Look and Listen

Biography

Rebekah Vandergriff is a mother of three girls (all born post-injury), a wife of a loving father, and intelligent man, Jeff Vandergriff, a Licensed Master of Social Work (all education post-injury), and a personality that doesn't stop giving. I will not let my status as "Disabled", or "Hadicapped" stand in my way. If I put my mind into achieving a task, it will get done. The writing of "What Day Is It?" A Family's Journey Through Traumatic Brain Injury, is testimony to that fact.

Inspiration

I was inspired to write "What Day Is It?" by being witness to the suffering of people who have had to go through any physical challenge. By working with people who have had any degree of brain injury, and assisting them to become an independent, respected, member of society. Being a survivor of brain injury, I realize the importance of being treated like an adult. When a person has an accident that causes a brain injury, these people caught in this waiting phase in life, while their brain heals. I confront issues most people run from. Especially, if this accident changes a person's physical abilities. The process of re-defining my goals, helped me understand what issues to confront in my story. Personally having to change my self-definition, all my life goals, change who I thought I would or could become, into a more realistic image can be difficult stuff to comprehend. This re-definition is the hardest work that any adult is forced to confront in all of life's challenges, and I hope through sharing my struggle makes this process more bearable for at least one person.