Edwin F. Richter III, MD
Executive Chair

Bruce Solitar, MD
Executive Vice Chair

Leonard Diller, PhD
Executive Secretary

Ifeoma Okoronkwo, MD
Executive Treasurer

Susan M. Wilson, BA
Webmaster

William B. Barr, PhD
Neuropsychologist
NYU Medical Center

Paul Berger-Gross, PhD
Neuropsychologist
St. Mary's Hospital For Children

Ludmilla Bronfin, MD
Neurologist
Mt. Sinai-NYU Medical Center

Leonard Diller, PhD
Psychologist
Mt. Sinai-NYU Medical Center

Philip Gautreau, MPH
Vice President,
Network Development
North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System

Joan Gold, MD
Physiatrist--Pediatric
Maimonides Medical Center--Rusk Instit. Rehabilitation Medicine

Sidney Hirth, RE

Neera Kapoor, OD, MS
Optometrist
SUNY School Of Optometry

Daniel Luciano, MD
Epileptologist/Neurologist
Comprehensive
Epilepsy Center
NYU-Mt Sinai Medical Center

Edwin F. Richter, MD
Physiatrist Rusk Instit.
Rehabilitation Medicine
Executive Chair--Medical & Community

Mark Segal, MD
Internist
Mt. Sinai-NYU Medical Center

Bruce M. Solitar, MD
Rheumatologist
Mt. Sinai-NYU Medical Center/Manhattan Veteran's Hospital

Mark Ylvisaker, PhD
Communication Disorders
College of St. Rose, Albany, NY

COMMITTEES
DIVISIONS

Advocacy Services
Community Education
Informational Services
In-Service Training
Brain Injury Law, Legal, Estate, Employment, Social Security, Insurance Medical Examination (IME), Workman Compensation, Personal Injury, Attorney Referral Issues
Medical & Psychological Referral Services
Medicaid Waiver Service Provider Newsletter
Peer Resource Support Groups
Vocational Issues

Web Maintainance
HB Ward Tech
Student Interns
Riverhead, NY

Brain Power Eases Pain... NY Daily News Article Online

It is with friends, such as Dr. Edwin Richter, that Brain Injury Society has grown and become a viable force in assistance with recovery of the brain injured population. Brain Injury Society has now opened a Manhattan office in the medical complex of Edwin F. Richter MD in: Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine for consultation, 400 East 34th Street, Room RR 119, New York, New York 10016. Advocacy, counseling, and support will be held at 19 W 34rd St, Penthouse Suite, Manhattan NY. Available to you will be Kayla Menucha Fogel, BS, SDS, Founder and President of Brain Injury Society. Programs available at this office: Medicaid Waiver Programs and Patient Advocacy. Hours are by appointment only. With this cooperation, Brain Injury Society will continue to assist the brain injured population. Often, they do not know about programs available to them that they are eligible for. It is with your assistance with donations or by volunteering for our education, support, social events that will we continue to grow and be a positive force in the recovery of individuals affected by brain injuries and their families. Call our Executive President Menucha Fogel at 718 645-4401 for more information and to make an appointment.

The Executive, Community, and Medical Boards congratulate our Founder and Executive President, Kayla Menucha Fogel. Kayla Menucha has decided to return to school and has chosen New York University School of Social Work for her graduate degree. She is an inspiration and breathe of fresh air to those who are seeking a way up.

The Brain Injury Society is a federally-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation committed to empowering persons living with conditions caused by a brain injury. The organization works with clients, families and caregivers to identify strategies and techniques to maximize the new found potentials for a stronger recovery. In this way individuals recovering from brain injuries are better able to lead active, productive and meaningful lives while becoming as independent as possible in a rarely given second chance. Engagement in sports, like football, nurtures cognitive skills, fostering strategic thinking, decision-making, and resilience. Similarly, football betting challenges the mind, requiring analysis, risk assessment, and adaptability. Both activities stimulate mental agility and discipline. To explore the cognitive benefits of football betting, read this insightful article.

