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Sandy Rakowitz said:
Review by Sandy Rakowitz for If I only Had a Brain Injury
Rating:
If I Only Had a Brain Injury is a delightful, powerful and highly informative book. Beautifully written, Laura Bruno draws upon her experiences with her own Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) from a car accident. Her descriptions are vivid, deeply and personal. The book is very supportive and is an excellent resource for those dealing with Traumatic Brain Injuries and their caregivers. The book is also vitally important for those dealing with challenging and mysterious health issues like Chronic Fatigue, Lyme Disease and Migraines.
Bruno tells her own story while expertly weaving her insights within the context of the Wizard of Oz. I loved the humor, playfulness and utter seriousness in the book in the chapter titles and content. In the chapter, Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bruno states that her aim is, “…to inspire you and to guide you to resources that will empower you to take control over your own health and wellbeing.”
Gradually after Bruno’s own accident she began to realize that she had entered into a new land, and needed to learn anew. She recounts these realizations in the chapter, We’re not in Kansas Anymore. Bruno says, ” Like Dorothy, I knew I could not return the way I arrived. Like Dorothy, I eventually found my way “back home,” but I took the Technicolor journey with me. I wrote this book to help others to do so, to.”
And, like Dorothy following the yellow brick road to find her way back home to Kansas, the book emphasizes actions you can take in your recovery from the symptoms of these various illnesses that are so mysterious to the medical community. Bruno says in the chapter titled “Glinda,” that “This chapter suggests ways to find the Glinda’s along your journey…Even in the Wizard of Oz, Glinda prefers to help Dorothy help herself.” She includes an excellent listing of resources to contact. For instance, she notes that you might want to contact a Behavioral optometrist that specializes in connections in mind, body and vision because “…a majority of people with neurological issues suffer from visual impairment. If you have any of the flowing symptoms, you may benefit from visual therapy or prism lenses: Concentration problems; Double vision; Headaches; Difficulty reading; Balance disorders; Clumsiness; Eyestrain; Intolerance of flickering lights; Intolerance to varied backgrounds; Panic Attacks; Easily becoming overwhelmed; Vertigo.
If I Only Had a Brain Injury is like a breath of fresh air as it offers hope where typically there is none. As Bruno notes, so many head injuries and their effects are not detected, diagnosed or treated. Many people are told that they do not show any medical evidence of a medical injury even though they are experiencing severe difficulties in daily functioning since the time of their accident or since the onset of their illness. And, even when a brain injury and trauma is recognized, there have been very limited resources to assist in continued rehabilitation.
My level of awareness about the nature of head injuries and its effects has risen dramatically from reading this book. This includes helping me to understand some of my own experiences from knocking my head with numerous falls off of horses, minor car accidents and some of my own hard to diagnose symptoms. I now keep this book by my bedside for personal quick reference and I also have a copy available in my office for those clients who have had head injuries.
If I only Had a Brain Injury is an excellent resource that I very highly recommend for anyone who has experienced a Traumatic Brain Injury as well as their family members, caregivers, medical professional and therapists. For anyone whose life has been touched in some manner with a Traumatic Brain Injury or by any illness that has been a medical mystery, this book will be of great value.
# 31 July 2010 at 7:37 pm

Victoria Boutenko said:
Review by Victoria Boutenko for If I only Had a Brain Injury
Rating:
Laura Bruno’s book, If I Only Had a Brain Injury, is meant for people like herself who survived brain injury or similar conditions. Even though I never had a brain injury, I read this book with great interest. Laura uniquely organized her personal account of her injury using the Wizard of Oz story as a metaphor. Her striking sincerity together with her superb literary skill make this book into an inspirational journey. Dozens of practical helpful tips are included for brain injury survivors. In addition to her own case, the author included several testimonials from other survivors of traumatic experiences, some of them world renowned individuals. As a nutritionist myself I can testify that Laura’s nutritional suggestions are well researched and represent the newest scientific discoveries in healthful living. This book will provide guidelines not only for persons recovering from brain injuries, but will help anyone turn difficult times into joyous living.

