A room open for acceptance and interaction with peers at the Victoria Brain Injury Society is a highlight of Lori Jousi’s week.
The Langford resident’s journey with the downtown Victoria organization started during a day off work, Nov. 19, 2020, with a debilitating stroke at the base of her brain.
Lucky to have it while awake – her words – Jousi managed to rouse her son to take her to the ER where she lived for hours, followed by days spent in Victoria General Hospital.
She’d been unwell before that, but struggled for several reasons to get in to her family doctor – facing delay after delay. The tests she previously sought came freely in the weeks spent at VGH after her stroke.
The road to recovery included outpatient rehab – in part because it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were limited options – doing the work at home and utilizing outpatient services for physio, occupational and speech therapy and following up on the recommendation to visit the Victoria Brain Injury Society.
“This was the only place open to in-person interaction, which is what they really needed me to have,” she explained, seated in one of many small offices in the Nootka Court where the society recently settled.
The end result of a brain injury can vary by individual depending on the severity and location of the injury, with enough similarities that ring true across the board.
Brain injury symptoms are categorized into physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioural. The physical takes a toll, from headaches to seizures and sensitivity to light. Cognitive may include difficulty concentrating, memory issues and slowed thinking or processing as well as trouble finding words or communicating.
Emotional symptoms include mood swings, irritability or aggression, depression or anxiety and increased emotional sensitivity; behavioural include impulsivity or poor judgment, difficulty with social interactions, changes in personality and lack of motivation or apathy.
All in all, things just change, Jousi said. You can be quicker to anger, more emotional and simply not understand what’s going on sometimes. It can mean something as simple as relearning to pace the day
“We have things to work on all the time.”
For her, the crux of programs at the society is peer support, with Victoria Brain Injury Society offering regular sessions three days a week and a group for those who identify as women on a fourth day.
“To sit and be in a room with somebody was a big deal,” Jousi explained. “A hard part for a brain-injured person is being accepted. We know here we’re accepted.”
The program allows people to work through challenges in a safe and supportive environment with mentors who understand what they’re going through.
The newest program at VIBS includes counselling in partnership with University of Victoria students. It's a critical new piece for the organization, according to executive director Pam Prewett.
Brain injury is so complex, and can include intersections with drug use and abuse or mental health, there are different counselling requirements.
The organization also offers ABI 101 a four-week program of basics on brain injury followed by coping strategies two hours a week. There again people learn from each other. For example, Prewett said, one peer supporter recently learned to carry a notebook – building easier communication back into their world.
ABI 101 is offered for survivors as well as for family, caregivers and sometimes employers, which can help with another goal: acceptance.
Being accepted includes others learning and accommodating more, Jousi said.
“They have to want to learn, to want to be able to understand why we behave the way we do,” she emphasized. “We’re not children.”
Now she’s a peer support volunteer – trained to facilitate group discussions, share experiences, answer questions about brain injury, and pass on helpful coping techniques.
“It’s a way of being able to be social and being accepting of our differences,” Jousi said. “We just don’t want to feel we’re invisible. We’re still a part of regular society.”
Learn more about the organization, including how to get tickets to the big fundraiser of the year – An Evening of Black and White… Because Grey Matters gala March 1 at UVic – at vbis.ca/peer-support.
