“Brainy Times”
Central/Northeast Regional Newsletter
March 2017
Central Regional Office
30 Lyman St. Ste. 10
Westborough MA 01581
Recreation Corner
All activities take place at BIA-MA, 30 Lyman St., Ste. 10, Westborough, MA , unless noted otherwise.
Space is limited for some activities. Sign up required. Call Tress to sign up: 800-242-0030, ext. 13
Arts Group: Tuesdays, 3/7/17 & 3/21/17 at 1:00 – 3:00 pm–A group for survivors who enjoy
using fine art supplies in a quiet atmosphere. Each session we’ll pick a different theme to
explore through art. Free!
Coffee Club: Friday, 3/3/17 at 10:00-11:00 am. A group for survivors who want to connect for
conversation and explore the benefits of journaling. We’ll provide the refreshments and
journals. Free!
Creative Minds Crafts Group: Thursday, 3/9/17 at 1:00 – 3:00 pm- The March craft is ladybugs
& friends magnets. Free!
Brain Games: Wednesday, 3/15/17 at 1:00 – 3:00 pm- Free recreation group where members
get together to play cards and board games in a fun and relaxed environment, while also
working on various cognitive, social, and physical skills. Space is limited. Call Lori to sign up:
800-242-0030, ext. 31.
Crafts Night in Boston: Wednesday, 3/15/17, at 6:30 pm, at the Boston University survivor
support group, Sargent College, 635 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, Room 200. We’ll be making
spring-themed picture frames. Free!
Paint Nite in Westborough: Monday, 3/20/17, at 6:00-8:00 pm – For survivors; we’ll serve
mocktails and appetizers as Jubilee Painting guides us in painting the scene below on canvas.
$5.00 per person.
Letter from the Central Regional Manager
Hello,
It was great to see so many of you at our Advocacy Day at the State House last month. We had over a
hundred attendees who listened to speakers from the legislature as well as the Brain Injury Association
of Massachusetts, then met with their legislators to advocate for passage of an Act Improving Lives by
Ensuring Access to Brain Injury Treatment (cognitive rehabilitation bill) and for increasing funding for the
Statewide Head Injury Program (SHIP). See below for information about more ways you can advocate
for brain injury services.
Survivors’ Paint Nite is back by popular demand! Please join us on the first day of spring, March 20th, at 6
pm for some artistic fun. A local artist will lead us through the steps of creating a canvas painting. Space
is limited, so please call to sign up.
We also have a Crafts Night in Boston event on March 15th. We are excited to be able to offer activities
in Boston with the help of our support group at Boston University. We will be decorating photo frames
with spring-themed materials. Again, space is limited; call to sign up.
Lastly, our Annual Conference is Thursday, March 30th at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in
Marlborough. We will have workshops for brain injury survivors, professionals, and caregivers/family
members. Go to our website for the conference brochure and to register: www.biama.org
Tress Ricker, Central Regional Manager
[email protected]
800-242-0030, ext. 13
Advocacy Update
The Massachusetts Senate is conducting a series of statewide forums, known as Commonwealth
Conversations. Senators from the different areas of the state will be present to hear from citizens what
they think are important issues that the state government should be addressing. This provides another
opportunity for the Senate to hear from those who wish to advocate for brain injury services. The dates
below are when the forums are being held within Central/NE Region. For more information, go to www.
malegislature.gov/CC
March 14: Central Mass.
March 21: Northeastern Mass.
April 4: MetroWest
April 11: North Shore
MEET A SURVIVOR
Pam Borys, brain injury survivor
Tell us your story. How did you get your brain
injury? I have had epilepsy my whole life. In the
summer of 2011, I mistakenly took the wrong
medication that looked just like my epilepsy
meds. This led to 4 seizures on one day. My life
changed, I did not feel like the same person and
no one explained what had happened. I was
very confused; I couldn’t remember where
things were in my house. Although I had a
Master’s in English, now words looked like
gibberish. My neurologist sent me to a
speech/language therapist. She suggested I go
to a brain injury support group. Until then, no
one had had said the scary words ”brain injury.”
