Annual Pig Roast is August 18th, 2007

“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” Benjamin Franklin ______________________________________________________________ North Central Indiana Brain Injury Association THE GOAL of the North Central Brain Injury Association (BIA) Support Group is to be an advocacy group for those people who have been brain injured in the counties in North Central Indiana. These are Howard, Hamilton, Tipton, & Cass counties. Visitors welcome. We will support those who are disabled with brain injuries & invite them to our monthly support group meeting. The meetings will contain matter intended to be used by those attending (brain injured, caregivers, guests, and professionals in the field of brain injury) to improve the life of the brain injured in the areas of improving health, better education, & quality of life. __________________________________________________________________ Brain Injury Memory Moment…What is July 4th About? July 4th is a federal holiday celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain. While 4th of July is celebrated as the day of independence, the United States of America became independent officially only AFTER the war of independence on September 3, 1783, when British King George III & USA leaders signed the Treaty of Paris. July 4th is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, B-B-Q, cold drinks, picnics, baseball, Frisbee, football & face painting! _______________________________________________________________ Quotes by Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence “A desire to be observed, considered esteemed, praised, beloved & admired by his fellows is one of the earliest, as well as, the keenest dispositions discovered in the heart of a man.” John Adams Date of Birth-10/30/1735---Date of Death-7/4/1826. “The Declaration of Independence, I always considered it as a theatrical show---Jefferson ran away with all the stage effect of that & glory of it as well.” John Adams “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” Thomas Jefferson Date of Birth -4/13/1743---Date of Death-7/4/1826 “A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats.” Benjamin Franklin Date of Birth-1/17/1706---Date of Death-4/17/1790 “There is a rising generation in this country who do not know God because of a general decay of religion.” Arthur Middleton Date of Birth-June 26, 1742-Date of Death-Jan. 1, 1787 “The greatest ability in business is to get along with others & to influence the actions.” John Hancock Date of Birth-1/23/1737---Date of Death-10/8/1793 “He who is void of virtuous attachments is private life is, or very soon will be, void of all regard for his country. There is seldom instance of a man guilty of betraying his country who had not before lost the feeling of moral obligations in his private connection.” Samuel Adams Date of Birth-9/27/1722---Date of Death-1803 “A good conscience is a continual Christmas.” Benjamin Franklin “A house is not a home unless it contains food & fire for the mind as well as the body.” Ben Franklin ___________________________________________________________ Living Life as a Loving Marine Wife Part II Proud Wife of a United States Marine by Erica Auster, My name is Erica & I am the wife of a severely injured Iraq Vet. My husband of the United States Marine Corps is Sgt. Charles Auster, injured now & a Purple Heart Iraq Vet. My husband’s injuries were a result of a suicide vehicular bombing in 2005. Charles came back to the United States days after his injuries & it was only then did his injuries become fully known. My husband now suffers from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of the blast. His brain damage is more so to his right frontal lobe & he also has fractures in the left temporal lobe area My husband’s initial surgeries were completed in Germany, prior to his trip back to the USA. Charles’ time in the hospital was a very difficult experience. My husband had never been hospitalized during his adult life & now he was attached to more machines than I could count. His first day back in the USA, Charles woke to a tube in his throat to help him breathe. This was his first bad experience with the hospital. After a few days they removed the tube & Charles proved to be able to breathe on his own. When Charles was stabilized he was moved from the ICU to the surgical ward. During his hospital stay Charles became very depressed & angry. His anger began shortly after he was able to see his post injury “figure.” All of his injuries were to his upper chest, neck, & head. This hurt Charles deeply. My husband is a handsome man. However that is not how he viewed himself after the injury. He no longer viewed himself as the man he used to be even though he is still a very good looking man. His moral was low, his spirit was shattered. Charles felt he had lost his “brothers” on the battlefield & he felt responsible. Charles had staples & stitches throughout his face, neck, & head…he felt ruined. The final breaking point for my husband was the realization that it was not just a penetrating head injury, it was a brain injury that would have a life long effect on him. After a month of hospitalization, multiple, surgical procedures, & lots of emotion the doctors agreed to let Charles leave the hospital. Charles was thrilled & if you ask Charles, he will tell you he has had enough hospital to last him a lifetime. The brain injury has changed him, of course, but he will always be a hero in my eyes. End of Part II. See future issues for Part III from Erica. ___________________________________ What is penetrating head injury? Penetrating head injury or open head injury is when an object passes through the head & leaves an exit wound. What is a brain injury? Brain Injury in an injury to a specific location or diffused to many different parts of the brain, so treatment is unique for ever patient. What are the frontal lobes? The frontal lobes are considered our emotional center to our personality, motor function, ability to solve & persevere at problems, ability to take initiative, be spontaneous, memory, impulse control, ability to express language, appropriate social behavior, appropriate sexual judgment, & motor skills strength in arms, hands & fingers. What are the temporal lobes? Temporal lobes are involved in the primary organization of hearing, language, ability to recognize faces, sensory input output & can produce anger & frustration. The right temporal lobe affects memory of visual & tonal content of words, inhibition of talking, music, drawings, & sequence of those skills. Also long term memory skills, placing words pictures in categories. The left temporal lobe is memory to recognize words or speech. _____________________________________________________________