Instrumental music playing
Hi, I'm Karl. I'm a brain injury survivor and member of BIND.
And hi, I'm Carrie, a stroke survivor and a member of BIND as well. And today we are welcoming Rick Yates with us. He also has suffered a traumatic brain injury and he helped Chaplain Johnny Taylor, who you heard a couple of weeks ago on our episode, he helped him start a traumatic brain injury support group back in 2004, which is still going on today. So welcome, Rick.
Thank you. Glad to be here.
Welcome to BINDWAVES, the official podcast of the Brain Injury Network of Dallas. I'm Brian White, BIND's Executive Director. On each episode, we'll be providing insight into the brain injury community. We'll be talking to members and professionals regarding their stories and the important role of BIND's Clubhouse. We work as a team to inspire hope, community, and a sense of purpose to survivors, caregivers, and the public. Thank you for tuning into BINDWAVES. Let's get on with the show.
Awesome. We're excited to have you here. So tell us a little bit about yourself and what kind of traumatic brain injury you have and then just kind of what you're up to now, what your life is like.
Well, I'm not a spring chicken anymore. My accident was 23 years ago. I was hit head on on my way home from work. I was the current acting CFO for a Fortune 100 company and that was pretty much the end of my career. And I've spent my last 23 years just recovering and learning to really appreciate life for the simple things and Try not to have too many pity parties along the way.
I hear you on that.
Well, I'd like to ask you what in the world prompted you to create a TBI support group and all the problems associated with that?
Well, it started because I, I, um, I got tied up with Johnny Taylor, who was the chaplain at Zeolipsi in Dallas, and I've become a volunteer chaplain. With him and I was trying to actually get certified, but you know the brain injury kind of just said Procrastinate procrastinate can't do the paperwork, but I did everything but the paperwork and From there. He said why don't we do a support group?
And I said, you know, I'll be happy I said I've been trying to get something like this be a part of something like this since I got hurt and Actually, the first people I met was through the support group that had brain injuries and that was almost three years out Nice.
Yeah, that's amazing, I love it. Um, so, I know support group sounds, and you may, I mean you may not have a good answer for this, and we could all probably Google it, but some of our members are like, well what is a support group? Other than I don't know. As layman terms, as for listeners, for members that don't really understand.
Well, for me and, for me and my wife, it was a place to go where I felt comfortable and the other people there felt comfortable that you could just be yourself. You couldn't, didn't have to pretend that you didn't have a brain injury. You didn't worry about saying something stupid. Uh, because we all took turns doing that.
And. It was just a place to be around people that you could share commonality with and also you'd always leave there with with it was something with a tidbit of something you could give and you would get and it was just a great experience And it still is to this day That's great.
Indeed By attending your support group. What? What can we learn and? Additionally more specifically. Well, I want to improve our brain injury situation
I think it just, it just helps, it just helped me, uh, with depression, uh, because I could be around people that, um, you know, a lot of cases maybe weren't as well off as I was, and so it just made you feel better, but, um, It was just something to look forward to every month to go to that group and we even had outings We would go to plays. Um, I think we went tried to go bowling one time not so successful on that But I think we tried that one time
We've done that here at BIND as well.
Yeah, the bowling. Well, that's it is a lot of fun But it just was a it was just a place to go and just look forward to once a month and it was almost like a It's like a date for my wife and I.
Oh, that's great. So, one of our questions was, but I think you kind of already answered, is what are the benefits that you're going to get from support group? It sounds like you get a lot of rewarding benefits from being in a support group.
You do. You give and you get. It's a blessing. Every time I went, it was a blessing. I would learn something that I didn't know, um, and everybody was able to help. Help each other with, with what was going on in their life because somebody in that group could relate to what was going on in that person's specific life at that time.
Rick, on a specifically personal basis, what benefits do you receive by having founded and leading this group?
I think it was just a blessing. It gave me something, something to do, something to look forward to. Um, I was able to, um, you know, communicate, which, which helped with communication skills. And, uh, it made me feel almost Like I, I had a purpose again, and it was a long time I didn't have a purpose.
So when you said you, you know, your communication skills, do I understand that to be you had aphasia?
No, I didn't have aphasia, it was just, um, I was just very slow. Still not so fast, but I was just, you know, I was very timid about saying anything because I said so many words, you know, bass ackwards and, uh, the wrong thing.
