BRAIN INJURY ASSOCIATION OF MARYLAND
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BIAMD as a Media Company

8/11/2016

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​The emergence of the "connection economy" over the last several years has destroyed some business segments (Number of VHS tapes rented at Blockbuster Videos in the last 12 months? ZERO), restructured others (Number of CDs purchased versus music files downloaded?), and created entirely new ones (Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Instagram and Snapchat).  This trend has not only sent non-profits and charities scrambling back to the strategic plan table, it has also altered the landscape of funder and donor expectations, outcome measures, and service delivery.  
 
Like it or not, the Brain Injury Association of Maryland, along with all other non-profit organizations in the United States is now a media company.
 
And if you really think about it, we really have been all along. 
 
For the last 31 years, BIAM has provided information and education about the statewide brain injury resources, healthcare providers, treatment options, programs, initiatives, and policies for and about the brain injury community. Primarily through phone calls and mailings, and later through email and websites, BIAM has been the premier clearinghouse of information for Maryland's brain injury community. 
 
But look at the tools we have at our disposal now.  We can create video segments about brain injury prevention, entertaining short films about people living with brain injury, even commercials about our events and initiatives,  all in high definition at low cost that can be broadcast to every human being on the planet with access to a computer and broadband internet.
 
How is that NOT a T.V. station?
 
We can create Public Service Announcements for Brain Injury Awareness Month, record and post Podcasts with interviews of individuals leading the charge against brain injuries and their aftermath, even create and broadcast live programming from anywhere we can get enough "bars" for our data plan to work. And It all goes out over the internet to as far as the data can reach.
 
 
How is that not a radio station?  
 
We can interview anyone with an email account, write blogs as short or as long as we want about anything, post our opinions and editorials on Facebook or Amazon, create movie reviews on Rotten Tomatoes or Fandango, restaurant reviews on Yelp and delicious, even create and design specialty websites about art and entertainment on tumblr or Blogger. We even have the equivalent of special daily editions, "Extra, Extra, Read All About It!" in our Twitter feeds. 
 
How is that not a newspaper or magazine?
 
As Seth Godin has said, just like the spatula is not the cake and the brush is not the painting, these new social media platforms are not BIAM.  They are wondrous tools for us to do our same old mission in a new, and hopefully, better way.
 
Our primary task remains making a connection with another human being searching for answers, searching for help, searching for hope and providing them all three with compassion, accuracy, and authenticity. That's what we've been about for over three decades, and new tools will not change that core.
 
We will take advantage of all the new tools we have at our disposable. Now rather than waiting for a phone call or sending out a bulk mailing, we will endeavor to reach people where they are and, more importantly, where they are looking. More smartphones were sold last year than computers. Our new "responsive" website and app, and our new emphasis on providing quality contact through Facebook and Twitter, will reflect that new initiative. 
 
We look forward to receiving your feedback and promise to continue innovating and adopting new ways of bringing information to those who needed it quickly, accurately, and lovingly. 
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Look for the Helpers

8/11/2016

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“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.” 
- Fred “Mr.” Rogers


For those who are not currently freaking out over traveling the highways and byways of America in blizzard-like conditions, waiting in long lines at the TSA while airport administrators try and restore power, or wondering if the turkey they bought will actually feed every one coming over to the house, we reflect on the meaning of the season and the things for which we are truly thankful.

This past year has been truly remarkable in the life of BIAM. We started our fourth decade of service after celebrating our 30th Anniversary last year.  We began working intently on our BIAMobile Initiative to convert our phones, databases, email, word processing, and social media into cloud based systems.  This has allowed us to take all of our communications and resources on the road. We've remained open and answering our phones and emails during what would previously have been snow days, and allowed us to incorporate telecommuting into our work plan with no loss of efficiency.  Complicated questions don't only come in on sunny days when your in the office or when you have all of your resources in a file folder. Now, we can respond more quickly and provide more personalized information tailored for everyone's specific situation.

But all of the technological advances in the world mean nothing without a person to answer, a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, or a smile to share.

