Participating Artists
PhotoVoice Exhibit Artist
Denise Schultz
I'm 56 years old and I've had 4 brain injuries:
- As an infant: concussion, had seizures for a year. At 4 years old: concussion and laceration fell onto sharp edge of a coffee table. At 11 years old: concussion from slipping on the ice, had double vision for less than 24 hours. At 27 years old: concussion and spinal injury, from being hit by a car, first started having word loss after this injury. I was wearing a cheap helmet. It wasn't good enough.
Challenges of living with a brain disability are:
- The very hardest thing is that most people do not believe I have a disability because my intelligence is intact.
- I lose track of what I'm doing 100 – 200 times a day.
- If there are two sounds, I can only hear one with no control over which one.
- I can't make myself do the most important thing. Everything that I do gets done only while something else more important is not getting done.
- I have no sense of time (not duration, time of day, how long since I knew what time it is, and no idea how long it will take to accomplish a task).
- My sense of space is discontinuous: when I drive some place (even a thousand times in places I've lived for 20 years) I don't know what order the landmarks are in, like someone threw a slideshow in a box and shook it up and restocked them in random order.
- I've been fired over 50 times.
What has helped the most?
- I have a deep spiritual belief, some good friends, but most of all is the CCCIL TBI group. They are the only ones who really understand what is going on, more than even doctors! This is both the staff and the members of the group. It is such a relief to hear others describe the same issues, and they acknowledge that my experience IS REAL!
What I would like the community to know about traumatic brain injuries:
- People who have not experienced a brain injury have a very hard time understanding us. They say, 'I forget things too', 'I'm always late', 'I procrastinate', 'I can't get things done' and they honestly believe that is the same as my life. What they are experiencing is variable (a wave form that is sometimes at high tide, sometimes at low tide, sometimes in-between). I am in a crushing tsunami 24-7, lifelong. It is NOT THE SAME. It does not vary. It does not get better with trying, with experience, with coaching, with help, or with love. (Not all injuries are like this, and a complete diagnosis is essential. I don't have one yet, so I don't know what additional help may still be available.)
- You may have had a TBI. Wear helmets! Get help soon if you have a head injury, even if it appears nothing is wrong. Even very disabling injuries can be quite subtle at times, at first, or get worse over time. Much of the damage is caused by intra-cranial swelling. Ask a doctor right away if you should take an anti-inflammatory! So many people have had head injuries and don't know, remember it, or take it seriously. (Several of my agency workers have realized their own injuries as a result of working with TBI survivors.) Whether it is something treatable or not, knowledge is power!
- I believe some brain injuries cause improvements, too. I have some unusual abilities. Dr. Ned Hallowell, an ADHD expert, is pushing for a strength-based diagnosis for ADHD. We may not be convenient, but we can be extraordinary. Society needs its 'creatives'.
Artworks
Red and White Suite
Photographer: Denise Schultz
I noticed that very many of the artists really wanted to work with multiple images. I believe this directly relates to our TBI brains. Everywhere I went for months, I noticed the colors red and white, as if there was a spotlight on it. The other TBI effect is that I was not able to start this design until the day after it was due, despite months of notice. This is typical. So I had to do my three photo designs in a hurry, worked over 28 hours in a row, felt very OCD and could not stop working on it when I wanted to stop. It is not nearly the quality I'd like to deliver. This is not modesty or self-deprecation. I studied textile design for two years and I know I could do a better job. It doesn't matter how much skill you have, if you have bad timing.
Sunset Tesserae
Photographer: Denise Schultz
The pieces in a mosaic are called tesserae, and here they are hexagons extracted from sunset sky photos. I feel a deep sense of relaxation with this photo, which I believe is because of using the sky photos. In the past I had done this design in quilting. Even with very beautiful fabric, it just looked nice, it did not feel relaxing. I was surprised that this photo actually makes my brain feel better.
