Traumatic brain injury and my family

This is a qualitative narrative study which looks at the effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury on the family, from an autobiographical viewpoint. My sister, at age nineteen, suffered a severe Traumatic Brain Injury which changed not only her life but the lives of everyone in my family. I relate the immediate effects of the trauma along with the long term rehabilitation process that followed, with emphasis on her re-entry to the home and our family’s unpreparedness for that transition. Eight and one-half years later, my family continues to bear the consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury due to the lack of education and family counseling. From a first hand viewpoint, this study makes recommendations to families of Traumatic Brain Injury victims and to professionals in rehabilitation who work with the families.