What happened to Jessica in Blank is fiction. Writing her story was a way for me to explore unanswered questions I had after completing a degree in psychology, such as how chemical reactions in the brain shape personality and what role memory plays in the development of our sense of self. There are, however, millions of people around the world who face the very real challenges of living with Traumatic Brain Injury (tbi). In the United States, about 1.7 million tbis occur each year, with 52,000 resulting in death. In Canada, approximately 2.4 percent of the population sustained a head injury in 2009–2010. tbi is shockingly common. *
The main causes of brain injury are sudden jolts or blows to the head during sports and recreational activities, motor vehicle collisions, falls, acts of violence and workplace accidents. The effects of tbi can include fatigue, impaired speech and motor control, cognitive challenges, hearing and memory loss, headaches, difficulty managing emotions, seizures and myriad other symptoms. Every case of tbi is unique, and unfortunately, there are no easy fixes.
While the retrograde amnesia Jessica faces in the story is very rare, it’s not merely a cliché. People around the world have shared their personal stories of struggling with this kind of amnesia, in books and documentaries. One such account is The Man Who Lost Himself: The Terry Evanshen Story, by June Callwood. Terry is a retired cfl player who lost all memory of his past after a car accident but was able to rebuild his life with the support of his family. Captain Trevor Greene, a Canadian peacekeeper who suffered a tbi in Afghanistan, also shared his story, in a documentary called Peace Warrior. Though I can’t pretend to understand what having tbi or amnesia is like, such inspiring stories helped me do my job as a writer and try to put myself in their shoes.
Many organizations exist to help if you or a loved one is dealing with brain injury. The Brain Association of Canada can be found at http://biac-aclc.ca/, and the Brain Association of America at http://www.biausa.org/.
Please take care of your brain. Wear a helmet when biking, skateboarding, skiing and playing contact sports, and always wear a seat belt. For more information, check out www.protectyourhead.com.
* Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Fact Sheet.” http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html
Statistics Canada. “Injuries in Canada: Insights from the Canadian Community Health Survey.” http://www.statcan.gc.ca/