Maybe word finding and those kind of things.
Yes. Yes, I mean, that doesn't really go away, but you just learn to accept it, and of course in a support group environment, it's just, you're just comfortable.
We totally get that because that's kind of what it's like here being at BIND. That's why we encourage people to come and be a part of the brain injury community. Because, again, no one gets a brain injury like another brain injury. So you come here, you're comfortable, you don't worry about saying things. Bassackwards. Is that how you said it? I liked it. Yes, Bassackwards. Okay. I like that word. I'm going to have to try to remember it. Doesn't matter if we say that here.
You probably won't remember it.
I probably won't. And hopefully that, the way we said it is PG 13 for the podcast, right? Yeah. We're going to take it. We're going to let it slide if it is. Um, but yeah, so, um, What is, I guess, my, one of the questions that I thought about that I wondered, so, we go to a lot of support groups ourselves and talk and give encouragement and hope and purpose because I'm 15 years out post stroke and he's 17, 18 years from his TBI.
So we are used to going and speaking at support groups, but I haven't really gone to a support group that's led by another brain injury, so, what's it like leading a group? Or managing a support group of brain injured? I mean, is it Chaotic? Is it pretty easy? You know, is it like herding cats?
Well, to me, be honest, there was only a couple of times that I actually led the group. Johnny, Johnny was the point person at Zell Lipschitz. And I would just kind of, he would kind of like bounce off of me some questions sometimes and I would kind of help with that. But I, I was not the official leader because of it being tied to Zell Lipschitz. He was the leader and I was kind of like just a co conspirator maybe. Right, the person to help get everybody else to start talking.
And it never caused me any, any grief or any worry. It was just, it was very relaxed to this day. Still very relaxed to meet people with brain injuries.
Okay. What are the, uh, requirements for joining your group? More specifically, is it just TBIs, or can caregivers join, or?
Caregivers, uh, brain injuries, um, stroke survivors, I mean, that's a brain injury too, traumatic and end of stroke survivors. That was the only requirement that we really had.
Okay.
Just have a brain injury, you're not, you're not allowed to attend unless you've had a brain injury.
Yeah, and we grew so big at one point that we had, we would break off and we would have a caregiver portion and we would have a brain injury portion of two different groups.
Nice.
Yeah, that is, because a lot of people forget about the caregivers and they have just as many questions if not more than we do.
Well, they have a lot of frustration they need to vent to somebody. Sure,
absolutely. And I'm going to have to gather that you say no one gets a caregiver like a caregiver. So, I don't ever think about that, but, um, so do y'all have like specific topics that you discuss or do you just kind of open the floor with like, throw out an idea, you know,
It varies. Sometimes you'll come in, there'll be an agenda that somebody's coming to speak, somebody's coming to present something maybe tied to social security or, uh, to services that are out there that people don't know about. And other times it's just, uh, go around the room and that seemed to be the, the best way to do it, just to go around the room and then you'll hit a topic just by going around the room.
Exactly. What, uh, I have to ask, what motivates you to continue being a leader in this group?
It just gives me purpose. And I'm hoping that the group will continue to grow. It just really makes me feel like I'm contributing again to society. I didn't realize this, but you can actually get loose. Volunteer jobs. I started out with all the meals on wheels folks and after just a couple of months, they called me in and said we're going to have to let you go because you're delivering the meals too slow.
I would get tied up with a little old lady and her cat was missing and I would get lost with the time and looking for a cat for 30 minutes instead of delivering meals. So, um, It was just, I had to keep plugging away until I found something that I felt like I can add value in. I used to be a manager, a leader, so it just kind of filled a void that I had professionally.
That's great, and we are looking for that purpose, to get that purpose back after a brain injury. Um, so, um, So, what, what other things do you do? And he said, unfortunately, no longer Meals on Wheels. What other kind of things do you do to fill your day and keep going?
Well, I have a one month old granddaughter. Oh, that counts. I've been spending a lot of time out of state. I had a relative, my mother, that passed away, and that was the three months I spent in Cleveland, Tennessee. Um, I love to fish. That's the one thing in life that did not change for me that I can go fishing and I feel just the same as I did 25 years ago when I would go fishing. I miss the bite just like I did then. Um, and I catch them just like I used to then.
And I just have a good time and I feel like the old me. That's great. And a little bit of golf. I love it. My score says I hate it, but I do love it.
