I'm in the role of Peer Coordinator for this month's BIRRDSong, Nov. 5th meeting and discussion to be held at Portland's Good Samaritan Hospital on 23rd in the Wistar Morris Room (ask reception if you don't know where it is).

Topic: Family & Caregivers; Friends of Survivors,  Relationships

Faciltators: Faith Walmer ; landis (David Farr)

Please join us in exploring this topic and sharing your experiences, insights, and advice.  You can make a direct difference for BI survivors and their family and friends by joining this dialogue. 

We'll briefly share our struggles as family members coping with the changes and challenges BIs can bring to families.  We'll share not only what we've learned from our experiences, but also how we can continue to learn from them.  One of the dynamics of families with BI survivor members is that not only are many of the frustrations ongoing, even if only intermittently, but also that prognosis and outcomes are often difficult to predict.  Because of this it makes sense to sharpen or acquire effective coping skills and conflict resolution strategies to reduce frustration in the future.   

Our hope is this discussion will shed light on how to best cope with common family member frustrations, and to do so with the aim of contributing not only to alleviating the stress unique to these challenges, but also on improving relationships among survivors and their family and friends.

For example, "When I send my husband to the store to get three or four things, odds are he'll forget at least one thing. 

Or, for instance, "How many times is my dad going to ask me what I went to college for?  Or what my wife's name is?  Or how OLD I am!?" 

Or, "How can I help my daughter change her inappropriate behavior when she can't remember most of the things she does?

Faith has been married to a TBI survivor (BIRRDsong Board Member Had Walmer) for thirty years.

landis' dad is a TBI survivor of forty years.

As part of your RSVP, please take a moment to write a few sentences to a few paragraphs about a recurring issue or common frustration you experience as a family member or friend of a survivor. 

Thank you so much and please, please bring interested
friends, caregivers - This will be a Great Meeting!
(Enjoy the food)

Had Walmer