Garry Prowe does an "Over the Top" reference guide for families who have had the unfortunate need to quickly learn the ramifications surrounding a brain injury. He brings a terse and at times outline method of instructional information to the reader. Cleverly he alternates the chapters (odd & even) between expert essays on various topics with exploits of his own experiences convalescing his wife's brain injury after an automobile accident. The combination of instruction and firsthand experience is truly a necessary and comforting source of information for families in need of expert advice.
In a form of an educational reference, Successfully Surviving a Brain Injury: A Family Guidebook brings the term "Survival" to both the victim and their family. All must learn to cope with the various devastating disabilities suffered by the patient, and healing comes through understanding. Some interesting comments Garry Prowe makes regarding the naturally occurring healing capabilities of the human body provides an inspirational message sent out to all readers.
This book is perhaps the finest resource of specific information needed to cope with brain injury incidents. It is a must read and should be a prescribed Rx by all neurologists. Garry Prowe includes as appendices a Glossary of Terms, Index, State Brain Injury Association contact phone numbers, along with other suggested reading. All profits from this book are donated to organizations that support brain injury survivors in the US and Canada.
There are all kinds of specific injuries and illnesses. Successfully Surviving a Brain Injury: A Family Guidebook by Garry Prowe provides a wealth of information about brain injuries, noting that each is unique, from mild to severe, and each affects the entire family and requires their participation in the recovery. Brain injuries are far more common than most people know and the good news is that the brain has the capacity to repair itself in many cases. I would have to say that this book is excellent in every respect. It has just the right kind of information and encouragement that anyone, the patient and the caregiver, would want to know and need to know.
This book is the first in a planned series for helping families navigate the confusing world of brain injury. Chock full of helpful information for people going "From the Emergency Room to Selecting a Rehabilitation Facility," this volume should be in every hospital and offered to brain injury families in their first 24 hours after the accident as they sit in fear and confusion in the hospital waiting room.
Gary Prowe, whose wife, Jessica, was brain-injured in an auto accident over a decade ago, walks family members through the first shock of learning their family member is brain injured. In the first few pages, he offers a brief overview—probably as much as a family member can absorb—and answers some of their questions. What is brain injury? What's the difference between severe and moderate brain injuries? Why do different doctors give me different explanations? Will my loved one be a vegetable? Prowe addresses many of the impossible questions that occur to us as we sit in the waiting room wondering what is happening to our loved one and to families because of a brain injury. One of my favorite entries in the first chapter, and one of the most important for family members, is "Seven Reasons to be Encouraged."
Prowe spent years gathering the information in the book. He worked with a panel of 40 professionals, 150 survivors, and 150 caregivers, asking for guidance and advice to create a document that would be most beneficial to families struggling with brain injury. His focus is on helping people succeed in dealing with the reality of brain injury. Retired at the time of Jessica's accident, and with significant health problems of his own, he found himself exhausted and confused, torn by fear and depression, as he sought to cope with everything about Jessica's injury. He advises caregivers to take care of themselves even in the days when you know you must be at the hospital. If you don't, he says, you might not be able to cope when your brain-injured family members comes home.
Successfully Surviving a Brain Injury is packed with information to make the difficult times in the beginning of your journey a little easier. He explains how brain injury stages are assessed, warns of behavioral issues to be aware of when a patient begins to come out of a coma, and gives excellent advice about dealing with insurance companies and Social Security regulations. He provides many checklists to help you make decisions about what rehabilitation facility to choose, whether you will need to hire a lawyer, and other issues. Although he and Jessica have no children, he gives thoughtful advice on how to help children succeed in adapting to their new parent or sibling. None of his advice can be deemed as medical advice as he will tell you, but Prowe's book is a primer that guides brain injury families through the wilderness of the initial days, weeks, and months of brain injury decisions.