This is not your usual story of recovery, that presents a crushing blow endured by one more car accident. Becky Dyer a professional model travels from the runway of a fashion show to a wheelchair at the rehabilitation unit of a hospital in one summer. Traditional therapy assists her in the monotonous process of relearning how to walk and talk again. This journey introduces Becky Dyer and her remarkable transformation that infiltrates features forming Rebekah Vandergriff, LMSW. She invites you to pack your bags and board her available transportation at the time, as a passenger on many of her amusing road trips. Becky is left in the intersection at the scene of her accident, leaving many pieces behind. These therapeutic adventures are brought to life through the answers and communication provided by family and friends. Interweaved throughout this journey of rehabilitation from Traumatic Brain Injury, are the voices of these loved ones. As she has had an abrupt personality change, Rebekah picks up the pieces left behind at the scene, gaining the necessary determination she needs to educate, parent, and perform gainful employment by using her tools learned in therapy and repeating the question, "What Day Is It?". Rebekah's mother creates the encounters which become her unique forms of therapy. Each therapeutic adventure, is formed with an open-minded, unconventional goal plan, as her home cognitive therapy is being invented through familiar family events. Upon-the-event of topping out in her insurance coverage and the void of all benefits, her mother changes roles once again to fulfill the necessary responsibilities as case-manager. These therapeutic and entertaining circumstances become the basis of adventure in, What Day Is It?, as Momma Bear uses life and familiar lively activities, that uses her style of a goal planning sesion, which includes the vitality of life as her guide.
What Day Is It? is an epic journey prompted by a questionnaire distributed in 2002. Rebekah created this questionnaire to inspire family and friends to respond in their own voice through stories, memories, and feelings throughout her rehabilitation. The responses that Rebekah received back from her questionnaire, created a solid foundation to assist Rebekah's vision for What Day Is It? A Family's Journey Through Traumatic Brain Injury.
The action starts on the first day of her coma. Through responses to her questionnaire provided, Rebekah began learning other people's perspectives of what her body went through as she was comatose for the entire summer of 1989. As she and her mother met weekly at a coffee shop, Rebekah silently promised to complete and organize this compilation of material, thus "What Day Is It?" was born.
Travel with Rebekah through her rehabilitation (don't forget to buckle your seat belts) as this bumpy ride, travels through the painstaking journey of reinstating herself as an adult once again. She begins at the scene of her accident at 22, travels through becoming a mother, a student, a social worker, and includes facts researched with entertaining stories along the way.
Excerpt
I have come to realize that this very unfortunate injury has become the most liberating event of my life—liberating me to grow and allowing my life to take a completely different direction. It was as if I now was given the chance to choose the other fork in the road. Damage to my brain, which will affect me for the remainder of my life, has become a gift.
Professional Reviews
Larry and Beth Jameson, Authors
Rebekah Vandergriff is a traumatic brain injury survivor. Today she has a title, Licensed Master of Social Work. What Day Is It? is a journey of hope, encouragement and inspiration written for any family that has been affected by brain injury.
Equally important, though, is its explanation of how the medical community views brain injury rehabilitation and how it should view rehabilitative therapies. What Day Is It? explains the value of a family caregiver and includes commentary from many family members expressing their feelings along Rebekah’s journey toward recovery.
What Day Is It? should be studied by families living with brain injury and the medical, insurance and government agencies who are heavily involved in treatment procedures. This book provides great insight about the thoughts and emotions of a brain injury survivor.
Al Condeluci PhD
“A lot of people write about brain injury rehabilitation – but most of these writings are abstract and academic. Rebekah Vandergriff has written a powerful, personal exploration that weaves some of these academic facts with the perspective of reality. This book should be read by anyone with an interest in rehabilitation and especially traumatic brain injury.”
Janet Williams PhD
”The instant I met Rebekah Vandergriff I knew she was a teacher. Her chosen profession was social work but she was clearly a woman full of lessons. Lessons learned and lessons to teach. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I am eternally grateful to Rebekah for showing up at the right moment to be my teacher. I believe readers will be grateful she showed up to teach you as well. Her experience, brilliance and humor shine through.”
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Reviews for "What Day Is It? A Family's Journey Through Traumatic Brain Injury"
Reviewed by Larry Jameson
8/13/2008
Rebekah,
Congratulations on getting your book in print. I believe it will be a great help to the brain injury community and to anyone else who wants to know more about the Number 1 cause of death and disability in the world.
Larry
About the clients and escorts who once were part of Professional Escorts of Marin County, California. The timeframe was from 1974 until 1990.
You will enjoy the easy to read book that gives a glimpse into escorting. Enjoy the read.
(Richard M. Feldman) Ever since I was a young boy, the only thing I wanted to be was a cowboy. I wanted to own and work on a real ranch, with cattle and horses. Especially horses.
While I never became a cowboy, considering everything I have done
Jamie was a healthy, active 12-year old who loved to skate and played hockey as well as any boy. Then one afternoon during a game, she suffered a stroke that changed her world. Her memoir takes the reader through her ordeal and her journey out of the