And so we turn to Mr. Rogers' opening quote, "look for the helpers".  There we find what never ceases to surprise and humble us year after year, event after event, week after week
- the generous spirit and enthusiasm of those special "helpers" around us.  They appear just when needed, and, often, not a minute before. Whether stuffing envelopes with thank you letters, directing parking in dark and freezing cold with a smile and an orange flag, making sure the correct signs are on the doors of every conference session, coordinating registration at a biking event, or showing up to Board meetings month after month, they are there.

Look for the helpers.

Our association was founded in tragedy and has survived for three decades on the generosity, dedication and love of those individuals who continue to be affected by brain injury and its aftermath. Show me someone making their way in the world after brain injury, and we will show you dozens of people who stepped up, answered the call, and helped that individual along their way.

Look for the helpers.

Most do not seek the spotlight, nor are they comfortable with it when it is shown on them. It was their calling, it was their duty, it was their mission in life, they were just doing their job.  Without them, those brain injury survivors and their families would be nowhere near as far along as they are today.

Look for the helpers.

Back to normal? Not often.  But further along in their recovery because the doctor took extra time to make sure the medications were working correctly? Because the nurse made sure the family understood what to do when they got home? Because the therapist didn't take her well deserved break to make sure a gait was correct and without pain? Because the social worker made that last minute call to ensure the home healthcare was ready to go? Because the Mom always sang when she was there or the wife set up a visitation schedule so the room was never empty? Absolutely.

Without them, the journey, already fraught with pain, discouragement and doubt, would have been insurmountable. With them, we are able to carry on, with hope.

Look for the helpers.

As a non-profit working day after day to meet the needs of an ever increasing group of individuals on a limited budget, it is so very easy to get caught up in the numbers or metrics we can measure. How many were helped? How much money did we raise? What can we cut to be even more efficient? What will it cost to put on that event?

But the real work, the real reason we are here and have been here for over thirty years, has very little to do with numbers. The metrics we deal in are about hearts healed, hope restored, and love returned. We are able to meet those metrics daily because of our volunteers, our helpers.

So when we reflect on the true meaning of Thanksgiving, and make a conscious effort to pause and give thanks, we do not need a committee or a focus group or social media strategy to help us figure out who to thank or what we are truly grateful for. We already know
.

We look for the helpers.
​

-Bryan Thomas Pugh 
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Timelines and Brain Injury

8/11/2016

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TIMELINES and BRAIN INJURY
 In his song “Beautiful Boy”, John Lennon famously sang that, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” 

 Despite our best efforts, and in complete contradiction to what we rationally know to be true, we all create certain expectations about how our lives are going to play out.  We have timelines in our heads, consciously or unconsciously, about our lives and there is a certain sequence that we expect.  We will attend school for X number of years, then branch out on our own to find a job, start a family after a few years, then build a career or create a home life (or both), work hard, raise our family, and then, if we do everything right, after 30 years or so we will be able retire and enjoy the fruits of our lifelong labor.
 

 We know that there will be ups and downs, but generally, things will progress in a fairly “normal” fashion.  Days turn into weeks turn into months turn in to years turn into a life well lived and enjoyed. At least, that’s the way we’ve convinced ourselves it’s supposed to go.
 Until you have a brain injury.

 It goes without saying that working through the life-threatening physical challenges takes center stage in the early days of a brain injury. However, looming just behind the curtain is the soul shattering grief caused by a disrupted timeline.  And as the days begin to stack up and the critical health concerns begin to resolve, the rage and grief and resentment about being blasted off of a life timeline begins to take hold.

 “She had just started to make it on her own.”

 “We were in the process of selling the business to start traveling the world.”

 “I was headed to college at the end of the summer!”

 “We had only been married six months! What happens now?”

 We all understand there are no guarantees. We all appreciate that anything can happen at any minute that can be a complete game changer.  We are given constant reminders that life is complex and requires a certain amount of give and take just to get through the day.

 And yet we act as if…

 We act as if making plans, and sticking to them will result in the goals we’ve set for ourselves. We live by the aphorism that “Failing to plan is planning to fail”.  Our own actions will lead directly to the life we envision for our self. Tragedies like brain injuries happen to other people and disrupt other families. Equally undeserving to be sure, but other people, nonetheless. Losing the “certainty” of one’s timeline is disorienting and bewildering.   It is expressed in as many different ways as there are people experiencing it. But the overarching anger, frustration, and grief surrounding the loss of a family’s timeline is one of most common issues we deal with at BIAMD. 

