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Mindstorms: The Complete Guide for Families Living with Traumatic Brain Injury
If your loved one has experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI), you know that its effects can be devastating and often difficult to understand. It may feel as if your world has shifted on its axis, and you'll never get your bearings. Navigating your way through the morass of doctors, medical terms, and the healthcare system can be daunting, especially when you want only what's best for the person you love. Dr. John Cassidy has devoted the past twenty-five years to helping families cope with traumatic brain injury; Mindstorms is his compassionate, comprehensive manual to demystifying this often frightening and life-changing condition. More than 6.3 million Americans live with a severe disability caused by a traumatic brain injury. In fact, because it's so commonplace, but little talked of, TBI is often referred to as the "silent epidemic." In these pages, Dr. Cassidy walks you through the different types of brain injury; explodes the common myths surrounding it; demonstrates the ways in which TBI may affect memory, behavior, and social interaction; explores the newest options in treatment and rehabilitation; and shows you how to hold on to your own sense of self as you journey through. Along with the practical information you'll need, Mindstorms offers a constellation of instructive, moving stories from families and patients who are slowly, but surely, finding their way back. Their experiences are sure to inspire you and yours.
- GenresNonfictionMedical
249 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2009
12 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 21, 2022
Very helpful for our entire family after Mom's TBI.
September 7, 2012
If you are looking at picking up this book, you either have suffered a tbi or someone you love has. My significant other suffered his head injury 3.5 months ago, which means I'm reading this book about 4 months too late.
This book gives a very high level run down of injury, hospitalization, rehab hospitalization and stories about patient recovery. About the only thing that could have helped me to hear during hospitalization is that during initial hospitalization/medically induced coma/coming out of medically induced coma, is that your loved one will not wake up and panic because you are not at the bedside. Go home, get some sleep. Try to get some exercise. Eat. Get some more sleep. For the rest of it, there is just not enough detail to be helpful. I will also add, when your loved one gets to a rehab hospital, try to spend the night once a week. You will learn about all the treatments and buzzers and lights that keep him awake all night and inhibit sleep, thus healing. You can then discuss them with your docs.
Dr Cassidy talks about mild traumatic brain injury, but his example patients all seem to have severe injuries to recover from and compensate for. Perhaps that is to lend hope, but I really wanted to have ideas how to deal with my moderately brain injured love. What do you do when your loved one doesn't believe there is anything wrong with his brain?
In the chapter about taking care of the caregiver, he encourages the caregiver to get counseling to help the caregiver succeed with the challenges he or she is facing. He then suggests interviewing a few therapists to find one that you feel comfortable with. As this isn't something that most people have experience with, this would have been a nice place to put a paragraph as to what kind of questions you might ask a counselor or what you might want to look for or even is there a specialty of therapist to look for, but he leaves it at that.
Doctors keep telling me that there is no telling what the recovery will be with TBI. That seems to be all that Dr Cassidy has for us, too.
This book gives a very high level run down of injury, hospitalization, rehab hospitalization and stories about patient recovery. About the only thing that could have helped me to hear during hospitalization is that during initial hospitalization/medically induced coma/coming out of medically induced coma, is that your loved one will not wake up and panic because you are not at the bedside. Go home, get some sleep. Try to get some exercise. Eat. Get some more sleep. For the rest of it, there is just not enough detail to be helpful. I will also add, when your loved one gets to a rehab hospital, try to spend the night once a week. You will learn about all the treatments and buzzers and lights that keep him awake all night and inhibit sleep, thus healing. You can then discuss them with your docs.
Dr Cassidy talks about mild traumatic brain injury, but his example patients all seem to have severe injuries to recover from and compensate for. Perhaps that is to lend hope, but I really wanted to have ideas how to deal with my moderately brain injured love. What do you do when your loved one doesn't believe there is anything wrong with his brain?
In the chapter about taking care of the caregiver, he encourages the caregiver to get counseling to help the caregiver succeed with the challenges he or she is facing. He then suggests interviewing a few therapists to find one that you feel comfortable with. As this isn't something that most people have experience with, this would have been a nice place to put a paragraph as to what kind of questions you might ask a counselor or what you might want to look for or even is there a specialty of therapist to look for, but he leaves it at that.
Doctors keep telling me that there is no telling what the recovery will be with TBI. That seems to be all that Dr Cassidy has for us, too.
July 10, 2012
This book is an excellent resource to help people understand the complexities of the brain and the complex injuries caused by trauma to it. I'm not sure it's as simply written as the author hoped and I could see it being a little dense in some places for someone who recently found themselves in the sleep-deprived state of someone whose loved one suffered a traumatic brain injury. However, I would certainly recommend it and believe it would be an excellent resource and thoughtful gift for a scared loved one sitting by a bedside and praying for a miracle.
July 27, 2014
If you have anyone in your life with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), I highly recommend this book. I only wish it had been published in the mid 70's, for the difficult part of TBI is for those that are the caregivers and loved ones of someone who suffers with these deficits.
The book is full of information about the disorder, but discusses ways for family and friends to get beyond guilt and how to help their loved one move on, even if it's just tiny steps and simple ways to cope.
You can read my entire review on my blog http://www.spiritof13.com/?p=291
The book is full of information about the disorder, but discusses ways for family and friends to get beyond guilt and how to help their loved one move on, even if it's just tiny steps and simple ways to cope.
You can read my entire review on my blog http://www.spiritof13.com/?p=291
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June 1, 2011I don't think that rating this book is entirely appropriate, since its usefulness depends fully on how many of the topics discussed happen to pertain directly to one's loved one suffering from TBI. The book is full of good info and a wealth of examples from real patients' lives. It would possibly have been a great comfort if I had read it during the immediate aftermath of my sister's TBI.
April 12, 2012
Interesting, but hard to get past the authors ense of self. The phrase "in my 25 years of experience"', is used to commence an unnecessarily large number of sentences. The book did provide me a better understanding of the TBI, however, the free booklet on acquired brain injury I sourced from the Synapse organisation (synapse.org.au) provided me with more.
October 26, 2014
Would have been more helpful to me right after the TBI occurred since so much of the book takes you through immediate and ICU care, then on to acute rehab. Would be excellant to have available in ICU's.
October 23, 2012
Incredibly comprehensive summary of TBI and subsequent recovery
October 15, 2013
Read for class for a research project on TBI and its effect on familial relationships. Good reference.
September 7, 2016
One of the best books immediately after the injury. Explains in relatively simple terms the tests, procedures, etc.
July 9, 2011
Good information and ideas.
January 30, 2014
good info for early after injury.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews