Sask. faces funding gaps for brain injury services

The driver of the truck who hit Nikki Shanks when she was just three years old was never supposed to be on the road that day.

He had a suspended licence after getting caught drinking and driving, according to Nikki’s mom.

“We had a great day with family and then by 7:30, life was changed,” said Nikki’s mom, Jannet.

“You never forget that. You never forget the crash that you heard.”

After the crash, Nikki was put into a medically induced coma and her parents were told to say their goodbyes in case their daughter didn’t pull through. But she did and a long, hard road of rehabilitation followed.

“It was really hard because I had to learn how to swallow again,” said Nikki.

She said the hardest part was learning to walk again.

Now 27, Nikki still lives with her parents because she needs ongoing support to deal with the long-term effects of the brain injury she suffered that day.

But Jannet said they ’ve achieved all the hopes and dreams they set for themselves and even surpassed some of them.

“The (Saskatchewan) Brain Injury Association (SBIA) has played a big role in all that,” she said.

The SBIA, which had its annual Brain Boogie event in Wascana Park on Saturday, aims to prevent brain injuries and improve the lives of survivors and their families.

The Brain Boogie is a fun walk held in five cities around the province and raises money and awareness about brain injuries.

“Brain injuries are actually the No. 1 killer and disabler of people under 44,” said SBIA executive director Glenda James.

Since James joined SBIA eight years ago, the association has focused on creating programming for younger people. She said the most common age of brain injury survivors is 15 to 26.

“People don’t understand that this is an epidemic,” she said.

Millions of people across North America experience brain injuries every year and James said that without a cure, prevention is key and is a focus in a lot of their programming.

“People will be really surprised to learn that falls are the No. 1 cause, followed very closely by motor vehicle accidents,” she said.

For brain injury survivors, she said resources in Saskatchewan are some of the best in the country, but that there are still big gaps that need to be addressed, particularly when it comes to housing and respite services.

“There aren’t easy-to-access respite services for family who are taking care of somebody who needs that constant care,” said James. “We have young people, we have teenagers, under-30-yearolds in geriatric nursing homes.”

She said private-care homes can’t afford to take them in because they get paid half as much for a brain injury survivor as a senior, despite having exactly the same needs.

“Maybe someday, I can live on my own,” said Nikki.

But she can’t do it alone.

“We’ve come to realize that there has to be a support system,” said Jannet.

Despite some of life’s challenges, Nikki said she lives life to the fullest and stays true to herself.

“Our motto is live today,” said Jannet.