"DON'T GIVE UP!'--AN INTERVIEW WITH JENNIFER BRYAN
In December of 2009, Jennifer Bryan had taken a leave of absence from her job as a trauma nurse at Community Regional Medical Center. She was 48 years old at the time, her daughter, Wendy, was soon to be married. Jennifer was scheduled for neck surgery that month, to remove a benign tumor. Jennifer was at risk for having a stroke because she had undergone surgery five times before. This tumor has recurred multiple times.
Two days after the surgery, Jennifer was sleeping when she had a nightmare. She awoke to a different world. She had a stroke. The entire left side of her body had no feeling and no control. She was confined to a wheelchair. In fact, she had to be strapped in so she would not fall out!
Her doctor gave a dark forecast: she would never walk again! But Jennifer did not believe it. She wanted to say, "STOP! My God is not in a box!" Despite statistics and timelines that would tell her differently, Jennifer knew she would walk again.
With the help of an excellent physical therapist, who truly thought "outside the box" Jennifer began to regain more and more mobility. She used something called a "Light Gait", which was like a treadmill with a harness.
"I had a real fear of falling because I could not feel the left side of my body. It is still kind of numb, to this day," Jennifer said.
Jennifer also dealt with emotional side effects of a brain injury (stroke). She developed Pseudo Bulbar Affect, or PBA for short, which causes emotional imbalances in people with head injuries. It would cause her to laugh or cry at inappropriate times, making it awkward to go out in public.
"I didn't want to go anywhere because my emotions were not under control," Jennifer remembered.
In working with various natural remedies, the emotional side effects have become more manageable, with time.
There were spiritual side effects to the stroke, as well. Jennifer struggled with feeling hurt by God. Why would He allow this? Did He love Jennifer? But God took Jennifer's hand and pulled her up, helping her to see that she needed to keep going for her husband, Pat, and for her grandchildren (she now has 5!)
Re-learning walking as an adult was "a real trip", Jennifer said. "Hip/Knee/Hip/Knee".
"Most people learn that stuff when they are about a year old and a lot closer to the floor!" she laughed.
At times, she had a person on each leg, helping her re-learn to walk, down the corridor.
Jennifer knows that her career in nursing is too physically demanding, but she is planning to enroll in classes this spring to become a counselor, helping others to overcome the obstacles in their own lives.
Her advice as a therapist-to-be?
"Don't give up! When it seems hopeless, a blessing might be just around the corner!"
--Posted by Mama O.
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