Do you ever get the feeling like you KNOW there is something not quite right but you just can’t put your finger on it!? I am sure everyone has or does… It can’t be just me… can it!?

I felt like that for about 10 years with my husband. OH! Please don’t get me wrong it wasn’t that I thought he was secretly with the CIA or KGB (that would have been way easier to find out I am sure!) He is a great guy that works hard, will lend a hand to anyone that needs it, is willing to drop everything to help someone and is always the first in line to set up fun for the family…

Survivor, person with a brain injury, brain injured person, brain injury survivor, disabled person, person with a disability, person who experiences brain injury – these are the words often used in reports, publications, and in the media. But there is an ongoing debate about what’s the best choice.

I hope the information I am providing in this article will be meaningful and helpful to a family or traumatic brain injury survivor with some similar issues as Bill. I remember that when this journey began five years ago, I had a difficult time finding information and direction. We have been able to learn about Assistive Technology and incorporate it into our daily lives.

Those of us who have had a spouse, parent or close friend die know the significance of that first anniversary of the person’s death. It is a milestone and a reminder of the time that has passed and the emotional pain that accompanies the grief as we mourn the person we have lost.

After my husband, Ken, sustained a TBI in 2003 as the result of a hit-and-run, I journaled every day, sometimes pages at a time. It was often the only thing that helped me feel grounded. In 2007, I created a journaling workshop for people with brain injury, and since then I’ve facilitated the six-week group twice a year here in Tucson.

The Sarah Jane Brain Foundation’s 2011 National Concussion Tour kicks off in North Carolina during the NHL All-Star weekend, January 28-31.

When we think about protecting our brains, we usually think of bicycle or motorcycle helmets and seatbelts in cars. As clinicians and researchers showed us the evidence that these protective devices reduce both deaths and the severity of brain injuries, safety awareness programs have expanded to many sports – football, hockey, skiing, snowboarding, ATVing, just to name a few.

Sometimes, I just sit and cry. That’s when Bill is in the hospital mostly. People ask me how I have the strength to do what I do. “Caring for a spouse with your husband’s problems must be very difficult.”

It is. But living with any spouse with any disability has to be difficult. I am not alone in the caring for a spouse world. Brain injury and the loss of so many abilities that one had before is confusing and challenging for both the survivor and the spouse. The inability to use a microwave or stove or even read a recipe to make for dinner is very hard on Bill. He was a wonderful cook, and I miss his cooking. He misses much more and has learned to accept my cooking and helps me as he can.

It all began around 1:30pm and Dennis phoned me at home(he was at work) to ask me to go pick up Sam from the hospital in town. He had been phoned and told that Sam had hit his head and would probably want to come home since it may be a concussion. So I packed up Hannah and Zac (who were then 9 and 11yrs) and off we went to the hospital.

Barbara Stahura, one of our noted authors, was a guest speaker on a weekly internet brain injury radio program called The Silent Epidemic on December 8, 2010–. The topic for the evening was “How We Find Purpose”, and it was hosted by Craig Sicilia, a brain injury survivor.