Workshop Feedback
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This art piece was created by six members of the Roaring Fork Head Injury Support Group in Carbondale, Colorado. The composition directly portrays on groups life experience after sustaining traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The large piercing eye above looks through a magnifying glass, scrutinizing the person's life situation below. The person with a brain injury is the subject being criticized, feeling trapped and confined by unseeable limitations, a glass box. This major composition theme represents two aspects that remain strong in a person's life after sustaining TBI-the criticism and judgement that people feel others (not head injured general public and friends) look at them with. They feel judged and evaluated for every action by professional and criticized by friends. This critical eye is also the person him/herself, judging the self so harshly, comparing to how "it used to be", how "I used to be", how "I could do this or that before with such ease."
The glass box represents the intense feelings of isolation that often entrap a person with TBI. The individual within looks fine, yet there are feelings of separateness, a piece of glass between the person and the rest of the world. Stormy clouds, rain and lightening represent how it feels much of the time in such glass confines of isolation. The person inside is pounding the wall, desperately trying to get out. Although the door is open, it is, at times, unknown to the person inside. Often one cannot see the way out while so deeply emersed in the confines of his/her own reality. A great hand of support has reached within the box and is holding the person within. This hand symbolized support systems available by family and friends as well as the hand of God present in each person's life since the injury. The ocean below represents the turbulent times that occur, the ups and downs, the rough times and the calm times, symbolizing the group's struggle to accept this paradox of life. The rainbow overhead represents the group's continuous hope and faith that must be present for accepting the newfound changes of living with TBI. The colorful birds symbolize a freedom that is also present in life. The sun penetrates through the stormy weather and touches the people below with TBI. The sun touches people both inside the glass box of self imposed and organic limitations and also people who have taken the many small steps necessary to travel out of the box to be with the rest of the world.
Well, enjoy the extra time off while you still can! (Why the hell would he want to be back to full time? Maybe he got hit in the head harder than I thought!)
Yeah, I'm trying to. It seems like I spend all fo my extra times taking naps. (I've become the nap king!)
Allright! Ya know stories going around town were unbelivable. We heard you were allmost dead. I thought that if you lived through it, you would never be the same. But you look fine. It's good to see you. (Boy, how lucky! The stories get blown out of proportion, he's got the doctor's note, time off from work and plenty of time to do what ever he wants to! Everybody thinks that he got really messed up, but obviously he's fine)
Yeah...It's good to see you too.
(This guy has no clue)
Yeah, I'll see you later.
Sometimes I am grateful to be alive. After all I have been through because I'm just now concentrating on the things I can do rather than the things I can't. Examples of abilities I have are writing, reading, swimming, walking and talking. The reasons I don't feel grateful to be alive are times when I'm very tired or frustrated because I'm not able to drive.
I am frustrated most because people don't understand my head injury and vision impairment. They ask me why I don't /can't learn to drive. When I tell them my vision isn't good enough then they shut up. I am tired of explaining to people. Who don't have a head injury about my head injury.
I am frustrated most because I tend to lose patience with myself when I must work on a task I have trouble with such as Algrebra or I can't drive so must rely on the darn bus systems or someone else to pick me up or drop me off someplace. I am not able to be as independent as people without head injuries.
Since my head injury 30 years ago, my beliefs in spirituality have meandered between why did God make or create me this way? Why didin't he just let me die?
He must have created me this way for a purpose to learn massage in order to help other head injury victims work through their issues.
The story of my head injury began 30 years ago in L.A. California when I was born premature, two months ahead of schedule, on January 22, 1965 instead of the due date on March 5, 1965. Also I had water on the brain commonly referred to as hydrocephalis. Which kept me in the hospital two additional months until March of that same year.
More stories accompany this art piece. They will be posted as soon as possible. If you know when there are, please contact me.
Thanks, bittin