Participating Artists
PhotoVoice Exhibit Artist
Tim McKay
I am 63. My head injuries occurred when I was 2, 1 2,18, 58 and 59.
When I was 2, I slid down a board from 18 feet above and crashed my head into a cement basement floor of my childhood home.
When I was 12, I suffered a concussion and remained in a coma from a bicycle accident; I was taught how to speak again.
As a passenger in an automobile, I was 18 when an automobile rear-ending us injured me. Again, I landed in the hospital from this accident.
A big gap in years, at 58, I hit my head on the passenger side roof of my company car getting a concussion. I continued to hit my head for several months after that.
A rear-ender automobile accident gave me another traumatic brain injury at 59. I was actively engaged in speech and language therapy when this accident occurred. This accident threw my progress backwards several years in my cognitive training.
Barriers, hurdles, troubles and perceptions of living with a traumatic brain injury.
Basically, I was never aware that the deficits I have from those accidents were related to traumatic brain injuries. The concept of deficits really never entered my mind. I thought all the things that I need to develop a work around for and the longer times that I spent to accomplish things were normal
At 58, I was served by CCCIL. It was suggested that I read a book by a traumatic brain injury survivor, Claudia Osborn, called Over My Head. Claudia’s book opened my eyes. Her book taught me a vocabulary for things I was dealing with for my entire life. Ms. Osborn described flooding, a process of brain overload, and that I never knew was a part of traumatic brain injury. I have always experienced the traumatic brain injury deficits, every day of my life. For example, organizing thoughts or information or things is hard to accomplish. My cognitive skills for decision making and trying to do two things at the same time (multi-tasking) are often impossible.
The best things I have found out about to help me with my traumatic brain injury are support of our TBI survivors through CCCIL; private, high functioning TBI survivor support and individual cognitive and life skill training through my Speech and Language Pathologist, Barbara Buchanan, in Santa Cruz.
Artworks
Garbanzo Bean
Photographer: Tim McKay
My wife and I use garbanzo beans as counters of our blessings. We can see the quantity of blessings. We do not need to put a value on each blessing. We are blessed by what we learn; whom we become friends with; what we are grateful for; and what joys we have from being TBI survivors.
Wood Bolted to the Wall
Photographer: Tim McKay
Injured but made whole by everything I do to make my life as whole as it can be. The gap in bolted wood panels means that I have lost some things but not everything.
For more information, contact CCCIL: Crystal Loutzenhiser 831-462-8728 cloutzenhiser@cccil.org or Irene Garcia 831-757-2968 igarcia@cccil.org
Los artistas participantes
Exposición Fotográfica Artista
Tim McKay
I am 63. My head injuries occurred when I was 2, 1 2,18, 58 and 59.
When I was 2, I slid down a board from 18 feet above and crashed my head into a cement basement floor of my childhood home.
When I was 12, I suffered a concussion and remained in a coma from a bicycle accident; I was taught how to speak again.
As a passenger in an automobile, I was 18 when an automobile rear-ending us injured me. Again, I landed in the hospital from this accident.
A big gap in years, at 58, I hit my head on the passenger side roof of my company car getting a concussion. I continued to hit my head for several months after that.
A rear-ender automobile accident gave me another traumatic brain injury at 59. I was actively engaged in speech and language therapy when this accident occurred. This accident threw my progress backwards several years in my cognitive training.
Barriers, hurdles, troubles and perceptions of living with a traumatic brain injury.
Basically, I was never aware that the deficits I have from those accidents were related to traumatic brain injuries. The concept of deficits really never entered my mind. I thought all the things that I need to develop a work around for and the longer times that I spent to accomplish things were normal
At 58, I was served by CCCIL. It was suggested that I read a book by a traumatic brain injury survivor, Claudia Osborn, called Over My Head. Claudia’s book opened my eyes. Her book taught me a vocabulary for things I was dealing with for my entire life. Ms. Osborn described flooding, a process of brain overload, and that I never knew was a part of traumatic brain injury. I have always experienced the traumatic brain injury deficits, every day of my life. For example, organizing thoughts or information or things is hard to accomplish. My cognitive skills for decision making and trying to do two things at the same time (multi-tasking) are often impossible.
The best things I have found out about to help me with my traumatic brain injury are support of our TBI survivors through CCCIL; private, high functioning TBI survivor support and individual cognitive and life skill training through my Speech and Language Pathologist, Barbara Buchanan, in Santa Cruz.
Obras de arte
Garbanzo Bean
Photographer: Tim McKay
My wife and I use garbanzo beans as counters of our blessings. We can see the quantity of blessings. We do not need to put a value on each blessing. We are blessed by what we learn; whom we become friends with; what we are grateful for; and what joys we have from being TBI survivors.
Wood Bolted to the Wall
Photographer: Tim McKay
Injured but made whole by everything I do to make my life as whole as it can be. The gap in bolted wood panels means that I have lost some things but not everything.
For more information, contact CCCIL: Crystal Loutzenhiser 831-462-8728 cloutzenhiser@cccil.org or Irene Garcia 831-757-2968 igarcia@cccil.org
