Title : Spring break: A true story of hope and determination
Abstract:
Traumatic brain injury is the silent epidemic of our time. In spite of over 1.7 million people sustaining a T.B.I. every year in our country, only a very small minority of medical professionals, legal scholars, employers, educators and people understand the reality of what the survivor and family members are going through. The most effective and efficient way to get an understanding of traumatic brain injury and how to deal with it is directly from the perspective of a survivor.
This program begins by presenting a powerful story to the audience about an “All American” college student on Spring Break with his fraternity brothers. Midway through his vacation, he is walking and struck by a drunk driver’s vehicle. His parents are called in the middle of the night and asked to consent to organ donation due to their son’s severe traumatic brain injury and other catastrophic injuries. The family declines to consent to organ donation and instead gets a room in the hospital to be with their son 24/7.
After seeing the powerful photographs of the student in a coma, the audience are then delighted to next learn that he awoke after almost two (2) weeks, survived and had a full recovery. They are then astounded by the announcement that the speaker before them is actually the T.B.I. survivor who is the feature of the program.
The remainder of the program educates the audience about T.B.I. from the perspective of the survivor and family, while also providing them with needed tools to help them in their own professional and personal capacities in their dealings with Traumatic Brain Injury.
