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	<title>Indianapolis Brain Injury BLOG</title>
	<link>http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com</link>
	<description>Helping victims of traumatic brain injuries and head traumas</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 18 May 2012 12:57:52 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Friends, Family Have Significant Role in Helping TBI Victims Deal with Depression</title>
        <pubDate>Fri, 18 May 2012 12:57:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[Because friends and family members can oftentimes be more aware of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) victim’s emotional state than he or she might be, they can also recognize depression before the person with TBI does. While victims are ultimately responsible for taking action, the concern and encouragement of friends and family can go a long way toward helping TBI victims recover from severe depression. The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) notes, “Help should take the form of encouragement, not criticism or treating the person as a child.” On Wednesday, we discussed how two of the most common treatment approaches for depression are medications and psychotherapy. However, if a TBI victim suffering depression is unwilling to engage in either treatment, the BIAA says that a friend or family member can help by “reaching out to a trusted friend, doctor or religious leader who might encourage acceptance of treatment.” The...<br /> <a href="http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/friends-family-have-significant-role-in-helping-tbi-victims-deal-with-depression/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/friends-family-have-significant-role-in-helping-tbi-victims-deal-with-depression/</link>
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		<title>Steps TBI Victims Can Take to Overcome Depression</title>
        <pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 12:53:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[We noted on Monday that depression is far more common among traumatic brain injury (TBI) victims than it is among the general population, but we also noted that the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) says “depression is open to healing.” The first step in dealing with depression is for the victim to acknowledge having a problem. This can often be easier said than done, as many TBI victims can immediately go into denial about feeling depressed. However, friends and family need to express their support and offer assistance in helping the victim take steps to deal with the issue. The BIAA notes that these victims will have to “take steps to cope actively with depression,” meaning that they should move away from behaviors that maintain the depression, such as using drugs and alcohol, endlessly criticizing themselves or hanging out with equally negative friends. After making these initial steps in...<br /> <a href="http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/steps-tbi-victims-can-take-to-overcome-depression/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/steps-tbi-victims-can-take-to-overcome-depression/</link>
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		<title>Depression Eight Times Greater Among TBI Victims</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2012 12:58:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[When former National Football League (NFL) linebacker Junior Seau died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on May 2, 2012, a Reuters headline declared, “Seau death puts spotlight on concussions and depression.” As the former football star’s death triggered a national discussion about the long-term toll the sport takes on participants, another former linebacker and former Seau mentor, Harry Carson, told NewJerseyNewsroom.com how he remembered thinking about taking his own life and driving off the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River in the 1980s. “You have these deep bouts of depression, and people think you&#8217;re depressed because you&#8217;re not playing anymore,” Carson told Newsroom.com. “You&#8217;re depressed because you&#8217;re having neurological issues that are very difficult to describe.” That comment is important because it reinforces the basic truth that, regardless of their profession before being hurt, a majority of the people struggling with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) all...<br /> <a href="http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/depression-eight-times-greater-among-tbi-victims/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/depression-eight-times-greater-among-tbi-victims/</link>
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		<title>Elderly TBI Patients Have ‘Worse Mortality and Functional Outcome Even Though Injuries are Seemingly Less Severe’</title>
        <pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2012 12:56:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[A 2002 study that compared data for elderly patients 65 years and older with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) to data from nonelderly patients with similar injuries concluded, “Elderly traumatic brain injury patients have a worse mortality and functional outcome than nonelderly patients who present with head injury even though their head injury and overall injuries are seemingly less severe.” Because May is Older Americans Month we have been focusing this week on TBI prevention for people aged 65 and older, an age group that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says is among the most likely to sustain a TBI. If a parent, grandparent or other older family member recently sustained a fall, the CDC says these may be signs and symptoms of a possible TBI: Low-grade headache that won’t go away Having more trouble than usual remembering things, paying attention or concentrating, organizing daily tasks, or making...<br /> <a href="http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/elderly-tbi-patients-have-worse-mortality-and-functional-outcome-even-though-injuries-are-seemingly-less-severe/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/elderly-tbi-patients-have-worse-mortality-and-functional-outcome-even-though-injuries-are-seemingly-less-severe/</link>
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		<title>10 Ways to Help Prevent TBIs Among Older Americans</title>
        <pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2012 12:55:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[As we started to discuss on Monday, May is Older Americans Month and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a special health concern for older adults, since people aged 65 and older are among the most likely to sustain a TBI. Furthermore, the CDC also notes that people 75 years of age and older have the highest rates of TBI-related hospitalizations and death, as people in this age group recover more slowly and die more often from these injuries than do younger people. The CDC also notes that falls are the most common cause of TBI among older adults. While you cannot see a TBI in an older person, there are steps you can take to help prevent an older person from sustaining a TBI. The Brain Injury Association of Indiana (BIAI) provides these 10 things you can do to help prevent...<br /> <a href="http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/10-ways-to-help-prevent-tbis-among-older-americans/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/10-ways-to-help-prevent-tbis-among-older-americans/</link>
