Loving the New ME?

Loving the New ME?

Andrea BueningTBI SurvivorMarch 21, 2015

This Is What Happened to Me

Do I remember it?

I know that

Do I Remember Who I Was?This is What I RememberI was a teacherI was a single motherI was a home owner + 15 acresI owned horsesI owned dogs, cats, fish, goats, chickensI could do anything I wanted to doI could do everything I needed to do

But Who WAS I?I lived in my own worldI did not know anything about disability and did not want to know anything about disabilityI was selfishI didnt think of others firstI didnt need to work hardI could be LAZYI was NOT careful about what I DIDI didnt care what I SAID, I didnt think about how I ACTED, andI did not CARE what others thought of me.I wasnt a great person

THANK GOODNESS IM NOT THE SAME!I like myself better now. I am not proud of who I was so, now. This is how I live

Youve Got toAccentuate the positive

Eliminate the negative

Latch on to the Affirmative

Dont mess with Mr. In Between

Youve Got toSpread joy up to the maximum

Bring blue, down to the minimum

Have faith, or pandemonium

Liable to walk upon the sea

To Illustrate, my last remark, Jonah in the whale, Noah in the Ark,

What did they do, just when everything looked so dark?

Man They Said We BetterAccentuate the positive

Eliminate the negative

Latch on to the Affirmative

Dont mess with Mr. In Between

9

Who I Am Today

My Life TodayIs about giving and helping others who have the same challenges that I doIs about educating others about brain injury.Is not the same. I lost everything but my family.I am a better PERSON.

I care about others and what people thinkI feel moreI work harderI get more doneI believe in myself nowI am more careful and I am NOT selfish

I Know That THIS isThe NEW me

HOW I LEARNED TO LOVE MYSELF

MY challenges are like YOUR challenges

I admitted to myself that I will never have the same life as I did before. Then I told myself THATS OK!

I will never run again or play tennis, or ride horses by myself. But, THATS OK TOO!

I lose things

My memory isnt great

Its difficult for me to learn new things

My balance isnt good

But having CHALLENGES IS OK because I try my best all of the time.

SO WHAT DID I DO ABOUT IT?I Give Thanks For My Second Chance

I learned the Serenity Prayer.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I learned how to work around the things I have trouble doing and I help MYSELF as much as I can.

I STOPPED FEELING LIKE I COULDNT DO ANYTHING.I FOUND THINGS I COULD DO WELLI ASKED FOR HELP AND GOT ITI started to believe my license plates that say

ICANB.

IVE GOT TOAccentuate the positive

Eliminate the negative

Latch on to the Affirmative

Dont mess with Mr. In Between

My dad Used to Say:

LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY!

Do SOMETHING, even if its wrong!

I started living

LIVING

Dont you think that:

Negative thoughts create negative behavior and negative behavior creates negative outcomes?

Motivate YOURSELFEvery morning, you need to say out LOUD, TODAY IS GOING TO BE A GOOD DAY!

WILL YOU

Get Up,get dressed,fix your hair,brush your teeth,do your personal careand have a change in attitude?

This is YOUR Life!EVERY DAY, TAKE CHANCES, TRY NEW THINGS, LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO DO SERVICE.

When you HELP OTHERS YOU HELP YOURSELF MORE.

I BELIEVE THAT

When the world says Give UpSurvivors whisperTry it one more time

The result is not pretty if I dontEXERCISE!

These are my reasons for getting out of bed in the morningI have many

Contact Andrea at:The Independent Living Center in Joplin is one of many CILS in Missouri.Every Center for Independent Living provides five core services which are:Peer SupportInformation and ReferralIndependent Living SkillsAdvocacyNursing Home TransitionThe Independent Living Center on Mondays/Tuesdays/and Thursdays 417-659-8086 or By email at abuening@ilcenter.org

If you would like to know where the Centers for Independent Living are which are close to you, CONTACT Andrea at the above number and email address.

OR

Through the Brain Injury Association of Missouri