Before attending Headway, I thought I had an idea of what my experience would be like. I imagined a large resource centre filled with staff and members busy participating in multiple activities. I expected to immediately join the Walking Club, and help out by following a staff member’s instructions. Instead, I was surprised to see that the atmosphere at Headway was much more relaxed and welcoming than I had pictured.
When I arrived I was greeted by the members, who were busy making themselves lunch and conversing with their friends. I was invited to join them, and after a short introduction I engaged them in conversation and tried to learn more about each member.
The first member I met was very witty, and enjoyed making himself and others laugh. It was clear that he took pride in coming up with these quick remarks and comments. He had a keen interest for the music therapy sessions and explained how each of the instruments worked and what they were supposed to sound like. He declined from going out with the Walking Club, saying that he didn’t want to “waste his time walking around”. I managed to meet up with him again after the walk and was glad to talk with him more.
My second interaction was with a young woman, X. At first she seemed rather reserved but after I showed an interest in talking with her, she really opened up. She shared a lot of her past with me, and showed me a plate she had painted in Art Class. The plate portrayed the dogs she had owned throughout her life. It was clearly a topic that she was passionate about, and we were able to bond over our pets. She seemed pleased with the weekly excursions to Granville Island with the Walking Club, and promised to show me around.
As we set out, I got to know X much better. She opened up about her accident, and told me about her struggles with the medical system and rehabilitation process. For years, she struggled in pain because doctors dismissed her complaints. Finally, she received the surgery she needed and went through an extensive rehab program in order to walk again. She told me how excited she was that she could finally begin work again and to start her first shift at a new job the next day. It was an incredible story to listen to, and I hope to talk with X more the next time I am at the centre.
Throughout the course, we have discussed a range of outcomes following traumatic brain injury (TBI). I realized that prior to visiting Headway, my notion of what the members would be like was heavily influenced by our discussions in class. I assumed that there would be some apparent physical or cognitive symptom that would help to identify a member as a survivor of TBI. This, however, was not the case with many of the members at Headway.
I read further about public understanding and misconceptions about survivors of TBI in the article by Linden et al. (2010) (one of the course readings from a couple weeks back). I found that I related to many of the findings in the article, especially the responses to the question “how could you tell if someone had a brain injury?”. I realized how much I had initially been looking for “identifiers” amongst the members at Headway, and am glad to say that by the end of the session it barely crossed my mind.
I was quite surprised with how capable and comfortable everyone was, and truly enjoyed the well-established sense of community at Headway. This sense of community allowed for the fun and relaxed atmosphere which was present throughout the duration of the activities. Volunteering at Headway was truly was an eye opening experience, and I look forward to my next volunteer session.
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