March is Brain Injury Awareness Month! Brain Injury Services has been assisting children and adult survivors of traumatic brain injury, stroke, and concussion for over 26 years in Northern Virginia. Share this story with someone you know and let ask them to visit our website to learn more about our programs and how to support survivors of brain injury in our community at www.braininjurysvcs.org.
When Quentin’s mother Teresa inquired about bringing her son home from a children’s nursing facility, no one was able to offer her a solution. You should hear this story.
Teresa was facing what many families often encounter during a time of crisis. She didn’t know where to begin, how to ask for help, or how to cope with a drastic change in her life. All she knew is that she wanted to transition her medically fragile little boy back home. Most deemed it “impossible.”
Her son Quentin had survived a serious traumatic brain injury when he was less than a year old and the complexity of his medical state carried a lot of unknowns. No one thought he could be moved from the facility. That all changed when Teresa contacted Brain Injury Services.
One of our Case Managers from our Pediatric Case Management Program, Brooke Annessa, worked with Teresa to carefully orchestrate the transition home. This process included medical training along with a process of setting up community supports. Brooke also helped Teresa move into a new home which was more accessible for Quentin. She set up waiver services and in-home nursing care to ensure Quentin’s safety and the family’s comfort while caring for him. On the day of discharge from the facility, Brooke followed Quentin’s ambulance home, the ambulance she helped to coordinate to make the final move back to his family possible.
Today Quentin has been home for five years and he is thriving! Brooke supported his mother’s efforts to enroll him in public school where he attends full-time. The environment and education he is receiving is helping him as he is showing increased awareness and improved attention span.
Quentin’s mother credits Brain Injury Services with bringing her son home saying, “Without Brain Injury Services – without Brooke – we wouldn’t be here. We wouldn’t be home. He would not be in school. I wouldn’t have a son. To see him thriving and doing so well… It’s amazing” – Teresa Hammonds