that left him with stitches and what everyone assumed was just a bump on the head. No dramatic coma. No obvious red flags at the ER. Life went on. But there was nothing “minor” about it.