Considering just the small amount of anecdotal evidence I’ve amassed in the past several years of doing what I can to be a part of the issue of surviving trauma, it’s becoming sort of clear that we are a downtrodden and beaten down lot of folk. This really hit home the other night when I decided to turn to the new search engine Microsoft has put together called "Bing". I started off searching...

The Frustration of Wanting to Fix Things I’ve been trying to be on the forefront of Trauma Survivor Issues for some time now. The first step was to start this blog and the now defunct traumasurvivor.org—a stab at a community venue for survivors. The trauma survivor community clearly wasn’t ready to jump out and be heard. I guess that’s my first point of frustration. I now clearly understand...

The American Trauma Society has officially rolled out the Trauma Survivors Network. Now is the time for all survivors to think about what that does, and can mean to them personally. For me, it’s a cause I’ve been in the middle of for a couple years now. Beginning with the desire to get Ryder Trauma Center committed to the program, then being appointed to the ATS’s Consumer Advisory Board, and...

It is finally getting close enough to being implemented in various Level 1 Trauma Centers that it’s time for me to start talking about this amazing program. As a member of the Consumer Advisory Board of the American Trauma Society, I have a bit of an inside track on the program, where it is right now, what it’s all about, and when you can expect it at a trauma center near you.

I’ve talked much about my frustration with respect to the lack of resources where trauma survivors are concerned. I’ve been (sort of) quietly working in my local area (south Florida) to change that, and my efforts are close enough to coming to fruition to start talking about it. Ryder Trauma Center is one of the leading trauma centers in the US. I’ve been working very hard at getting in there,...

If there is one single thing I took away from my involvement with the Rebuild program is, the peer support model is an amazing thing, and it works well. When I walked in the door I had a whole bunch of preconceived notions. I made a silly assumption that everyone would basically have the same issues as I had, that everyone dealt with and processed the event and the aftermath the same, that I would say something...

One of the powerful outcomes of involvement in the Rebuild program is through presentations. The presentations are done at a variety of setting including trauma nurses, surgeons and caregivers, fire/ems/police and perhaps most importantly, local high schools. For the professionals, the presentations give them a unique perspective on the trauma patient. Allowing them to hear examples of the trauma patients...

Anyone that picks up and follows this blog may get a little annoyed at the constant pushing I do for the Rebuild program at Inova Fairfax Hospital… there’s many reasons that motivate me to do so. I only had the chance to attend 4 or 5 meetings, but it left a mark on my sole that will not be erased. The program is very well established and is TRULY a full orbed program. The core of the program...