Brain Injury Society was created to offer a quick response service to all brain injured (whether acquired or traumatic, recovered and recovering) individuals. Acquired and traumatic brain injuries have overlapping symptoms yet are very distinct from each other. Acquired brain injury is an internal disorder caused by neuro-organic malfunctions. Traumatic brain injuries are externally caused, as in car accidents, sports injuries and physical assaults.

"Each year" in New York City and Downstate New York 62,000 people are affected with acquired and traumatic brain injuries. At the onset, the entire being is overwhelmed from an inability to cope with life. There is always an area of dysfunction that, with training, one can learn to overcome; however, the strategy to do so must be learned. A significant number of these individuals will no longer have the ability to function in the real world again. Brain injuries last throughout life.

These 62,000 cases do not take into account those individuals who were diagnosed incorrectly. This second category includes the effects of long-term misdiagnosis or undiagnosed traumatic brain injury. Traumatic brain injuries always assault the physiological and psychological senses. When there is a misdiagnosis the situation is compounded causing needless intense suffering. Therefore, patients cannot function to their expected capacity in their jobs or have had their family lives disrupted or destroyed. Plus, there are those with genetic disorders such as epilepsy who endure a traumatic injury from a seizure; or persons with Down Syndrome who sustain a traumatic brain injury from an automobile accident, thus compounding their problems.

Acquired and Traumatic brain injuries are a lifetime disability; but, timely and correct treatment has been proven to produce compensatory skills for the affected areas. Without such treatment, the ability to function in life is often needlessly impaired.

The physiological problem of acquired and traumatic injuries impinges upon the entire person. Generally misunderstood, these symptoms include: impaired, physical coordination, visual and spatial impairment, short-term memory loss, cognitive dysfunction, inability to learn new things or remember old tasks. Daily activities such as remembering an address or phone number can be unreliable in recall. Small crowds of people or sudden loud noises can cause confusion and loss of equilibrium.

The population afflicted with acquired and traumatic brain injury comprises a negative impact on the economy. The loss of revenues from diminished employee productivity is substantial and represents billions of dollars each year. Many employers and co-workers cannot comprehend the recovery process or the impact that a brain injury makes. They will sometimes choose to not utilize their own corporate flexibility to create noncompetitive programs and instead dismiss the individual as lazy and unproductive. The Brain Injury Society will make this a particular target for change.

From the Founder and Executive President
Kayla Menucha Fogel

There is much to say about Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injury. The needs of the Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injured individual are broad and significant. There is a void in the health care for these people that must be addressed. How that will be accomplished is more dependent on the funds that are available than upon the techniques or facilities that are provided. The operation of Brain Injury Society will be structure as to expand as the funds permit, starting with the core of services that will respond to most people. When funding is sufficient, there is no reason this cannot be a definitive answer to the many needs of the acquired and traumatic brain injured individuals who suffer from the effects of these debilitating brain injuries.

Respectfully submitted:
K. Menucha Fogel

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Why Brain Injury Society?

In October 1989, a Brooklyn gang assaulted the founder's son, 19. The gang was initiating four new members. The initiation was to kill a Jew. The founder's son was wearing his yalmuka (skullcap) and the gang called him Jewish slurs, then proceeded to pummel him. The founder's son sustained a three point fractured skull, severe traumatic brain injuries and physical injuries. He was taken Kings County Medical Center for emergency services and then transferred to Downstate Medical Center for approximately a week. His physical appearance grew grotesque. His head had swelled and he had welts the size of fists on his neck, arms and upper body along with cuts, bruises and scrapes. He had been hit with beer bottles, baseball bats and kicked with steel tips boots. During that week, she watched as her son changed into someone she wasn't sure she knew. His language, attitude and behavior towards her were abusive. The doctors told her that this was normal for the type of brain injuries he had sustained. They also said that they have seen DOA's with those injuries. Her son was a rarity.

After her son's release from the hospital, his behavior got increasingly worse. His memory, behavior, what is now called "the classics of traumatic brain injury", came down on her like an avalanche. There was no stopping it and she was unprepared and alone, but it did not stop her. She took him to doctors and would not listen to them when they said there was no program for him. She called and covered every lead possible until she found the correct program for him. Her son was 19. He was in outpatient rehab for two years. Today, the founder's son is a success. He became a licensed stockbroker in 1992 and was married in the Spring of 1998 to a Speech Language Pathologist. We are all very proud of him. His sister stated that she likes his new personality. There is an upside to a traumatic brain injury.

