My Back Yard by TBI Survivor (2008)

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Description Since my fall down some stairs in 2004, I haven't been quite as vigilant about keeping up my back yard, as I could be. I have let things go more than I ever did in the past, and when I look out my back window, I see a lot that needs to be done, but I'm not clear about how to do it. I'm figuring it out as I go along, of course, but it's very strange -- after being so diligent in the past -- to look at a back yard that needs work, and not be motivated to do a thing about it.

TBI Survivor
Member Since November 2008
Artist Statement I am a long-term multiple mild traumatic brain injury (tbi) survivor, who creates art to express myself and to help others understand tbi.



I work anonymously, because I have found that too many people do not understand tbi. They fear it, they have a lot of ignorance about it, and they jump to conclusions about me and my value as a human being, because my mind works differently from "normal".



You should know that I am a high-functioning adult, who has sustained multiple tbi's over the course of my life, starting (at least) in 1972, when I fell down a flight of stairs (what is it about stairs? I seem to have some kind of karmic thing going on with them!)... then in 1973, I was hit in the head with a rock thrown by some kids who didn't like my looks, was knocked out briefly, and my abilities and personality and behavior changed pretty noticeably... in high school, I sustained at least two probable concussions -- I was pretty slow getting up after I got hit hard in a football game, and then later in a soccer match, and I was wobbly and disoriented and groggy for some time afterwards... I had a pretty rough-and-tumble early adulthood, and I did a lot of drinking, which resulted an numerous falls (that I can remember - there were probably others that I don't)... and I've been in car accidents over the years that "scrambled" my brain and led to me leaving jobs and plunging into cognitive-behavioral chaos. My most recent tbi (and hopefully my last!) was in 2004, when I fell down a flight of stairs and commenced to watch my life disintegrate.



The one thing that I *haven't* lost, over the years, has been the love and affection of people who care for me. For some reason -- that I can't fully comprehend -- I have been blessed with the presence and companionship of wonderful people who love me very much and are there to support me, through thick and thin. I have been blessed with a big heart and an open mind, and I have found that the world around me responds to that in a really positive way... even if my brain isn't working quite as well as it could, sometimes.



If there's one thing I want people to take away from reading about me and seeing my art, it is that LOVE HEALS. Whether your issues are behavioral or cognitive or neurological or emotional or physical or social or interpersonal or ... whatever... if there is love in your life, you need not fear. Come what may, love never fails. I'm living proof of that.