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.