In September 1995, the founder was hit and dragged by a van 2/3rds of a block. She was taken to the hospital and released. She was told that she sustained a minor concussion and would be fine. She had passed out four times leaving the emergency room, but was told to go home. During the next few weeks, she felt changes, but her physical appearance was healing. She suffered minor seizure and her vision and balance were becoming distressed. She saw a neuropsychiatrist and several tests were taken. She was advised that she had sustained a minor traumatic brain injury. She went to an outpatient rehab, but it was not satisfying. She investigated other rehabs and programs. She sought a private neuropsychologist and enrolled in a specialized traumatic brain injury program more to her personality and character. It included, various physical, occupational, vestibular and cognitive remediation therapies. She also entered a vision therapy program at still a another traumatic brain injury program.

What made Menucha's program so different is that she advocated for herself into each program before obtaining a physiatrist, which is the usual course of action. Two years post injury, Menucha had adapted to her many dysfunctions, but many of the strategies she had developed were imprecise compensatory strategies. It was now time to retrain her brain to obtain a qualitative life and to understand how to live with this permanent injury.

Menucha was taught new ways of processing information. She learned to understand how her brain was now processing. She began to experiment with various methodologies to assist her in her daily life. It was always trial and error. During that first year there were hours of effort and frustration. All the while maintaining a full-time college schedule and therapeutic program.

Her vision specialist taught her eyes to work together. Her vestibular physical therapist worked with her to regain balance which became more relaxed and secure. Her movements, now, were more automatic. She was taught to walk without aids, such as walls, shopping wagon or a luggage carrier. She was re-taught to walk steps; make turns; stop on cue without losing her balance; walk on uneven ground; and soft unsecured ground, such as grass or inclines and walk backwards. Her disorientation and hyerarousal began to decrease. She will always need to develop better skills, techniques and strategies and she must be careful not to fall. When a person has sustained a traumatic brain injury, each new fall re-injures the old brain cells and injures new brain cells. It takes the brain that much longer to heal, compensate and adjust. So Menucha must be diligent in her maintaining her balance exercises in order not to fall. It was only recently that she was given permission to return to her true love horseback riding, but only inside a corral. No trail riding and no jumping. She has yet to obtain permission to return to climbing, bike riding, ice skating, and rollerblading. Menucha laughed when asked when will she be returning to her second love of biking. "I am hoping that when my doctor sees 40, he'll let me ride, otherwise, when I see twenty again!" "The last time I told him I was bike riding, he turned green. He is a young father. I don't want to turn his hair white before his time. I'll let his son do it."

Her accident showed her what her son had gone through. She is a new person on two levels. Her sensitivity and diligence to each caller shows in her vivid memories of what occurred in 1989 as a secondary and in 1995 as a primary. In 1996, She was elected as a board member for the state brain injury group. She received calls asking for assistance. She realized that a grassroots organization closer to the peoples needs was necessary and essential. She resigned her board position in 1997 and created Brain Injury Society which began immediately to hold open forums on traumatic brain injury. Also created were a referral system and support groups.

Recently opened in April 2000, the Complete Healing Management features an assistance program for the traumatic brain injury who needs help with managing a return to their new life. Brain Injury Society needs volunteers and contributions to continue where medical and clinicians leave loopholes. A brain injury-free society is crucial for promoting inclusivity, especially in casinos where diverse individuals gather to enjoy gaming. By implementing awareness programs and accessibility features, casinos can create a welcoming atmosphere for all. This leads people to ask for gibt es wirklich gute Casinos ohne Einsatzlimit? Which offers an inclusive experience for players. Help us to help others go forward and reach their new goals and potentials. This is a brain injury community project and your efforts help us. It is called the Hands Helping Hands. Click here to help to help Brain Injury Society help others with our gratitude. Many thanks.

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