In 2011, former Olympic hopeful and traumatic brain injury survivor Kevin Pearce visited the High Country to snowboard for the first time since the crash that nearly killed him. Now, the 26-year-old, who spent a week and a half in a coma and four months at a Denver hospital relearning how to walk and talk, has returned. Pearce will speak Friday, May 17, at the regions second annual Brain Injury Conference. He also will present The Crash Reel, a documentary about his accident and recovery. Its really cool to come to mountain towns and ski communities where his story hits home for locals, Pearce said. It feels much more like my people. The medical community, traumatic brain injury survivors and their family members and caregivers are encouraged to attend the conference. Hosted by the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado and St. Anthony Summit Medical Center, the event will be from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The conference and screening are sponsored by the alliance, the Summit Medical Center Health Foundations injury prevention programs (ThinkFirst, TBI and Safe Kids), High Country Health Care and Breckenridge residents Howard and Sue Carver. The documentary screening will start at 7 p.m. Though the movie … Continue reading →

SEREMBAN, Malaysia - Sister Julianna Lim may have irreversible brain injury after being attacked with a helmet in the compound of a church here early on Wednesday. The 69-year-old from the Holy Infant Jesus order based in Kampung Pasir has several blood clots in the head after being repeatedly struck with the helmet at the Church of Visitation here. Members of the Roman Catholic order "specialise" in helping the poor and homeless and is famous worldwide for reaching out to the marginalised, making sure they get opportunities to make a better life for themselves. Church member P. Mary Josephine, 65, said doctors had conveyed this to church officials as Lim's condition had not improved since she was wheeled after the attack. "Her pressure was extremely high when she was brought in but has since dropped. Doctors are trying their best to stabilise her but there are no signs of recovery yet," she said. Several church members have been praying by Lim's bedside at the hospital since she was brought in for treatment. Josephine said Lim suffered severe internal head injuries and bleeding. "It is a painful time for the family, relatives as well as church members. We are praying that … Continue reading →

People who have limited mental capacity need better help with making decisions according to a clinical psychologist at Lancaster University. Dr Stephen Weatherhead says the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act by health and social care professionals is often inadequate. Research he supervised, conducted by Irram Waji is published in the journal Social Care and Neurodisability. The research found gaps in training and misunderstandings in the implementation of the complexities of the Act. Stephen said: "With an aging population and more people surviving serious injury, this Act will affect nearly everyone at some point. Whether from Alzheimer's, autism or brain injury, people can lack the mental capacity to decide things like where to live or whether to have hospital treatment." He said that professionals often veered between being too empowering or too restrictive when helping with decisions. "For example, when a lady with Alzheimer's says she wants to leave everything to her two grandchildren when she actually has four grandchildren, what do you do ? This lady had forgotten about the other two so someone needs to help her make that decision." He said specialist training is needed to ensure that professionals understand the subtle provisions of the Act. "We … Continue reading →