In the 16 months I was by Brenna's side, I quickly realized how important it is that, as a society, we MUST seek change in the care and rehabilitation for the health and safety of all patients suffering a brain injury.
When patients are admitted with a brain injury, unless a family or caregiver provides daily observation and participation in the care, brain injury patients will suffer from neglect.
A brain injury patient who cannot ask for help, is the most likely to be ignored for care and emergencies, the most likely to be the last to receive care, the most likely NOT to receive adequate bathing and daily cleaning for personal hygiene.
All patients with a brain injury should have a soft-touch call button placed under their arm or leg so that any unusual coughing or activity calls for help. Brenna's occupational therapist in the second nursing home told me this is a federal requirement. This was the only facility in which Brenna ever received a soft-touch call button.
Change must begin with us. Nursing homes cannot continue to accept patients for which they are poorly equipped and trained to care for.
Each of us must examine what is acceptable care for our beloved family members. Do we want them to receive humane care or do we want them just warehoused. Is our loved one equally as important as the care of our pets?
The choice is in our ball park. What do you decide?
Follow me on my daughter's journey to recovery after a sudden medically unexplained hypoxic brain injury, her 16 months of recovery, and her sudden cardiac arrest that eventually took her life. This is about my beloved Brenna and a mother's reflections while she was ill and after her loss. God has sent me on a journey to use her story to help and educate others. The opinions on this blog are based on 6000 hours spent with My Brenna over a 16 month period.
Playing Dress Up
Brenna wearing Mama's hat.
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