A woman develops a computer/mobile phone app to help her battle depression after her brain injury

A former social worker at a high school, Ruby Taylor, who was an author of uplifting books with positive messages for teenagers, was confused and depressed after she received a traumatic brain injury from a car accident in 2012.  The brain injury also left her unable to feel or show emotion and confused on how to perform simple tasks.  It took some time, but the 38 year old counselor found that combining positive/motivational phrases with a relevant picture allowed her to smile and restored any hope she had for a better future.  Hence, the app that she helped develop was called SMOPE, a mash up of SMILES and HOPE.  As a survivor of brain injury, I too have tried to find ways to overcome doubts or anxiety during my recovery.  It’s good to look for sources of inspiration and her app is a useful tool for those of us who are recovering from such a traumatic experience.  The app was launched in September of this year(2015).  It makes it easier to combine photos and sayings, which has been helpful to her recovery.   Not even doctors are sure what will work for a patient’s recovery, but Ms Taylor found a way to address her mood swings with use of a simple, new computer application that allows her to express herself as she sees fit.  Uplifting images can be helpful to those who have depression. 

New Staff: Beth

 By: Geoffrey B.

Hello DH members and staff!  I would like to introduce to you our new  MSW Intern, Beth!  Her favorite hobbies are being with family, riding her bicycle when she goes to the park and exploring her genealogy.  She attended school in New York and studied Human & Community Services and received a Bachelor degree.  She is now at VCU working on her masters in social work.  In a few years, Beth will be living back in Iowa and working with the Military Veterans and Active Duty.  On her free time she likes to read mysteries and romance novels. The thing that Beth known’s about brain injuries is that it affects a person totally.  The outcomes are different for each person.  They can happen in so many different ways, both very traumatic and not so traumatic.  Now, what Beth is trying to accomplish here at The Denbigh House is to learn more about brain injury.  Some of her favorite TV shows are the Discovery channel because they have all of the mystery shows.  Lastly, there was one thing that everybody wishes to know about Beth, is that Family is the MOST IMPORTANT thing my life!

Will’s (Almost Healed) Leg

Two months ago, on September 11^th, Will got up at 2 am for a drink of water.  However, he did not see the work out machine in the dark and accidentally broke his leg left.  Will said he is glad that he broke his leg and not his head!

Will was in a regular cast for two months, then a soft cast, then a special soft boot cast.  The doctors told him to sit still for two weeks; he watched TV, and played with his cat at home.

Will said his missed riding his bike, but “it’s easy to follow orders when it keeps you from hurting.”  He “definitely” recommended the soft boot cast; it’s removable for showering and so much easier. Also the bottom is thick and easy to walk on, even through water.

By Kelvin and JEB

Wounded Warrior with TBI trains & does well in a Triathlon

In Arizona, there is an Army vet, Eric Desocio, who was injured during service in Afghanistan in 2011.  His wife, am elite athlete, encouraged him to start training and he spent more of his time focused on recovery & improved performance.  He competes in tough triathlons now.  He gives credit to his wife & the Wounded Warrior Project for helping his ongoing recovery.  Just remember to spend your time on recovering & getting better instead of dwelling on the past, problems & difficulties.

The App that Helps Fight Depression

by Shasmin A.

          After getting in a car accident on a Sunday in December of 2012, Ruby Taylor found wanting to help people more difficult.  She said, “It changed everything.” Before the accident, she was a social worker at the School District of Lancaster who wrote a book titled “Confidence to Greatness for Teenage Girls.”

          Even after she went through a medical treatment with medication, Taylor said she was deeply confused, unable to feel or show emotion, uncharacteristically unable to control her cursing and stymied by problems like fitting a pizza box into her garbage can. Taylor decided that she had to find a way to brighten her mood and regain control of her emotions after coming close to committing suicide.

          She enjoyed looking at pictures and quotes, and decided to use both in daily Facebook posts designed to help herself and others. “’It took a while,’ said the 38-year-old Lancaster city resident, who still frequently loses her train of thought and struggles to find the words to answer detailed questions. ‘But then it worked. I began to smile. I began to laugh again.’” She eventually found programmers to create an iPhone and iPad app that makes it easier to combine photos and sayings, which she titled “Smope”, a mashup of smiles and hope, and launched it in mid-September. The price of this app is $1.99 and it is available through Apple’s iTunes online store.

          “This is my Smope,” she said, after demonstrating how the app initially shows the photos in black and white and then fills them gradually with color, and how it can send users different notifications at set times of different things that are interesting. Taylor, who is currently receives Social Security disability befits, says she would love to have Smope become her regular source of income but knows how unlikely that would be. She hopes the app will help uplift others brought down by brain injuries, depression or other circumstances.

Our Member, Triena, moving out on her own.

She had been living with her parents & her daughter. She is renting her new place which is a garden apartment that has two bedrooms and one bath.  She originally started the search back in November 2014 and finally received the apartment in May 2015 after the “long wait.”  She likes having her own place because she feels more independent and “can make her own decisions.”  The only negative is having to pay all the bills now.  She likes the whole new arrangement because it shows her independence and that her disability is not holding her back.  She has relearned some of her independent living skills from work done at The Denbigh House, from friends at her church and from her DARS counselor, Mrs. Natalie Opie-Dawson.  She thanks all of them for their help and support.

Study Links Energy Drinks and Traumatic Brain Injury in Teens

It has been found that teens who have a traumatic brain injury(TBI) report also drinking more energy drinks than teens who did not have a TBI.  I think the researchers can only conclude that teens are more likely to have acquired their brain injury from the activities they perform such sports.  And energy drinks are largely consumed around sports.   Energy drinks are typically marketed towards athletes.  Therefore, the connection between active teens, who were more likely to acquire brain damage while playing their sport, and the energy drinks can be made.  But the drinks did not cause any harmful effects.