I Have A Voice Today

Living with Head Injury

2010-04-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

It have been a bless year for a person who have experience a Life changing injury
Living with Head Injury
Hello my name is Walter Hamilton, In 1990 I was working as an addiction Counselor and it was an excellent occupation; to see the addictive person came to believe- in a power greater then themselves. That was the best life I could live; helping someone who needs my help; a professional that God had blessed with insight for helping others out of the grip of addiction. In the same year I began my family with a loving wife and two children who were my world. I was buying my first home yes life was everything I had prayed it would be. In the process of preparing for the home and just when I was ready to come in to my dreams, on October 30th 1995 at 2:00pm I was in a car accident in which I suffered a head injury. Everything changed with my head injury; friends that I known for years, friends whose families were very close to my family, friends who shared good times and bad, because they didn't understand, these friends slowly abandoned the friendship, and for the lack of understanding my wife left me. I found myself not understanding my new world. I did not know what to do. I was relying on strangers to support me in this new world I was in. It was very problematic. I was going through crisis after crisis. I lost my independence, I could not go back to the profession I had grown to be loyal to or to the life I had grown to adore. My life- changing event created an unwanted feeling in me, I became a stranger in my own home, and to lifelong friends; I was a stranger as well. In the community I was treated like I did not speak the same language; so I tried my best to fit in. No matter what I did; I felt like an alien in my birth place. Because of my head injury I became a burden on society. Walking in the doors, of the Capital District Center for Independence Inc. I did not understand the nature of my head injury, I only knew it was getting in the way of my independence. It was a number of years before
found a little understanding of the results of my head injury. By encountering some brain injury programs, I learned a lot about surviving a head injury and the emotional problems that come from surviving such an injury but not about independence. The Center for Independence, supportive in helping me obtains my independence. Little by little I was opened up to the idea being a survivor of a head injury and becoming independent while participating in recovery It was important to me, to get back to work. In my job at the Center for Independence I have been working with Northeast Career Planning, an agency helping people with disabilities find employment, along with Vocational and Educational Services for Individual with Disabilities (VESED) in an occupation that fits my disability in my profession. Sadly, the profession that I was working in as an Alcohol Counselor was a problem with Northeast Career Planning placing a job coach and the problem with addiction program could not allow a job coach for legal reasons. An opportunity opened up for me to work at the Center for Independence as a peer advocate. Now I am on the road to independence, by supporting other survivors in becoming independent. The family at the center is a loving and caring one that supports me as I learn how to be supportive to other survivors. Now I feel like I have come full circle. I am depending more on myself, I have a better relationship with ex-wife, children and friends. I have the opportunity to lead a support group for survivors and be a peer advocate.

My first action step

2009-10-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

1- You may be powerless over many things but you are not helpless.
Although your life may seem unmanageable now, you no longer need to feel like a victim.
Craig J. Phillips

I was always led to believe that you had to work for acknowledgment; so when someone would take the time to acknowledge me as a person, it was very difficult for me to maintain that recognition. My emotional stability was base upon other people thoughts of me.
While on this life journey, again I tried to maintain my emotional stability by becoming an addict and by becoming this addictive person, my relationship with myself, others, and God, the relationship suffered. This addictive life style continued until I nearly killed myself and others on the job, and then I was in a car accident. This is when I realized that I didn’t have the power that I had over my life in the beginning. This was my first time ever feeling powerless.
Resulting from the car accident, I suffered a head injury. Along being an addictive person, now I suffered brain damage; two things that did have power over me. I found myself even more powerless when I had to learn things of the world all over again. People can be so unforgiving and the more I tried; it always went unanswered; so I grew more helpless and the more I had went before me, I began to receive power and strength from more Higher Power (God of my understanding )that I didn’t know I had all the time.
The power to decide for myself, my emotions and good health is decision that would be made only by me and not others, therefore, by having this free will to do so; it is my sole responsibility to decide whether I live a happy life, an independent life and a free life according to God’s term not of this world
Walter Hamilton.

Welcome to I Have a Voice

2009-10-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

Our purpose in this meeting is to serve the community of Traumatic Brain Injury survivors by sharing our experience, strength, and hope with one another. It is common knowledge that “regaining your in dependence is easier said than done.

You may say it is impractical to reclaim your independence due to your physical and cognitive impairments. I say to you, that it is not impossible with other survivors giving support and understanding to help you through the difficult times of your journey toward independence. We can support each other to rebuild our own lives.

Through this sharing, we can each realize greater independence. We now have the means to regain our voice as we regain our independence. By becoming a part of our community, we can work at salvaging our lives and overcoming life's setbacks, which we have experienced due to a head injury.

