Survived to Vote


Questions with the creators of Survived to Vote...

Alicia Payne and Janey B. Mosier are two of the millions of Americans living with the effects of Traumatic Brain Injury.  But they’ve chosen to take a different approach to things.  They’ve both decided to jump in something and create an opportunity for the Traumatic Brain Injury Community.  Now just who are these young ladies?  Read on to find out.

 

          Alicia Payne sustained a Left/Right Traumatic Brain Injury on November 22, 1997.  She lives in Wellston, Oklahoma.  She attended college after high school at Rose State College and finished with an Associate in Science.  The major she had while she was attending school there was Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.  After finishing at Rose State College, she decided stop continuing her education.  She now uses her free time in managing A TBI’s Corner, www.angelfire.com/ok5/survivorok/index2.html, and TBI Raiders Volunteer Service, www.angelfire.com/ok5/tbiraidersok/index.html.

 

          Janey B. Mosier lives with the effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury and lives in Uniontown, PA.  Janey currently attends school at the University of Pittsburgh.  She is seeking a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling.  The type of job she has at this time is being part of a Therapeutic Staff Support working with Autistic Children.  Read below about what they have come up with to do and that will hopefully make a difference in the TBI Community.  Then read about what they hope TBI Raiders Survived to Vote will accomplish.

 

Ever wanted to make a difference in the TBI Community?  Have you registered to vote yet?  Do you want the issues of the TBI Community to be really heard in Congress?  Lastly heard of MTV’s Rock the Vote? 

 

          Now think about something that is dedicated solely for Americans who have sustained a TBI and now live with the after effects of the disability.  How wonderful would that be?  Well there is something like this.  It’s called TBI Raiders Survived to Vote.  Thought up by Alicia Payne, the advisor and Janey, a member of TBI Raiders Volunteer Service, TBI Raiders Survived to Vote, www.angelfire.com/ok5/tbiraidersok/s2v.html, is here to get our issues out to the candidates running to be in this next election.

 

          In the Policies and Procedures for Special Education in Oklahoma book, it has the definition for Traumatic Brain Injury as “Traumatic Brain Injury means an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.  The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor functions; information processing; and speech.  The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.” 34 Code of Federal Regulations 300.7(c) (12)

 

          Okay so there are over twelve types of TBI.  But shouldn’t the fact that TBI affects 1.5 million Americans every year and will affect more than Breast Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Spinal Cord Injuries, and Multiple Sclerosis does COMBINED every year be enough for concern?!  With all these budget cuts going on, I haven’t a clue if anything really helpful is being done to help survivors.  Personally I have been too annoyed to pay real close attention as to what goes on in Congress.  When a politician comes on TV and talks about what needs to be done, my spasticity in my left side goes haywire.  But other than that I have really good control of my spasticity.

 

          While I was in college, every semester I did a report on TBI and found a way to make it fit the assignment we were supposed to be doing.  I was a student leader in college and from November of 2001 to April of 2003, I was the student representative for the Oklahoma Association of Higher Education And Disabilities.  Plus I only had one teacher that gave me problems in college.  The others that I had were extremely wonderful and willing to learn about the type of TBI I had, which is a Left/Right Traumatic Brain Injury.  I told them what troubles I had and they worked with me.  Of course I know not all teachers are like this, I got lucky with the teachers I had my last two years of high school and the ones I had in college.  Now I am a member of the National Youth Leadership Network and am on the NYLN Research and Public Information Committees.  Plus I am also on the Oklahoma United We Ride Advisory Board and manage A TBI’s Corner, www.angelfire.com/ok5/survivorok/index2.html, and TBI Raiders Volunteer Service, www.angelfire.com/ok5/tbiraidersok/index.html.  I am very fortunate enough I have gotten this far despite the fact I had sustained a severe TBI.