How else were you affected? I had memory
loss, it was very difficult to read, write, and
organize my thoughts. I lost my sense of math
and numbers. That was terrifying. I couldn’t tell
if I had enough money to pay my bills when I
looked at my bank account online. I’d redo the
numbers 5 times a day. I also have an absence
of the sense of time. It’s hard to get motivated
when you don’t have a sense of time because
you don’t have a sense of urgency. I used to be
a driven, energetic person.
What has been helpful in your rehabilitation?
Having someone challenge you on what you are
doing is valuable. It gets you out of your
comfort zone. The speech therapist helped me
to write again and organize my thoughts.
Facebook helps because it keeps me writing a
little bit. Performing arts really helped my brain
in surprising ways. Watching drama like
Shakespeare helps to understand alternate
meanings of words because the actors cue you
to the meaning with their expressions and
movements. I watched TV just to challenge
myself to remember what happened before the
commercial. It took about a year before I could
remember. I ask people to email me
everything—that way I am able to search on key
words and find the information at a later time.
How have you managed to cope emotionally
with your injury? I cried, I raged, I looked for
information. We all have to go through the pity
party. The only way out is through. It was hard
to explain to people what was going on because
I didn’t understand it myself. I felt stupid. It
took a while to realize I was not unintelligent.
The shock of the trauma eased somewhat as my
skills began to improve. Laughter beats panic
every day.
What advice do you have for other brain injury
survivors? Feel good about having your cry. You
are entitled to your sadness. Your injury will not
stay at the level of severity it is today. Get out
of the house. Find a support group meeting, go
to performing arts. Talk to people about what
happened to you.
If you are interested in telling
your story for our “Meet a
Survivor” column, please
contact Tress Ricker at 800242-0030, ext. 13
Perkins Library
175 North Beacon St.
Watertown MA 02472
800-852-3133
www.perkinslibrary.org
Perkins Library is for individuals who are unable to read print materials due to a
visual, physical or reading disability, including due to a brain injury. They loan
audio books and equipment, large print books, and braille books and magazines
for free and can send them through US Mail, postage paid. They also have audio
described videos in DVD format and a talking newspaper service.
An individual is eligible if he or she:
 Is legally blind with vision of 20/200 or less, or has visual field no greater
than 20 degrees
 Is unable to see well enough to read with comfort for extended periods of
time, even with correction
 Has a physical limitation that makes holding a book or turning pages
difficult
 Is certified by an MD as having a reading disability that has a physical basis
which prevents one from reading standard print
 Is legally blind with a profound hearing loss
SUNDAY
MONDAY
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Central/Northeast Region Events
March 2017
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
9
8
2
1
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
3
SATURDAY
4
BABIS group, Boston
10 AM- 12 PM
5
6
7
20
19
14
13
12
Arts Group, 1 – 3 PM
Lexington Support
Group, 3 – 4:30 PM
N. Reading Support
Group, 6 – 7:30 PM
Lowell Support Grp,
11 AM – 12:30 PM
26
16
Brain Games, 1 – 3 PM
Crafts Night in
Boston 6-8 PM
Framingham Support
Grp, 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Haverhill Support
Group, 6 – 7:30 PM
Walpole Support
Group, 6:30 – 8 PM
Arts Group, 1 – 3 PM
Lexington Support
Group, 3 – 4:30 PM
Worcester Support
Group, 6 – 7:30 PM
Paint Nite 6 – 8 PM
10
11
Concord Support
Group, 10 AM – 12 PM
Creative Minds Crafts
Group, 1 – 3 PM
15
22
21
28
27
17
24
30
Worcester Fairlawn
Support Grp, 5 – 7 PM
18
Beverly Support Grp,
11 AM – 12:30 PM
Milford Support
Group, 7-8:30 PM
23
29
Framingham Support
Grp, 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Lunenburg Support
Group, 7 – 8:30 PM
25
31
Braintree Support
Group, 6:30 – 8 PM