God Is Rebuilding Lives

Here’s something I wanted to pass along to you…it’s the “hot-off-the-press” BIR Newsletter, which is, I must say, all about traumatic brain injury and how, from my perspective, God is using Baylor Rehab to rebuild lives.

Happy Reading! 🙂

A Story of Survival
A traumatic brain injury patient tells her tale

Motivational speaker Patti Foster inspires her audiences
with lively speeches often peppered by words
such as “independence” and “inspiration.” What her listeners
might never guess is it’s nothing short of amazing that
any words come out of her mouth.

Eight years ago, Foster couldn’t speak, move, eat or
perform the day-to-day activities most people take for
granted. A car accident shattered her life, leaving her
for dead and with multiple traumatic injuries, including
a traumatic brain injury (TBI). But today Foster has
reconstructed her life with the help of friends, family
and the ongoing care and support of Baylor Institute for
Rehabilitation (BIR).

Foster’s Story

After an air ambulance rushed Foster to a hospital ER,
she spent nearly six weeks in a coma in the ICU. After she
awoke, she spent about a month at BIR, where her life
began again. Much like a baby striving to reach developmental
milestones, she had to relearn how to walk, speak
and read the letters of the alphabet. “I was like a 34-yearold
infant,” she recalls.

Once again a fully functioning adult, Foster now volunteers
with BIR and visits a dozen or more TBI patients,
going from room to room and answering any questions
she can. “It’s an opportunity to give back what I’ve been
given,” she says. Foster also volunteers with Friends of Hope,
a day camp established in 2005 that’s held four times a year
for TBI survivors and family.

Partnering with local churches and synagogues,
Friends of Hope aims to raise public awareness about TBI
and to connect survivors through social support opportunities.
Foster helps out by playing the keyboard as part
of the musical entertainment. She describes the organization
as “a tremendous help to survivors, their families and
their caregivers.”

Some survivors continue to attend even 10 to 15 years
after their injury, demonstrating how the day camp is
just one way that BIR fulfills the promise of lifelong
care. Inpatient rehabilitation care is only part of helping
patients put their lives back together. The TBI program
offers a continuum of care through outpatient services
and social support systems that are available to guide
patients through every stage of their recovery.

A Walking Miracle Foster says she feels encouraged and grateful to her care
team, as she continues to thrive and rediscover her abilities.
Formerly in radio, Foster has become an inspirational
communicator who inspires others with her story. “I’m
blessed to be in a small bracket