Recovery, Part 10
By Tom Quirk

Scituate - A House of Commons’ speech on June 18, 1940 included “if we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future.” Is that wartime context different than the circumstances of a survivor of a brain aneurysm today?

In these columns, we have viewed the basic knowledge of brain aneurysms, the treatments and procedures involved, the recovery process, deficit compensation strategies, the benefits of knowledge, support groups, and the reality of the “new you.”

This was a traumatic and horrific event that happened unexpectedly and without any nexus to anything that you did (or didn’t) do. It has impacted your life and that of those who depend on you. Your life is different; you might not be physically or intellectually as able as before, and the family financial situation may not be as assured as it was. Sometimes the results have included serious incapacity, loss of relationships, and estrangement from religious beliefs. The statistics are hardly encouraging.

Everyone has bad days. It is important to return to your activities with friends and family, and the responsibilities of life, which will restore your well being and self assurance. Learning about what has happened is important and there is an abundance of information available from the published materials and website (www.bafound.org) of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. Support Groups are valuable community-based resources, where current survivors and their family caregivers meet within a respectful and caring environment, and gain support and counsel from those who have gone before. Encouragement and camaraderie abound among those exchanging shared experiences. You are not alone and things do get better.

Negative thinking and a “why me” mentality are counterproductive, because what exists is reality. Quarrelling with the past consumes time and energy far better invested in maximizing our recovery for the future. By definition, survivors have survived and overcome the odds. It wasn’t easy and took courage and determination. Those same attributes are sometimes characterized as the “five Ps” of successful people in any endeavor: perseverance, persistence, passion, pride and patience.

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.