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
Denise Schultz
I'm 56 years old and I've had 4 brain injuries:
- As an infant: concussion, had seizures for a year. At 4 years old: concussion and laceration fell onto sharp edge of a coffee table. At 11 years old: concussion from slipping on the ice, had double vision for less than 24 hours. At 27 years old: concussion and spinal injury, from being hit by a car, first started having word loss after this injury. I was wearing a cheap helmet. It wasn't good enough.
Challenges of living with a brain disability are:
- The very hardest thing is that most people do not believe I have a disability because my intelligence is intact.
- I lose track of what I'm doing 100 – 200 times a day.
- If there are two sounds, I can only hear one with no control over which one.
- I can't make myself do the most important thing. Everything that I do gets done only while something else more important is not getting done.
- I have no sense of time (not duration, time of day, how long since I knew what time it is, and no idea how long it will take to accomplish a task).
- My sense of space is discontinuous: when I drive some place (even a thousand times in places I've lived for 20 years) I don't know what order the landmarks are in, like someone threw a slideshow in a box and shook it up and restocked them in random order.
- I've been fired over 50 times.
What has helped the most?
- I have a deep spiritual belief, some good friends, but most of all is the CCCIL TBI group. They are the only ones who really understand what is going on, more than even doctors! This is both the staff and the members of the group. It is such a relief to hear others describe the same issues, and they acknowledge that my experience IS REAL!
What I would like the community to know about traumatic brain injuries:
- People who have not experienced a brain injury have a very hard time understanding us. They say, 'I forget things too', 'I'm always late', 'I procrastinate', 'I can't get things done' and they honestly believe that is the same as my life. What they are experiencing is variable (a wave form that is sometimes at high tide, sometimes at low tide, sometimes in-between). I am in a crushing tsunami 24-7, lifelong. It is NOT THE SAME. It does not vary. It does not get better with trying, with experience, with coaching, with help, or with love. (Not all injuries are like this, and a complete diagnosis is essential. I don't have one yet, so I don't know what additional help may still be available.)
- You may have had a TBI. Wear helmets! Get help soon if you have a head injury, even if it appears nothing is wrong. Even very disabling injuries can be quite subtle at times, at first, or get worse over time. Much of the damage is caused by intra-cranial swelling. Ask a doctor right away if you should take an anti-inflammatory! So many people have had head injuries and don't know, remember it, or take it seriously. (Several of my agency workers have realized their own injuries as a result of working with TBI survivors.) Whether it is something treatable or not, knowledge is power!
- I believe some brain injuries cause improvements, too. I have some unusual abilities. Dr. Ned Hallowell, an ADHD expert, is pushing for a strength-based diagnosis for ADHD. We may not be convenient, but we can be extraordinary. Society needs its 'creatives'.
Obras de arte
Red and White Suite
Photographer: Denise Schultz
I noticed that very many of the artists really wanted to work with multiple images. I believe this directly relates to our TBI brains. Everywhere I went for months, I noticed the colors red and white, as if there was a spotlight on it. The other TBI effect is that I was not able to start this design until the day after it was due, despite months of notice. This is typical. So I had to do my three photo designs in a hurry, worked over 28 hours in a row, felt very OCD and could not stop working on it when I wanted to stop. It is not nearly the quality I'd like to deliver. This is not modesty or self-deprecation. I studied textile design for two years and I know I could do a better job. It doesn't matter how much skill you have, if you have bad timing.
Sunset Tesserae
Photographer: Denise Schultz
The pieces in a mosaic are called tesserae, and here they are hexagons extracted from sunset sky photos. I feel a deep sense of relaxation with this photo, which I believe is because of using the sky photos. In the past I had done this design in quilting. Even with very beautiful fabric, it just looked nice, it did not feel relaxing. I was surprised that this photo actually makes my brain feel better.
For more information, contact CCCIL: Crystal Loutzenhiser 831-462-8728 cloutzenhiser@cccil.org or Irene Garcia 831-757-2968 igarcia@cccil.org