Scores smore, right? As long as you're having fun, that's all that matters.
Back to the idea of support groups. Um, in your opinion, you can use your support group or any support group you think about. What would be the number one reason to join a support group? What would you think?
It's the community. It's to be around community. If you're isolated, your life is not going to be as enjoyable as it would be if you were in an environment where there's people just like you. And that was probably the number one reason why somebody should come and give it a chance, even though a lot of people say, I don't want to be a part of that. That's too personal and all that. You go one time and maybe you don't say anything.
You come again, You say a few words, and eventually you're just, you're integrated, and you're part of the group, because everybody makes you feel welcome, you say something stupid, people will laugh, and you laugh with them, because everybody knows it's funny.
So, uh, that's We're all the same with the brain injuries, so Yeah. We get each other. Yeah. Yeah. We do. Appreciate that answer.
So I'm gonna ask you how can people get involved within your group, but first, before you answer that question, what would you say to, what do you say to those people that are like, I don't want to go to a support group, I don't want to be around a bunch of other brain injured, so that's not for me. What would you say to encourage them to try, just just come that one time.
Just come one time. You don't have to say anything. If they open it up to go around the room, just give your name and move on. Or say you don't want to talk. And we have many people I've been involved with that it's a long time before they open up and start communicating and wanting to be heard. An active participant, but you will leave there. I will guarantee you will leave there with something that you didn't know when you walked in the door.
That's great. And so, do you have any information on how, like, where is the support group? How can people get involved? Do you have any?
Well, right now the support group is at UT Southwestern in Frisco. Uh, right there off the tollway. I don't, can't think of the address right now. Okay. That's okay. We can find that. But it's meeting, uh, like from four to five once a month and I believe, uh, this afternoon we have a meeting. Oh, okay. Just dawned on me. This is the 23rd
Yeah, 20. Yeah, it is. Yeah. Okay, well, yeah, I'll get with Johnny and I think I actually have all that information, so we'll make sure for our listeners that we include it in the descriptions and all that. So all that information is there
and it should be Googleable too.
Okay. Googleble. That's a hard word to say. Um, now is it in person only or is it also virtual? Or is it only virtual?
It's in person. It's in person and virtual. I haven't been to the one in Frisco because I missed the last, the last meeting because of being out of state in Tennessee. But before that, they were mostly virtual. Since the pandemic, they've become mostly virtual, but now the goal is to try to bring people back in because the community is so important.
Sure, and it's taken us a while to get members back in after the pandemic because we did the same thing. We had to go from being here five days a week to being on the computer five days a week.
It's not the same.
No, we're slowly getting our membership back up and going, so. But yeah. And the pandemic was
It was very bad for people with brain injuries.
It was. It was very bad
for a lot of people. easy to isolate. Yeah. And we all, I'm sure everybody went through that.
That's great. Well, I'm glad that you're, do y'all have any big plans to grow more than just Frisco and Dallas, or?
No, right now the plan is just to grow Frisco to become like it was at Zell Lipschee in Dallas. That's, you know, we were up to 25, 30 people. And that's our goal is just to re, re, you know, populate this, this group with maybe some of the old folks and then a bunch of new folks. Um, that's our plan.
Okay, that sounds great.
Nice. Well, thank you for joining us, Rick. We really appreciate your time and your comments. We, uh, would also like to thank everybody who's listening to us. We appreciate you guys as well.
Again, yes, thank you, Rick. And
you're welcome.
For all our listeners, if you would like to contact us, again, you can email us at bindwaves@thebind.Org, or you can visit the website at thebind.org/bindwaves. And, um, if you are interested in becoming a member or a volunteer, you can also visit thebind.org Visit us for more information on how to become a member or volunteer. And I almost forgot, you can find us on Instagram too, BINDWAVES, so we'd love for you to follow us there. We post more than just the episodes.
And don't forget to like, share, subscribe on your favorite platform, and also hit notify on YouTube while listening to BINDWAVES.
And remember, every Thursday you'll find a new episode. Occasionally we have a little glitch and it might come out on Friday, but be ready on Thursday because we will be here. So, until next time.
Until next
We hope you've enjoyed listening to BIND Waves and continue to support BIND and our non profit mission. We support brain injury survivors as they reconnect into the life, the community, and their workplace. And we couldn't do that without great listeners like you. We appreciate each and every one of you. Continue watching. Until next time. Until next time.