# 31 July 2010 at 7:42 pm

A. Oswald said:
Review by A. Oswald for If I only Had a Brain Injury
Rating:
TBI, FMS, CFS… For some of us, these are only random groups of letters. For others, they represent acronyms for “mysterious” diseases, conditions or syndromes. Sometimes, the way Traumatic Brain Injury, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome manifest in patients brings up more questions than answers; therefore, it’s not uncommon for even medical practitioners to misdiagnose them.
But these “mysterious” conditions have the power to challenge and forever change the lives of those they touch.
TBI, FMS, CFS also Lyme disease and brain cancer affect many individuals, famous and not so famous, on a daily basis. These diseases, syndromes and conditions pertain to the life-challenging and life-threatening experiences that can turn individuals into surrenders or survivors.
For Laura Bruno, an intuitive life coach, Reiki Master Teacher and writer, her TBI diagnosis–the result of a seemingly insignificant car accident–changed her life from the path of achieving her doctoral degree and a successful career to the path of recovery. Laura Bruno’s TBI diagnosis didn’t only show her what’s most important in life, but also helped her discover her own “yellow brick road” to recovery and to a relatively normal life.
Indeed, parallels to the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy’s story are many and throughout the book. They help readers better understand Bruno’s personal experience, the reasons behind her decisions dealing with complex issues like treatments and doctors, insurance and lawyers. In this sense, “If I Only Had a Brain Injury” is an inspiring, informative and educative read, and also a wonderful narrative. By sharing her story, Bruno opens the doors to the world of so-called mysterious conditions so many of us have to live with, sometimes misunderstood.
“If I Only Had a Brain Injury” gives readers a chance to better understand not only the syndromes and conditions, but also the persons behind the medical diagnosis, the very individuals having to live daily with these syndromes and conditions. And by doing so, the book represents an irreplaceable resource for patients, caregivers, families and friends and also medical practitioners.
The book is exceptionally well structured and organized, while easy to follow and understand. It offers an amazing number of personal stories and experiences, interviews with experts in the field, as well as useful sites, statistics and hands-on advice–given by professionals and also tested and tried by Bruno and other patients. “If I Only Had a Brain Injury” is a page-turner and a must-read. It is a testimony of the power of believing in oneself, a true survival story.
# 31 July 2010 at 7:48 pm

Esther R. Weiss said:
Review by Esther R. Weiss for If I only Had a Brain Injury
Rating:
Injury took some mental abilities away.

Through that loss, author Laura Bruno,

finds an alternative path to health and

trusting herself. She demystifies many

medical mysteries all the while reassuring

those in similar situations not to suffer alone the

embarrassment and self consciousness of a

brain that is learning to function again -

perhaps differently. If I Only Had a Brain

Injury is a compendium of spiritual and

emotional support. It includes 52 healing

hints while leading its readers to become

wizards of their own healing. It offers

support to the caregiver and acknowledges

how events changes all involved.

Ultimately Laura Bruno wants everyone

to find their own deeper meaning of

injury – an opportunity to connect the

mind and heart – to live deeply, meaningfully,

and creatively through one’s

essence.
# 31 July 2010 at 8:29 pm

Inger Anderton said:
Review by Inger Anderton for If I only Had a Brain Injury
Rating:

I got this book yesterday afternoon and I have been gobbling it up! Right from the start I identified with the writing. I, too, had a feeling that my evening at the outdoor amphitheater that July 26th night in 2005 could change my life. I didn’t know how and so I ignored my irrational feelings. I went to the ballet and although we were sitting inside I must have picked up the tick as we walked across the lawn to the amphitheater. 10 days later, almost to the hour, I was very, very sick. The Lyme crossed the blood brain barrier and I have had neurological and emotional problems. My stupid neurologist says I am “in the normal range” even when I have vertigo and was falling back on my head walking down the street, have huge memory gaps, sometimes make no sense, etc. I told him it wasn’t normal for me, but ended up getting nowhere and leaving his office in tears.

My boyfriend of 12 years (with whom I attended the ballet that night) became very frustrated and angry. I am no longer the same woman he signed up for. We separated in the Fall of 2007. He felt I was not “trying hard enough” to get better.

My family thinks I am mentally ill. In fact over the last 9 months I have been misdiagnosed with either depression or Bipolar II disorder and mis-medicated, which DID make me pretty crazy. I am now convinced I ought not to be on any medications but treat myself holistically. I have been medication free for one month and that has made a huge difference for me.

So, I am so thankful for the book! I am finding out that I need to listen to myself and not depend on doctors to be able to fix me or even diagnose me correctly. I have been changing my diet and using it as my medicine. I have been making sure to get outside and walk or recently I can bicycle again! Soak in some sun. Surround myself with positive people–no angry boyfriend–as much as possible. I am painting again.

I think I was already headed in this direction — after 11 months of putting my hope and trust in, then floundering in, medical offices, hitting my head against (figurative) wall after wall. Laura Bruno’s book gives me such strength and hope for this journey.
# 31 July 2010 at 8:59 pm

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