Brain injury survivor offers advice to parents
What is brain injury? As an analogy, picture the brain as a computer that you use for work or at home. Once you "boot it up," that same computer will now be able to access all of the information stored in it. And, this access begins with signals traveling across a multitude of plastic circuit boards within the computer. If any of these circuit boards are damaged by dropping that computer or by excess electronic charges passing through them, that computer cannot direct those same signals across paths that are broken. The same with brain injury.

How many times have we or our kids been leveled or taken out of a play in sports like soccer, football or hockey? That particular person will get up blurry-eyed and dazed, and told by the coach to just "shake it off." My advice is this: please have that player medically checked ASAP.

I am no doctor, but I have absolutely gone through this brain injury problem. So here's something to try: if that person does not want to go see a doctor after he or she "shakes it off," try this. In a quiet manner, ask simple questions like "what is your phone number?" and "where were you born?"

If that person has any trouble with any of these simple questions, please seek medical attention!

This will hopefully alert people to the potential and possible treatment of brain injury. For it is not something that can or should be avoided. Thank you for hearing me out.

Jim Balogh

Edison