Regain your voice by joining us as we begin a support group for TBI survivors by TBI survivors. Yes, we are talking about a TBI survivors support group. How do we become members of our community? By living independent individual lives and through the
sharing of common experiences with one who is living the life of a survivor? By building and rebuilding relationships with yourself and with your God. By sharing lives events good or bad, by working at a life that we can be happy with and growing as strong, independent individuals.

Creator and Author of I Have a Voice Support Group, Walter Hamilton
Peer Advcator for the Capital District Center for Independence, Inc.

Twelve Action step by Creator and Author of Second Chance to Live, Craig J. Phillips

2009-10-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

You may say what a tall order! I can not do this alone. You are not
alone you have other survivors to go on the journey with you. You may
ask how I can do this. The answer is, by following these 12 action
steps: by Creator and Author of Second Chance to Live, Craig J. Phillips
MRC, BA

1- You may be powerless over many things but you are not helpless.
Although your life may seem unmanageable now, you no longer need to feel
like a victim.2- You do not have to be alone anymore to figure it out on
your own.3- By making the decision to turn your will and your life over
to the care of a power greater than your self, you will find an
unlimited source of encouragement and power.4- You can find out what you
have been doing to sabotage your life. You do not have to keep shooting
yourself in the foot of life.5- You no longer need to hide in the
shadows. You can trust the process. By admitting to God, to yourself and
to another human being the exact nature of your wrongs, you can find
freedom. You can make peace with both God and with yourself.6- You can
become entirely ready to have your defects of character removed. Be
encouraged my friend.7- You can be actively involved in the process of
having your defects of character removed by humbly asking God to remove
your shortcomings.8- By making, a list of the people you have harmed
(that you have gleaned through completing your 4th action step) you
become willing to make direct amends to them all.9- You make direct
amends (once you have completed the first 8 action steps and you have
talked with your sponsor) to the people to whom you have harmed.
Consequently you can make peace with your fellows, and in the process
make peace with yourself. You can be released from the burden of guilt
and shame.10- On a daily basis, you continue to take a personal
inventory and when you are wrong you promptly admit that wrong to the
person (s) that you have harmed. You continue to be accountable to and
for your self. You choose to keep your side of the street clean.11- You
do not have to live life each day by yourself. You can rely on a power
greater than your self to guide and direct your steps. You don’t have to
lean on your own understanding. You can pray for the knowledge of God’s
will for you and the power to carry that out. You can trust the process,
a loving God and your ability to learn from the process.12- Having had a
spiritual awakening as a result of working these 12 action steps you
attempt to carry the message of the 12 action steps to others and
continue to practice the principles of the 12 action steps in all your
affairs.
Note: The 12 action steps are not punitive in nature, but are instead to
be used as a tool to empower the individual to live life on life’s
terms. The 12 action steps by nature are meant to free the individual of
self-defeating behaviors so as to empower the individual to be of
maximum service to God and to their fellows.
_In the original text the 12 Steps the author wrote "we", where I have
written "you"._ I have used “you” instead of “we” to emphasize that you
and I are powerless over people, places and things. I have needed to
keep the focus on myself as I have worked through the 12 action steps.
In the event that I choose to focus on another person, place, event,
institution or thing, I will miss the benefit that can be gained as a
result of my working through the 12 action steps.
In my experience, I have come to realize that the 12 Action Steps are
not meant to point out where I am not measuring up. The 12 Steps of
recovery are meant to set me free from limiting behaviors and limiting
beliefs. Through my recovery process, I have also come to understand
that the 12 Action Steps are meant to be a guide to encourage, motivate
and empower my process as I seek to be of maximum service to a loving
God and my fellows — one day at a time — and thus fulfill my destiny.

Creator and Author of Second Chance to Live,
Craig J. Phillips MRC, BA

Part One

2009-08-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hello, I would like to introduce myself to you; and give you a little of my life experiences.
In 1990, I worked as a Substance Abuse Counselor and during that time, I found it to be very rewarding and an excellent opportunity for me to help others. I have seen many addictive people became to believe that a power grater than themselves can restore them back to sanity. That was, one of the best experiences of my life I had ever lived. As a professional, God has blessed me with the ability to help others in need with the insight of guiding- others of becoming free from the grips of addiction.

In the same year, God blessed me with a wife and two beautiful daughters who mean the world to me. Shortly thereafter, I was in the process of buying my first home –yes –life was everything I was praying for; Immediately as I was purchasing this home; on October30th, 1995 at 2:pm –I was in a car accident in which I suffered a head injury. This was the beginning of my life changes. Friends that I had known for years –friends whose families were very close to my family and friends who we had shared the good times as well as the bad, slowly abandoned me only because they had no understanding of the magnitude of my head injury. This also caused my wife to leave me. All this left me depending on strangers for support in this new world I was in. I was going through crisis after crisis to the point were I had lost my independence.