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		<title>‘Older Americans Month’ Provides Opportunity to Prevent TBIs in Vulnerable Group</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 07 May 2012 12:57:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[Over the past couple of weeks, we have spent a lot of time discussing traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in regards to children, but it is important to remember that another group that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says are most likely to sustain a TBI are adults aged 65 and older. May happens to be Older Americans Month, which was first established in 1963 and was originally called Senior Citizens Month until President Jimmy Carter’s designation in 1980. According to the Administration on Aging (AoA), every president since John F. Kennedy has issued a formal proclamation during or before the month of May asking that the entire nation pay tribute in some way to older persons in their communities. According to the Brain Injury Association of Indiana (BIAI), one in three Americans aged 65 and older suffers a fall each year and 30 percent of these falls...<br /> <a href="http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/older-americans-month-provides-opportunity-to-prevent-tbis-in-vulnerable-group/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/older-americans-month-provides-opportunity-to-prevent-tbis-in-vulnerable-group/</link>
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		<title>Helmeted Motorcyclists ‘Significantly Less Likely to Experience TBI’</title>
        <pubDate>Fri, 04 May 2012 12:54:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[As spring becomes summer, the number of motorcyclists on roads throughout Indiana will only increase, which is why we would like to remind our readers that May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. The National Safety Council (NSC) is encouraging all motorists to share the road with motorcyclists and be extra alert when they are nearby. According to the NSC, fatalities involving motorists and motorcyclists increased 131 percent between 1998 and 2008, and the mileage death rate for motorcyclists in 2007 was 37 times greater than for passenger car occupants. The good news is that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that motorcycle helmet use increased from 48 percent in 2005 to 67 percent in 2009. Furthermore, motorcycle helmets saved 1,829 lives in 2008, according to NHTSA. According to the most recent data available from the NHTSA, 76 percent of the 119 motorcyclists killed in Indiana in 2008 were...<br /> <a href="http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/helmeted-motorcyclists-%e2%80%98significantly-less-likely-to-experience-tbi%e2%80%99/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/helmeted-motorcyclists-%e2%80%98significantly-less-likely-to-experience-tbi%e2%80%99/</link>
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		<title>Community Comes Together to Help Wounded Soldier</title>
        <pubDate>Wed, 02 May 2012 12:57:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[A few weeks ago, we talked about some of the difficulties faced by members of our armed services returning from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those challenges made it encouraging to read about the community efforts made for wounded Anderson, Indiana soldier Tim Senkowski. The Army infantryman was seriously injured by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, losing both legs from the knees down, suffering severe injuries to his right arm and buttock, and now struggling to overcome the effects of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite those injuries, the Courier-Journal reported on April 22, 2012, that Senkowski “has been home for a little more than three weeks and has enjoyed every moment.” Not only did Operation Homefront, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance for military troops and their families, donate a 1992 Plymouth van equipped for Senkowski and his family, but the Courier-Journal...<br /> <a href="http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/community-comes-together-to-help-wounded-soldier/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/05/community-comes-together-to-help-wounded-soldier/</link>
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		<title>Bullying Can No Longer be Dismissed as &#8216;Part of Life&#8217;</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:59:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week, we discussed National Playground Safety Week, a time to focus on the risks of children’s outdoor play environments. On April 22, 2012, one Iowa newspaper called attention to a different type of kid’s safety issue that has also resulted in paralysis, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and even death: bullying. The Sioux City Journal devoted its entire front page that Sunday to an editorial about 14-year-old Kenneth Weishuhn, the South O’Brien High School teenager (featured in the news video above from KTIV-TV) who took his own life about a month after he had told family and friends he was gay. As the Journal’s editorial noted, some say that “bullying is simply a part of life.” While bullying has certainly been occurring at schools across the country for many years, advances in technology have helped the harassment extend far beyond the school grounds. According to Reuters, Weishuhn’s classmates left death...<br /> <a href="http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/04/463/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/04/463/</link>
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		<title>Does Indiana Make the Grade on Playground Safety?</title>
        <pubDate>Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:59:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[On Wednesday, we continued discussing National Playground Safety Week by providing the checklist for parents created by the non-profit National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS). The NPPS works closely with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in establishing guidelines for public playgrounds. The non-profit has also evaluated the risk factors of more than 3,000 school, childcare and park playgrounds around the country. America’s playgrounds received a C+ for safety in the 2004 Risk Factor Survey after being graded a C in 2000. According to the NPPS, 27 states improved their overall grades. Indiana was one of those 27, having improved from a C- in 2000 to a B+ in 2004. While the NPPS grade for Indiana’s park playgrounds dropped slightly from a C+ in 2000 to a C in 2004 and the child care playgrounds remained a C+ in both surveys, the grade for Indiana’s school playgrounds improved from...<br /> <a href="http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/04/does-indiana-make-the-grade-on-playground-safety/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.indianabraininjurylawyerblog.com/2012/04/does-indiana-make-the-grade-on-playground-safety/</link>
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