 

          Those are just many examples of what I’ve achieved and are doing currently.  One thing I have discovered is when many people band together they can accomplish their goal.  I believe in working to get the goal achieved.  I believe in working with both sides to get the goal achieved.  I don’t believe in working on a project with the attitude of “it’s my way or the highway” will ever truly get the job done.  In the months to come I hope to have things on the site that people can download that would be for TBI Raiders Survived to Vote and could pass around or send to people.

 

          Questions and Answers to what both Alicia and Janey hope TBI Raiders Survived to Vote will do.

 

What do you hope TBI Raiders Survived to Vote will accomplish?

A: I hope it helps get out the voice of those who live with a Traumatic Brain Injury.  When I was in college and at the time I was the student representative for the Oklahoma Association of Higher Education And Disabilities, I remember talking to those on campus who knew individuals who had sustained a TBI and told me that those individuals weren’t capable of getting into college or being real successful.  Also during that time I also talked to a high school student who lived in either Tennessee or Kentucky when I was online one day and she told me that I was the first survivor she had spoken with that was in college but she wasn’t going because of her TBI.  I want to show other survivors that anything is possible to accomplish.  It doesn’t matter if you have a disability or not.  It just depends on if the person wants it.

 

J: I’m hoping it will make people with TBI’s realize that if we speak our minds by voting we can make a difference.  It will show not only ourselves, but the public that we are intelligent but the public that we are intelligent enough to make political decisions that will affect our lives.

 

Was anything running through your head about what this could do when we were talking about starting this?

A: I was thinking about how I had been so fortunate in life considering what all I’ve been able to accomplish and how far I’ve recovered.  Everyone also talks about politics in a bad way or another.  Here in Oklahoma since I started in college, I’ve communicated with different people in various state departments, the governor through e-mail, and various state and national legislators.  Those individuals have been some of the biggest support and encouragement I have had since I started advocating on TBI.  I want to show others that they shouldn’t assume their leaders are not going to listen but they should give them a chance.  But I would only say this about state legislators.  Congress is another story.  There are good legislators.  But most of the ones I’ve seen on TV make me very weary of doing anything.

 

J: I was really thinking that the government simply overlooks TBI’s.  It is noted in medical books that describe TBI to be the “hidden disability.”  I hope that people can become aware of the impacts TBI has on a person’s cognitive abilities.  They need to understand the thousands of people every year that wake up and have to relearn their abilities or re-meet their families.  This could even help prevent TBI’s.

 

What is the number 1 thing that you can think of that is affecting the TBI Community?

A: I believe an assumption made about TBI is a very big problem.  Everywhere you will go there are those who will assume you can’t do something because you have a TBI.  But there are others who will assume you can do anything an average person can do all because you look “normal”.  There is a stigma attached to those of us living with a TBI.  People either will give us a chance to do something and achieve our dreams because they believe what they have seen us do.  But there are others who could care less and the only thing they need to know it that we have a brain injury and they already “know” what we are capable of.

 

J: I believe that people who have a TBI are released too early from the impatient hospitals because of insurance and they could achieve much higher recovery but are not given the specialized treatment they need.  Basically they need more counseling to deal with ALL of the massive effects of a TBI has on their lives.

 

How important do you think TBI Raiders Volunteer Service is?

A: I think it is extremely important.  This is something that is not one sided and will listen to and works with both sides to find a solution.  It is meant to be a way for TBI survivors to unite and get their issues out to those who represent us in government.  It’s also a supportive network that has the goal of seeing and helping students living with a TBI succeed in both school and in their lives.

 

J: I think it is very important and if more young people knew about it, could be lifesaving.  It is a place of solace for people who need to find someone who really understands what they have been through.

 

Website for the organization this is under:

http://tbiraiders.yolasite.com

Email:

tbiraiders@sbcglobal.net

 

Getting out the issues to every candidate about what affects not just those Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) community but everyone in the Disability community as well. Because everyone who sustains a TBI in the long run is going to acquire other disabilities as well in the long run of things.  

 

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