Yvette, a 50-year-old stroke patient, entered the Scripps Encinitas Rehabilitation Center’s Brain Injury Day Treatment Program on March 3 in a wheelchair. On July 9, she walked out on her own with a new outlook on life.
"Having a devastating experience like a stroke makes me realize how lucky I am--lucky to be in such a wonderful program like the Scripps Rehabilitation Center’s Brain Injury Day Treatment program," Yvette said. "I truly believe that I am where I am today because of all the amazing and caring therapists, nurses and others that have crossed my path. They have turned a bad experience into a blessing for me."
What is a brain injury and what causes it? The word injury often leads people to immediately think of a traumatic episode like a car accident or a fall off a bicycle that can cause a brain injury. In the U. S., traumatic brain injury happens every day with one person sustaining a traumatic brain injury every 21 seconds. An estimated 5.3 million or a little more than 2 percent of the U.S. population currently live with a disability resulting from traumatic brain injury. Brain injury can also happen as a result of what is termed as "acquired brain injury." An acquired brain injury can be the result of a stroke, a heart attack, a trauma, multiple sclerosis or other brain condition.
The Scripps Rehabilitation Center at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, one of only two rehabilitation centers in San Diego County specializing in brain injury, has a team of specially trained therapists who have extensive knowledge and experience helping individuals with all types of brain injuries. Whether an individual comes to the center because of a medical stay in the hospital or is referred by a physician for outpatient therapy, the Center is equipped to help brain-injured individuals who want to return back to their normal active lifestyle, work, or school.
Launched in 1994, the Brain Injury Day Treatment Program helps previously active individuals get back to their normal, productive lifestyle. Most individuals who come to the program have already gone through an intensive acute inpatient hospitalization rehab program immediately after the injury and have regained basic cognitive orientation and basic motor skills such as brushing their teeth, getting in and out of bed, and walking.
Whether you are a school teacher, an older person who plays golf, a student or even a utility company line man, the program is structured with goals and projects that will help you get back to the community and the active lifestyle you had before your brain injury.
A preliminary report from your hospital or physician will start the evaluation process by the Scripps Encinitas team of specially trained therapists to determine your eligibility for the Scripps Brain Injury Day Treatment Program.