This was hands down the best book I have read about treatments for brain injuries. When I picked it up at my library I didn’t expect much, it was not a book I’d heard of before, I only picked it because our library has no other books about brain injuries. But then I started reading and I was blown away by it’s layout, clear language and thoroughness.
It can be found by it’s longer title, Coping with Concussion and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Guide to Living with the Challenges Associated with Post Concussion Syndrome and Brain Trauma, and is written by Diane Roberts Stohler and Barbara Albers Hill. I think the language and thoroughness of this book may be overwhelming to those that have a brain injury but it is the perfect resource for any support person.
The book begins by discussing the anatomy and physiology of the brain and a variety of brain injury terms and injuries. This section is probably the most clear and concise version I have ever read and should influence how health care practitioners start speaking to their patients. A real understanding of what’s going on under the skin can do wonders for friends and family members’ compassion.
The book continues by breaking down symptoms into physical, mental, and emotional. The authors list the widest scope of symptoms that I’ve ever found in one resource and break each down into how it looks/feels, typical interventions, alternative interventions and what can be done at home as interventions. I found the format easy to follow and makes it easy to come up for a plan for moving forward – whether it is questions to ask a doctor or behaviours and routines to start practicing at home. This book succeeds in making treatments seem accessible and giving even this jaded writer hope for those new to the brain injury world.
Wrapping up the authors continue to explore all aspects of brain injury by discussing what recovery can look like, how to live together post brain injury and what advances in medicine are on the rise for brain injuries.
This is an incredibly helpful book that navigates brain injuries from a clinical rehab point of view. Unlike my other favourite books it does not include sympathy or funny stories to help the support system understand how hard rehab is, but it is the perfect guidebook for coming up with a plan of action.