 “When will I start being able to think clearly again?”

 “How long will he have to stay in that skilled nursing facility?”

 “Why everything going so slowly?”

 “He seems to be doing the same for the last several weeks? How long until he gets back to normal?”

 At BIAMD, we try to provide encouraging words. We discuss the stages of grief, the loss of the person who was and gift of the person who remained, rediscovery and renewal, cherishing the victories whenever and however they come, the healing power of therapy, counseling, and time, and the need to discover and make peace with a “new normal.”  But mostly, we just listen.

 Nothing about brain injury is easy, certain, or guaranteed. 

 Then again, neither is living.
 

 We may not be able to control the storm, but we can certainly reset our sails.  The new normal requires acceptance of what is right now, today, this minute.  Work to enjoy and be grateful for THIS time since there are no guarantees for any others.  And with everything that goes along with brain injury, enjoying and feeling grateful takes a LOT of work.

 Nonetheless, only by realizing that the trust and energy we put into our timeline was misplaced to begin with, will we be able to find a way out of the maze in which we feel trapped.  Grieve its loss. Accept that there is no way to fully recapture our old timeline. Some survivors take comfort in seeking "renewal" rather than "recovery". Renew who you are instead of trying to recover who you were. 

 And a challenging as it may be, particularly when you are in the darkest part of the tunnel, always remember that you are not your timeline and that you don’t even need a timeline to make the most of the gifts you still possess.  ​
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    Bryan Thomas Pugh 

    Bryan has been the Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association of Maryland for five years. 

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  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Our Organization
      • Staff & Board Members
      • Membership
  • Events
    • 2023 Brain Injury Awareness Day -Annapolis
    • 2023 BIAMD Annual Conference
    • BIAMD's 40th Birthday Bash
    • Comprehensive Calendar
    • Send Us Your Event!
  • RESOURCES/EDUCATION
    • Request a Presentation or a Training
    • Brain Injury Wavier Program
    • ABI Supports and Resources
    • Additional TBI Resources
    • Financial Information for ABI Survivors and Families
    • Trainings, Webinars, Studies, and more
    • Your Brain Map
    • Local Resources
    • Legal Resources
    • Vocational Resources
    • Home Safety Resources
    • Planning Now: A Futures and Estate Planning Guidebook
    • A Look At TBI Trust Fund Programs
  • COVID-19 RESOURCES
    • COVID-19 and Brain Injury
    • COVID -19 and Behavioral Health and Well-Being
    • COVID-19 and the LGBTQ Community
    • Financial Assistance and Community Services
  • #5ThoughtsFridays
  • Maryland Brain Injury Trust Fund
  • Unmasking Brain Injury 2.0
  • Brain Injury
    • Ask The Expert
    • Support Groups >
      • Baltimore Area
      • Northern MD
      • Eastern MD
      • Central MD
      • Montgomery/PG/DC Area
      • Southern MD
      • Western MD
      • Outside Maryland >
        • Delaware
        • West Virginia
      • For Veterans and Families
      • Online Support Groups
    • Understanding Brain Injury >
      • Interactive Brain Map
      • Living With Brain Injury
      • Traumatic Brain Injury
      • Your Brain Map
    • Research
    • BIAMD - Telling Your Story
    • CDC HEADS UP
    • Legal Notices
  • Concussion
    • Maryland Concussion Clinics and Resources
    • Concussion Information for Parents
    • Concussion Information for Athletes
    • Concussion Information for Coaches
    • Counseling After a Concussion
  • Media
    • BIAMD Blog
    • HEADWAY eNewsletter
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • BIAMD App is Live!
  • How to Give
    • Donate >
      • Matching Gift Programs
      • Automatic Payroll Contribution Campaigns
      • Gifts which can be made without giving money now
  • BIAMD BOARD
  • PCORI Brain Injury Network
  • BIAMD Member Portal
  • #5ThoughtsFridays
  • Legal Notices
  • Filling the Knowledge Gap: Brain Injury Training for Educators
  • Brain Injury Training for Skilled Nursing Facilities
  • Brain Injury Waiver Provider Resource Page