Blog
Teach from the Heart
To Teach: Teaching Yourself and Others to be Grateful
Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury
One of the tensest moments in my new book, “Gifts of The Heart”, comes after Dr. Afram heroically saves the life of an infant who sustained heart injury from a gunshot wound. Traveling in a terrible wind storm back to FOB MK, Dr. Afram’s helicopter crashes. Later found in the desert, Dr. Afram endures a COMA for 99 days. The injuries brave men and women endure overseas are devastating and life altering. In the novel, Dr. Afram sustains severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Thousands of men and women share his story, and struggle each day to return to a normal state of consciousness. The U.S. Military Health System does an outstanding job assisting our heroes during recovery. One component of the U.S. military Health System, the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center works tirelessly to serve active duty military, their beneficiaries, and veterans with traumatic brain injuries.
Headquartered in the nation’s capital, the DVBIC provides state-of-the-art clinical care, innovative research and educational programs at 16 sites. The effectiveness of the center has led the Department of Defense to name it the Office of Responsibility for the following with the U.S Military Health System:
§ Creation and maintenance of a TBI surveillance database
§ Service compliance for pre-deployment neurocognitive testing
§ Creation and distribution of the Family Caregiver Curriculum
§ Design and execution of a 15-year longitudinal study of the effects of TBI in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom service members and their families
§ Design and completion of independent head to head study to evaluate the reliability and validity of computerized neurocognitive tests
The DVBIC shares countless success stories, one of the most touching is Staff Sergeant Ben Ricard’s road to recovery. Learn more about TBI and Staff Sergeant Ricard’s story “From Surviving to Thriving here”
Often in life we take too much for granted, we should constantly teach ourselves to be grateful for the life given to us. Each day we have is precious and we must acknowledge the gift of each day by honoring ourselves and serving others from a place of love. Never sacrifice the gift of life! What are you teaching yourself and others to be grateful for today?