Center starts brain injury support group

By Melissa Dunson
The (Carthage) Press

There is a hidden difficulty, a quiet group of people desperately struggling to fit into some preformed concept of normal and feeling like they always fall a little short.

These people suffer from some form of brain injury. The Brain Injury Association of Missouri refers to it as "The Silent Epidemic" and reports that about 6,000 Missourians incur traumatic brain injuries each year (one in every 1,000 residents) and that more than 140,000 survivors of brain injury are living in Missouri. The Association said their studies have shown compared to other illnesses brain injury strikes eight times more frequently than breast cancer and 35 times more often than HIV/AIDS.

Members of The Independent Living Center, 1001 E. 32nd St., Joplin, including Dan Rife, disability support coordinator, and Andrea Buening, special project coordinator and brain injury advocate, want to help this population that suffers in silence.

Rife and Buening have started a brain injury support group to offer survivors, family members of survivors and care givers a safe place to talk about their daily struggles. Their group meets the second Tuesday of every month and the last Thursday of every other month from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Center.

The group discusses common problems found among those affected by brain injuries and provides a place for relearning social skills by watching movies and eating together.

"They don't do well in groups," Buening said. "The biggest issue is when there's just too much to take in and it's like overload."

Buening is an expert on the subject, not because of a diploma hanging by her desk, but because years ago she suffered a traumatic brain injury. She was finally released from the hospital after 11 months only to find she could not return to her normal life as a teacher.

"Brain injury is a hidden disability, but it affects all aspects of your life," she said. "Many don't drive and few survivors are able to return to the same job they were doing before."

Rife hopes that the support group will provide a voice for the many people silently suffering with the disability that often leaves the person appearing healthy.

"It's peer support," Rife said. "They get to come together in a group with similar experiences to discuss similar experiences."

Buening sees the Center and the group as an important step in dealing with a brain injury.

"I needed a lot of support when I came out of the hospital," she said. "It was hard for me to accept that I had a disability and to have other people with the same disability around me that didn't look at me weird helped. This Center has saved my life, it really has."

The Independent Living Center is a private not for profit entity that provides in-office and in-home services to people with disabilities including education, adaptive equipment, home modification services, advocacy and in-home personal care attendants. The Center also sponsors a spinal cord injury support group that meets the fourth Tuesday of every month from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. For more information on the groups, the Center or donating time or money, contact Rife or Buening at 417-659-8086.

Please read our legal disclaimer.

If you or a loved one has suffered a TBI through the negligence or carelessness of others, you may be entitled to compensation.

The assistance of an experienced TBI lawyer can help you find the answers you need and get the compensation you deserve. The filing of a lawsuit may help you recover financial damages to help you with the continuing medical bills and compensate you for your physical and mental suffering. Don't risk your health and peace of mind.