Brain Injury Survival Kit [Paperback]

Dr. Cheryle Sullivan MD (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2008

Over 1.4 million people sustain a brain injury each year in the United States. Add to that the number of returning veterans with a brain injury and the numbers are staggering. The Brain Injury Survival Kit: 365 Tips, Tools & Tricks to Deal with Cognitive Function Loss aims to give brain injury survivors, their families, and loved ones the strategies they need to improve brain function and quality of life. The book is a compendium of tips, techniques, and life-task shortcuts that author Cheryle Sullivan has compiled from her personal experience. Readers will learn successful approaches to:

• Balancing a checkbook
• Using medication alarms
• Compensating for impaired memory function
• Locating things that have been put away
• Word finding
• Concentration exercises
• Communication tools
• And much more!

From basic principles to unique solutions for saving time and energy, this book is packed with helpful information for those coping with the special challenges of a brain injury.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The brain is the most important organ of the human body, and dealing with damage to it is a feat in itself. Brain Injury Survival Kit: 365 Tips, Tools, & Tricks to Deal with Cognitive Function Loss is a guide for those who are afflicted and those who are family to them. Touching on the many sorts of brain injury and the effects of each, it tackles subjects such as communication, struggling with memory, medication, and dealing with day-to-day life when it's an epic challenge to do so. Brain Injury Survival Kit is a must to have on hand when you or a family member is faced with this unfortunate injury."--Midwest Book Review

"Brain injury survivor and physician offers a distinctive perspective on neurological damage and the resulting functional impairments. Among the topics discussed are word finding, medication alarms, and compensating for impaired memory function, for example by exercising one's memory by reading regularly." --Foreword Magazine (Foreword Magazine 20100503)

About the Author

As a brain injury survivor and a doctor, Dr. Cheryle Sullivan offers a unique perspective on neurologic damage and the resulting functional impairments.

Product Details

• Paperback: 169 pages
• Publisher: Demos Health; 1 edition (August 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932603735
• ISBN-13: 978-1932603736
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.4 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

You can see more complete information about me and my book at www.tbijourney.com


I wanted to be a doctor from about the age of 6. I learned early on that with hard work I could reach the goals I set for myself. I received my medical degree in 1983 from Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine then worked as a family physician in Michigan and Colorado. I sustained a brain injury in 2002, at which point I spent months attending outpatient neurological rehabilitation, followed by 10 months of an unsuccessful return to work trial. It was very difficult to accept though obvious even to me, I could no longer practice as a Family Physician,
Through this period, and ultimately for about 5 years, I dealt with the process of accepting who I had become after my TBI and letting go of the person I had been before. I learned that working hard wasn't enough to make my brain work as it had before, just like working hard can't make a blind person see or a deaf person hear.
In 1997 I had lost my mother to a TBI caused by a fall in her home. In 2005 my Dad fell, fracturing his neck and sustaining a life-changing TBI. Along with my own injury, these experiences raised my awareness about the need for education of the public concerning BI.
I was part of the team organized by the Brain Injury Association of Colorado that developed BI 101. Until 2009 I helped present the program throughout Colorado to community groups, government agencies, community providers of care, hospital rehab departments, Independent Living Center staff and to staff and troops at Fort Carson Military Post. In 2007 I authored the book, Brain Injury Survival Kit; 365 Tips, Tools and Tricks to Deal with Cognitive Function Loss published the following year.
I have since moved to western North Carolina. I continue to have a passion to present on topics related to brain injury to the general public, medical providers and military staff and troops, including groups of families and survivors, professionals dealing with patients with brain injury as well as college and graduate students planning on entering the field.
I hope this book has practical, useful information that helps make the lives of those dealing with the consequences of BI better. Even more so, I hope it is a means to allow me to continue to educate people about BI for two main reasons. The only cure for BI is prevention so people need to be aware of the risks and how to minimize them. And finally, with more awareness, those of us dealing with the consequences of BI, as well as our families and supporters, will have more information and support available to us, both in the community and from our health care providers.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars From someone who needs all the help this book offers September 21, 2008

By S. L. Wingert

Format:Paperback

This book is a great road map for people with brain injury and for families of people with brain injury. What this book does not do: It does not delve on the reasons how or why there is brain damage, or to the degree or extent of brain damage. It does not compare severe vs. mild brain damage. It does tell of all kinds of symptoms, many more than I personally have. Dr. Sullivan showed ways to get around them or ways to deal with them. But most importantly she showed me that one can learn to accept and live with brain damage. My life changed and I had no direction from the medical field. The doctors fixed the physical, but then left me adrift. I read several books once my reading comprehension returned and not one of the books offered any solutions to fix or help. Dr. Sullivan's book is a no nonsense book with honest to goodness answers for ways to deal with every day issues, not only to help the person with a brain injury, but will also help the family of the brain injured understand what is happening and how to help. She also offers resources for all kinds of additional help that is available. This book is easy to read and will be used time & time again.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars From One Who Knows... September 15, 2008

By IMA

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Many people do not understand the wide spectrum of results from brain injury...from the severe and most obvious to those who live day to day with moderate disabilities and their consequences. Many of the survival techniques in this book are directed to those who suffer from the subtle changes that are a disaster to the sufferer but hardly noticed by those surrounding them. Dr. Sullivan speaks to those of us who can function--just not as well as most of the population. She extends a helping hand to those of us who need her--those of us who keep our moderate symptoms a secret but still need help. It would also be a great tool kit for those suffering "normal" memory loss in the aging process. My sincere thanks for this survival kit.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever ways to learn to be clever again November 30, 2008

By Jeri Nevermind VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

There are few injuries more traumatic than brain injuries. Not to be able to find just the right word at just the right time can be...devastating.

This book will teach you tricks for how to cope. Much of it consists in learning to plan, to take notes, and to organize, organize, and organize again so you can regain your life.

I would like to point out also that this book would be of extreme value to any caregivers. Sometimes it can be difficult to persuade someone with brain injuries to read a book like this. Even so, this book will show you how to help your loved one.