On November 11, 2018, Veteran’s Day, our family experienced something so horrendous it seems at times like it had to have been a long nightmare. I was giving CPR instruction to employees at a group home when I noticed my phone kept ringing. Finally, I excused myself to step outside to answer the call. Unfortunately, the call was from my sister-in-law’s sister urgently attempting to contact me to inform me that my sister-in-law was attempting to reach me via phone because there had been an emergency with my little brother.
My brother Bruce Crosby, Jr is four years younger than I am. He turned 40 years old the following month after his accident. He is father to 3 kids and has been married for more than ten years. Bruce Jr is serving in the United States Navy in Jacksonville, Florida. We are all so very proud of his accomplishments over the last 10 years because he was somewhat of a late bloomer. In the past year, we had the wonderful occasion to spend a long weekend in New York City and parts of New Jersey to celebrate his graduation with a master’s degree in Health Care Administration. He had informed us he was already tackling coursework to obtain a doctoral degree in a similar field of study.
Bruce Jr had an explosive personality, an avid social media presence, very invested in the well-being of his family and loved ones. Always attempting to go the extra mile with his Navy career – volunteering and even becoming the poster boy for some of the Navy’s campaigns.
On that fateful day, I finally heard my sister-in-law’s voice and deciphered her words as she hurriedly shared with me that my brother had been in a motor cycle accident just moments prior and the only information she was given was that he was hurt badly and was being taken to the local trauma center. As the medical clinician in my family, I try to keep my wits and provide strength to my family when emergencies occur. I asked my sister-in-law to stay calm, not jump to conclusions, not have an emotional meltdown and to be hopeful until more information was provided. Fortunately, my sister-in-law is such a woman of strength as she has proved time and time again over the ensuing months.
I am writing this brief personal summary because March 11-17, 2019 was a week dedicated to bring awareness to brain injuries, research and fundraising. I have a broad array of close friends and acquaintances from various backgrounds. Not one of them has had the experience of having a close family member sustain a traumatic brain injury.
Unfortunately, even though my brother was wearing a motorcycle helmet, his accident was so substantial that he sustained a severe injury to his brain. The force of the motorcycle accident caused shearing and bleeding in various places of Bruce Jr’s brain.
What is a traumatic brain injury? According to one internet site, a traumatic brain injury is a disruption to brain function caused by an external force to the head. There are various levels of injury, however as has been our personal experience, each injury is unique and very difficult to estimate the prognosis.
There can be changes to personality, moods, cognition, and physical abilities after sustaining a traumatic brain injury. The emotional and physical toll can be very great on the family and caretakers of those that have sustained a traumatic brain injury.
It was a true source of encouragement to read stories posted in the corridors of the facilities where my brother was in residence that shared the personal testimonies of positive outcomes of those who had suffered from unexpected brain traumas. Although, I am a physician assistant, dealing with nurses and other health care providers caring for my brother from the ICU to the therapeutic facility where he resides presently has been amazing and eye opening. Most staff members provided consistent encouragement and hopefulness as they have seen many different outcomes that seemed so dire initially dramatically improve.
The recovery of my brother Bruce Jr, since his accident has been a progressive one that involves us being very patient. Many continue to ask how he is doing regularly and it is often not easy to share an update that is understandable to his many followers and supporters. We are so thankful he is able to be in a rigorous VA Polytrauma program where he can receive various forms of therapy to aide in his recovery. We continue to hope for the days when we hear his voice and laugh and see his tall frame angling towards us.
For those of you who do not know much about traumatic brain injuries, I encourage you to do some research to learn more about this disorder or at the very least, consider giving a donation to your local brain injury chapter. According to one source over 2.8 million traumatic brain injuries occur each year in the United States. Motor accidents cause 14.3% of all traumatic brain injuries.
My family has been the recipient of numerous kind people and organizations. Awareness of one family’s experience in dealing with a traumatic brain injury is my sole purpose of writing this article. I hope this personal sharing has been informative.