Hi! My name is Marie Cooney, and I am very proud to have the opportunity to start blogging regularly for Lash and Associates Publishing. I have survived, not one, but two Traumatic Brain Injuries. Both happened while I was working as a stagehand in the theater. Most people don’t know how dangerous the theater can be. When something bad happens, it is often very bad. Making “the magic of theater” isn’t always so magical. When a performer gets injured, it’s news. When it’s a stagehand, it’s Work Comp, if you’re lucky.
After my first closed head injury, I self-moderated my return to work. Like many TBI survivors, I was simply trying to survive. I didn’t follow through on retaining a good lawyer and my rights to lost wages, all reasonable and necessary medical care, and retraining if necessary. Like many TBI survivors, my long term relationship ended after my injury. I didn’t believe it when my partner ended our ten year relationship with a two week notice. I was fired as friend and life-partner. What made it even harder is she never explained why.
Once, she said to me, “If you have a brain injury, there is no hope!” I ran upstairs, grabbed a medical report, and shoved it in her hands yelling, “Don’t you dare ever tell me there is no hope!” I have since learned I may have been experiencing the “heightened emotions” of some TBI survivors. Whatever the reason for the breakup, I left almost everything behind. But I fought for Tucker.
My Savior Tucker
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