My Personal Glitch: Experiences During Recovery From a Brain Injury

Imagine how devastated you would be if suddenly you were unable to walk, talk or do many of the things you previously did. Tommy Beel grew up in Jamaica, where he attended the University of the West Indies, completed his undergraduate studies at Tuskegee University, in Alabama, and then went to Auburn Graduate School at Auburn University, also in Alabama. After that, he went to work at the University of Alberta in Canada. It was while he was there that he suffered a brain injury. He was stricken with a brain injury at age 32. It kept him in three hospitals for 27 months straight, including time spent in two rehabilitation hospitals. For three months, he was totally unable to walk, talk or use a pen or pencil because of motor skills difficulties. Fortunately, his setbacks were not permanent... Today, he has regained these skills only with aggressive therapies, determination and the passage of time. He regained his ability to walk in months but his balance was still compromised. He was able to walk only if someone else walked with him, and provided the stability that is needed for walking. As a result, for a number of years after his brain injury occurred, he depended on a wheelchair to get around. Tommy paints an experiential picture of the different stages of having a brain injury. That is, from having s stroke which caused the brain injury, to the various forms of therapy, then recovery. He shares experiences on being in hospitals, and compares it with staying in a group home. Throughout this experience, he looks back at the nature of interactions that he had with people along the way. Some of these people were cognitively affected by their brain injuries. He looks generally at the inconveniences of having a brain injury. Ironically, having a brain injury helped Tommy to establish a writing career. The hospital psychologist encouraged him to tell his story in a book. In My Personal Glitch he shares the experiences regarding his brain injury.