Brain injury survivor Michael Segal often tells a funny story about his injury. As a teenager, Michael Segal had been shot in the head. Years later, he was married and had a daughter. One day he took his young daughter to a local amusement park. They waited on the hot, sweaty summer day in line for a ride and after 45 minutes they finally made it to the front of the line. The ride attendant then noticed Michael’s walking difficulties. The attendant told him that the amusement park has a policy that individuals with disabilities do not have to wait in lines and get to ride twice. He didn’t think too much of it but his little daughter looked at him and told him how glad she was that he was shot! According to Michael, she taught him a lesson that day. Namely, a person should keep a positive attitude.
Although the injury experience is hard, there are often some positive aspects to the resultant circumstance. It is well worth a patient’s time to identify these positives. Making a written list is the best way to avoid positives being forgotten later. Here are some examples of such positives given by Moody Neurorehabilitation Institute patients:
Learned that my family truly loved me
Found out that my friends will stick by my side through anything
Get to use handicapped parking stickers and have the best parking at the store
The injury gave me time to review my life goals
The hospital found other health problems that I was unaware of and now I can get those problems treated
Lots of people willing to open doors for me
Able to receive accommodations to better succeed in the classroom
Can now be a role model to others in recovery
Decided to become sober
Get to use the elevator instead of the escalator at the stadium and avoid all of the lines
Here is a link to a promotional video in which Michael Segal talks about his injury, including the aforementioned story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNeRqpaoNpQ
Learn about how Moody Neuro can help with neuropsychology and counseling, speech and language disorders, physical therapy, outpatient rehabilitation assistance, community integration programs, and occupational therapy.
