The Spirit of Giving
Kim Watkins, Executive Program Director


Holidays are a time of gifts, parties, family, baking, fun, shopping, wishing for, receiving, big parties, little sleep, large bills and the faces of little kids with big smiles. As we get older, it becomes more of a time for remembering those that gave us wonderful holidays in the past, snippets of memories from our own childhood, less wishing for things, more hopes for life and many “what if’s”….

Brain injury rehabilitation is full of “what ifs” and “if only”. These are usually associated with, “If I hadn’t gotten drunk that night..” “If only I’d worn my seat belt”, “If only he’d entered that intersection five seconds later”, “If only the ambulance had gotten there sooner..”.

I’ve worked with wonderful people in the past twelve years. I’ve been inspired by the strength of those served to move on and grow from the experience; those that have talked when no one thought they would and have walked when there was no possibility of it happening. I have seen Moms make their children better by sheer will and Dads who have quietly stood by their sons and daughters through days and nights of wondering how to help - always there and ready to do what has to be done.

I work with a case manager that doesn’t take “no” for an answer. She will make a hundred phone calls, write a hundred letters, and persuade as many doctors, insurance case managers, and family members to get her participant what he or she needs. Most of the time she does this, others don’t realize her efforts. What if she had not entered this field? She trained to be a teacher.

I worked with a therapist that made even the angriest participant smile. He convinced others they would get better and with his belief in their pocket - they did. Every time someone walked with him for the first time it felt like a miracle. He started out as a carpenter.

I work with a gentleman from Poland that inspires others with his sheer joy for life. I have seen him be gentle to someone that was abusing him; his sheer calmness de-escalates dangerous situations. He studied to be a pilot.

I worked with a woman, that although she’d never fished in her life, took two burly bullriders trout fishing, in the snow, because they had never missed the opening day of trout season. Because of her they still haven’t. She wanted to be a stay at home Mom.

I worked with a woman whose husband had just left her; she was raising two difficult teenagers with no monetary support, worked a full time and part time job, and was a student. She met each consumer with a smile of good will and was patient with every problem, issue, request. She took some of the difficulty out of the rehabilitation process for those that she served. If her personal circumstances had been different, she never would have looked for employment outside of the home.

I worked with a young gentleman that was in a terrible car accident - he was drunk when the accident occurred. He now spends time visiting high schools during Homecoming, presenting his current life in comparison to his preinjury life. He tells students not to drink and drive. They listen to him because he’s their age and he’s been there. He had planned to be a doctor. I wonder if he saves more lives this way.

Life deals us strange hands of cards. Often the holiday season moves us to think about the hand we’ve been dealt and consider the “what if’s”. Sometimes when things work out wrong, they are wrong. Sometimes when things work out wrong, they are right. This holiday season may be a good time to think about the “what if’s”, and how they’ve surely made some things right.

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