The Recovery, Part 2
By Tom Quirk

Support groups are about caring within the community and the needs and skills vary during the recovery journey. At the outset, skilled medical and nursing intervention is necessary for survival. After the procedure, a hospital stay is needed until the professionals consider the survivor is ready for the next recovery step. Some patients can transition directly to home. Others move to a rehabilitative hospital for in-patient care focusing on speech-cognitive, occupational, and physical therapy before going home.

No brain aneurysm survivor is ever the same. Some deficits may be minor while others are life altering for both patient and family. Survivors may experience depression, increased distractibility, lowered self esteem, loneliness, cognitive processing problems, memory and concentration difficulties, and fatigue. Some can accomplish the personal essentials of daily living, but cannot drive or return to employment.

The emotional costs vary widely, depending on the level of ultimate recovery, but independence, spousal emotional and physical intimacy may be lost forever. Parent-child relationships can be severely challenged, and personal belief structures may suffer. Many relationships do not survive. Considering an average family of four members, well over 100,000 individuals are seriously affected each year by brain aneurysms.

The caring community is composed of doctors, nurses, therapists, and the survivor’s family. Other survivors and family members also provide motivation and encouragement. The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) support group model, and those patterned on it are partially premised on the work of Dr. Jean Watson. Watson developed a theory that defined caring as “a quality that is based on human values and a concern for the well-being of others.” The caring factors in nursing “form the basis for the relationship between nurses and clients; they include altruism, faith, hope, sensitivity, trust, expression, problem-solving, teaching, environment, gratification, and acceptance.”

The Brain Aneurysm Foundation’s Support Group Manual sums up the qualities of any brain aneurysm support group with, “The nursing team views others as unique individuals and celebrates their uniqueness by forming a trusting relationship that allows for a caring exchange.” Brain aneurism support groups are a significant element within the recovery continuum.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For more information you may contact Tom Quirk at (781) 545-2300, extension 628 or via email at tfquirk@aol.com. For more detailed information about brain aneurysms, please visit the Brain Aneurysm Foundation’s web site at www.bafound.org.

The South Shore Brain Aneurysm Support Group meetings are held the second Wednesday of every month, from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. at St. Mary's Parish Center, 2 Edward Foster Road, Scituate.