Getting Hit, Getting Up, Moving Beyond: My Journey Through Brain Injury

by Joanne E Cohen

Overview

Getting Hit, Getting Up, Moving Beyond: My Journey Through Brain Injury is the compelling story of one woman’s challenges as she faced sequential “hits” and how she handled adversity with resilience time after time. Joanne Cohen shares her honest and authentic journey that depicts the path to “move beyond” and create a full life that includes supporting others with tools to help enrich their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781733839716
Publisher:	Joanne Cohen Associates
Publication date:	05/30/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	278
File size:	1 MB

Table of Contents

Chapter - 1 Getting Hit

Head on with a Cement Truck

Air Flight Angels

Surgery

Traction at Hotel St. Joe

A Story to Tell

My Physical Terrorist, I Mean Therapist

My Caregiver’s Experience

A Victim of Circumstance

It’s Just a Concussion

Lessons from Getting Hit

Chapter 2 - Getting Up

Effects of a Closed-Head Brain Injury

Music, Sound, Art, Light, and Other Therapies

I Found My Tribe

Letting Go of the Story

Chapter 3 - 13 Keys to Re-Empowerment

Key 1 – You Are Not Your TBI

Key 2 – Focus on the Ability Not the Disability

Key 3 – Acknowledge the Small Steps

Key 4 – Be Your Own Advocate and Be Resourceful

Key 5 – Consider Medical and Complementary Therapies

Key 6 – Develop a Support Team and Advocacy Network

Key 7 – Move out of the Closet and into the World

Key 8 – Ask for Help

Key 9 – Compensate, Compensate, COMPENSATE!

Key 10 – Be Patient with Others Who Don’t Understand

Key 11 - Know That Helping Others is Helping Yourself

Key 12 – Choose Your Journey, Your Life: Everything Happens for a Reason

Key 13 – Use Resiliency to Survive and Thrive

Chapter 4 - Maintaining a Career

The Good, Bad, Ugly, and Great

Lessons Learned

Don’t Give Up!

Chapter 5 - Getting Hit Again and Again
     and AGAIN!

Getting Hit Again

Getting Hit Again and Again

Getting Hit Again and Again and Again

Chapter 6 - Navigating the Legal System

How to Select the Right Attorney for You

The Insurance Assault

Process and Choices

The Litigation Process of an Injury Case

How to Prepare for a Deposition

Mediation

Trial

Lessons Learned Through the School of Hard Knocks

An Outpouring of Emotions

Attorney Testimonial

Chapter 7 - Overcoming Grief and Loss after
     Getting Hit…Again!

Getting Hit AGAIN

What Is Grief

Characteristics of Grief

Grief Categories

A Grief Model

Styles of Grief

Self-Care Techniques

How to Help Others Support You with Your Brain
Injury: A Baker’s Dozen

A Final Note

Chapter - 8 Epilogue: Where I Am Today

Editorial Reviews

In her inspiring book, Joanne models my favorite communication strategy--reframing--and shows how it can produce concrete results in a life. She explains how she escaped the default choice of embracing victimhood by continually reframing the obstacles she encountered. She uses her own experiences with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), physical injury, and grief to show how she reframed even the most difficult of life's challenges, enabling her to become not a victim but the director of her own life. She is the perfect guide to anyone who seeks to join her in the ranks of the thrivers.
Sonja K. Foss, Ph.D.

Getting Hit, Getting Up, Moving Beyond by Joanne Cohen shows an intimate glimpse into the important discoveries of healing from multiple brain injuries. Reading Joanne's book is like having a personal coach by your side as she openly shares her fears, frustrations and eventual insights into the recovery process. Her book is intelligent and funny while demystifying the complex process of managing your symptoms, the people in your environment and your emotions from what is known as the invisible injury. Joanne is a courageous soul on a harrowing journey.
Mary Ann Keatley Ph.D., CCC

I met Joanne in 2007 at a Brain Injury Survivor's meeting, that she was facilitating. It was obvious then that she is passionate about helping people (like me) with brain injuries. As a brain injury survivor/thriver herself, she knows what she is talking about, as this book demonstrates. This well-written chronicle, a combination of both practical advice and spiritual musings, could serve as a "How to Thrive after Brain Injury" manual.
Doris Sanders, BA, MPA

Joanne has shared her story in Getting Hit, Getting Up, Moving Beyond: My Journey Through Brain Injury to encourage others to find their path. She is a model for how to overcome adversity and start a "new normal." She is never down. She is either up or getting up. I was Joanne's supervisor as she started a new career. Fortunately, she disclosed her disability and together we were able to create a position with the right amount of support and flexibility that benefitted the company and worked for Joanne. Joanne and I have continued to work together as partners at CTAT, LLC and co-leading the Brain Injury Hope Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to giving hope and helping individuals with mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries. Through these adventures, I have learned a lot from Joanne and I am happy she chose to share it with the world. Resources like Mary Lou Acimovic's "Limited Capacity Model" as explained in the book as well as other tools are extremely helpful to the person who has a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), family members and friends, partners/significant others, co-workers, professionals who serve the BI community and employers. If you need motivation, inspiration, and practical strategies and tips for life and life after brain injury, this book, part autobiography and part "how to," is a must read!
Gayann Brandenburg, M.S.

From the Publisher