General Overview

Lifelines: The Brain Injury Support Group
meeting at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas

2nd Mondays of the month, 6:30 - 8 PM

Fogelson Building, Classroom A

Now in our seventh year, Lifelines functions primarily as an educational forum. We also hold group discussions every few months.

Mission Statement Lifelines: The Brain Injury Support Group strives to address the various issues that arise during the rehabilitation/recovery period through support, information and education. The group provides an open forum where survivors, caregivers and healthcare professionals may meet and share their experiences. The group also serves to educate its members about brain injury and how to improve brain health. This exchange allows the group to address quality of life issues.

Philosophy Every individual, whether brain injured or not, has suffered some type of affliction. The emphasis for healing and recovery is not to focus on what has happened but instead to focus on what a person can accomplish in the aftermath of tragedy. What is most important is how a person responds to life's challenges. We are survivors. We are not victims.

Purpose "For human beings adaptation to change cannot take place through instincts. It has to take place through something called awareness, motivation, free will and the ability to anticipate the future." Self-Healing: A Personal History, René DuBos from The Healing Brain, A Scientific Reader, Edited by Ornstein/Swencionis

Goals • To assist patients during the rehabilitation/recovery phase of brain injury by providing education about the brain, brain health and the possibility of recovering brain function. • To identify the “silent epidemic” of brain injury and offer a forum for patients and their caregivers to feel supported and find direction during this period of adjustment. • To allow for exchange of thoughts, ideas and experiences.

Calendar - 2008 meeting dates

January 14
February 11 - Dr. Charles Shidlofsky - Vision therapy for brain injuries
March 10 - Dr. Marvin Sams - Neurofeedback for brain injuries
April 14 - Karen Sacks, R.N. - New therapies for stroke and stroke prevention
May 12 - Group discussion
June 9 - Benjamin Pennington, Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch - Special Needs Financial Planning
July 14 - Kimberly Aikman, facilitator - A Road Map to Recovery - A Survivor Speaks
August 11 - Bonny Olney, D.O. - A Primary care physician's perspective
September 8 - Group discussion
October 13 - Group discussion
November 10 - Sara Hunt Harper, Ph.D. - Neurofeedback
December 8 Holiday Social at Cafe Express, Mockingbird Station

For the purposes of our group, the most important thing to realize is that the mechanism by which the brain was injured (automobile accident, fall, stroke, ruptured brain aneurysm/brain surgery, congenital) is most significant during the acute phase of care - hospitalization - and post acute - first stages of rehabilitation. When it comes time to address the physical and cognitive deficits in the recovery/rehabilitation/remediation phase, there are enough similarities between the brain insults that allow survivors to meet under an umbrella group.

Our group members have experienced traumatic brain injury, mild traumatic brain injury, acquired brain injury such as ruptured brain aneurysm/brain surgery and stroke and congenital brain injury. Caregivers, other family members (adults only), friends, and health care professionals also attend the meetings.

The challenges faced by survivors depend on what type of brain injury has occurred, so we have a range in physical and cognitive abilities. We usually have an average of 15 people attending presentations.

Past speakers include Dr. Harold Crasilneck presenting the effects of hypnotherapy, Drs. Gray Atkins and Jonathan Walker discussing neurofeedback (EEG Biofeedback techniques), Tracy Sellers introducing Brain Gym, Betty Erickson (daughter of Milton Erickson) giving a "reality check" with emotionally healthy ways to approach life, Dr. Fran Assaf presenting CranioSacral Therapy, Dr. Steve Lomber detailing how the brain overcomes injury, Roger Stainbrook and Elijah Hawken discussing the benefits of acupuncture, Dr. John-Claude Krusz discussing neuropharmocology, and Dr. Richard Fulbright presenting two lectures - one about neuropsychological testing and the other about psychosocial outcomes following traumatic brain injury.

Note: Additional information is listed under the 2007 posts. For Fun Things to Do, click on June 2007; for Free Things to Do, click on May 2007; for Resource Information, click on May 2007; for information on different therapies/remediating brain injury, click on August 2007.

For more information and/questions about the group, please contact Kimberly at lifelinesbi@sbcglobal.net. Please note that meetings are for adults only - we do not have the facilities to accommodate children.