Helping families cope with brain injury
Clients and their loved ones who show what’s possible after trauma motivate nurse
Caron Gan, RN, was in line at a pharmacy recently when she spotted one of her former clients. Seven years earlier, the woman had suffered a serious traumatic brain injury (TBI). “The prognosis was poor,” Gan says. “And yet, here she was working behind a pharmacy counter. She wasn’t a pharmacist yet, but she was on her way.”
Gan was thrilled. As an honourable mention recipient in this year’s Toronto Star Nightingale Awards, Gan wears many hats, including researcher, clinical team investigator, educator and advanced practice nurse/family therapist, with the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Team at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. “It’s that kind of thing that fuels me,” she says. “It’s the clients and the families who come back years later and show me what is possible.”
Gan has been working in the field of traumatic brain injury since 1991, when she first joined Holland Bloorview as a student and then as a staff member. Her recognition of the crucial role families can play in supporting patients with TBI drove her to add clinical research and education to her roster of jobs.
“When a brain injury happens,” Gan points out, “it’s not just the individual that is affected, it’s the entire family. One day life is fine and parents are dreaming of their kids’ futures. Then there’s this sudden and unexpected injury. Their worlds are turned upside down.” As a result, family members often experience depression, anxiety, traumatic stress and other reactions.
Gan “bears witness to their trauma,” then counsels and advocates for them, liaising with the overall team. To help her in her role, she became a registered psychologist and a marriage and family therapist.
“Caron really exemplifies what we want all our clinicians to be,” says her colleague Elaine Widget, senior director for rehab at Complex Continuing Care at Holland Bloorview. “She is committed and passionate and dedicated to her work. But most of all, she is so compassionate toward families.”
Recognizing a need for more understanding around family support, intervention and needs following TBI, Gan launched clinical research to determine best practices and then developed training and assessment material for the health-care community.
“There are such limited resources for professionals around supporting families after kids have brain injuries,” she says. “We’ve trained over 350 people from Ontario, Canada and even as far away as Sweden.”
In spite of her tireless work, Gan insists it is ultimately the families of kids with brain injuries who are the real heroes. “When a child has a serious brain injury, the effects are often lifelong,” she says. “The professionals are only there for a short time. It’s the families that help the child navigate the transitions. Those families have taught me about the power of hope, perseverance, and resilience.”