Are you still a genius?
The question lingers in my mind as I ponder a riddle set out by Greg Goldberg. IB次元官网网址檓 not feeling like a genius and my grey matter isnB次元官网网址檛 serving me especially well, but IB次元官网网址檝e got nothing to complain about.
Seated around Goldberg are four guys whose brains betray them on a daily basis. They tend to forget things, struggle with problem solving, and can have fits of anger and impulsiveness.
But on this night, theyB次元官网网址檙e concentrated on brain-bending cognitive exercises while recording a Internet-broadcast game show called B次元官网网址淎re You Still a Genius?,B次元官网网址� one of GoldbergB次元官网网址檚 programs to help people recover from traumatic brain injuries.
He lays out the question: Make B次元官网网址渘ew doorB次元官网网址� one word. The four men chuckle a bit as I struggle. The answer is B次元官网网址渙ne word.B次元官网网址� Goldberg smiles as he tells me they can always add more contestants to the game show.
B次元官网网址淲e try to use all areas of the brain for cognitive ability,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淭his question is the logical going against the spatial.B次元官网网址�
Goldberg hosts his game show at Mary Cridge Manor, a nondescript apartment block on Yates Street that houses a dozen brain injury survivors, and is operated by the Cridge Centre for the Family.
The men enjoy an easy going camaraderie B次元官网网址� they have dinner, chat and tell off-coloured jokes. For the broadcast, Goldberg audio records their answers and stitches together a video using the menB次元官网网址檚 photos and slides of the questions. Now finished its second season, the game has a dedicated following and a stable of sponsors B次元官网网址� Safeway, Tim Hortons, Starbucks, ArbyB次元官网网址檚 and Thrifty Foods.
B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址橝re You Still a Genius?B次元官网网址� has caught fire. Last year we had 30 or 40 (online) visitors. Now its up to 150 to 160. Last week it was over 200,B次元官网网址� Goldberg says. B次元官网网址淚t forces you to think outside the box. A lot of people who watch the show think its easy to compete against brain injury survivors. I get emails saying B次元官网网址榯hey do a lot better than me.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Goldberg declares Bill Cawker, 51, the eveningB次元官网网址檚 winner, although as Cawker says, it more about B次元官网网址渇ood, fellowship and camaraderie.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淵ou come here and realize youB次元官网网址檙e not the only one with problems,B次元官网网址� Peter Brozik, 62, who suffered a stroke. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 fun. I like to laugh. ItB次元官网网址檚 fun to see how different guys relate to this kind of thing.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚 like interacting with other survivors with traumatic brain injuries. I know I have a place to go to and relate to other people without discrimination B次元官网网址� except for that guy,B次元官网网址� jokes Adam Rich, 35, pointing to Ben Smith, a stroke survivor. They have a laugh.
Goldberg, 45, a resident of Oak Bay, developed the game a part of the Blue Sheet Club, his free volunteer service to help brain injury survivors and their families cope with the inevitable and long-term changes to their lives. No two brain injuries are exactly the same, but personality changes, mood swings, impulse control and memory problems form a common thread.
The B.C. Brain Injury Association estimates about 22,000 people in B.C. suffer brain injuries each year. A 2011 study by the Cridge showed at least half of the homeless population have brain injuries, and most of those suffered the injury before becoming homeless.
B次元官网网址淐hanges after a brain injury are significant. It effects relationships, controlling anger, maintaining a job, basic life skills,B次元官网网址� says Geoff Sing, manager of brain injury services at the Cridge Centre. B次元官网网址淧ersonal relationships break down, you lose your job. There is significant loss. A brain injury ... can have a huge cost to society.B次元官网网址�
As a school teacher working in Ontario, Goldberg suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) after a gravel truck slammed into his car in 1998. He had a new wife, a job he loved and B次元官网网址渢he white picket fence.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 married, I have a house, IB次元官网网址檓 the happiest guy in the world. Bam B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 all gone,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淟ife can be altered in a flash.
B次元官网网址淚 made a promise that if I got healthy again, IB次元官网网址檇 do everything I could to give back to brain injury survivors and make the journey as smooth as I can.B次元官网网址�
Goldberg spent years in recovery and therapy, going through a typical arc of a TBI survivor. His marriage dissolved and he couldnB次元官网网址檛 concentrate enough to maintain his teaching job. He was angry and confrontational B次元官网网址� stores across Toronto banned him from entering. B次元官网网址淚 got into a lot of trouble with a very, very short fuse. I got mad at anything.B次元官网网址�
He moved to Victoria about 10 years ago while writing a book about his recovery B次元官网网址� Time with the Temporal Lobe B次元官网网址� in co-operation with the Canadian Brain Injury Association.
Physical exercise and blind determination allowed Goldberg to reach a point where he can help others, although effects from his injuries linger. He has nerve damage on the right side of his body, a permanent numbness, along with short term memory problems and fatigue.
Through the Cridge, Goldberg is the social co-ordinator for brain injury survivors B次元官网网址� events such as movies, outings, chatting and the game show. GoldbergB次元官网网址檚 recovery was marked with long periods of isolation B次元官网网址� he knows socializing is a key facet on the road to recovery.
B次元官网网址�(These guys) arenB次元官网网址檛 hard to work with. I know what they are going through,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淭hey have outbursts, they wonB次元官网网址檛 show up, theyB次元官网网址檒l be late and forget things. I know. I forget too. ItB次元官网网址檚 about acceptance, knowing there is no judgment and understanding they can be themselves.B次元官网网址�
GoldbergB次元官网网址檚 latest project, B次元官网网址渉elmet hair,B次元官网网址� is an effort to raise awareness about wearing a helmet while cycling and engaging in other risky activities. His inspiration emerged from a news article about people refusing to wear bike helmets for short trips, as it messed up their hair.
These days heB次元官网网址檚 spreading around stickers bearing B次元官网网址淗elmet hair or long term careB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淗elmet head or hospital bed,B次元官网网址� and is speaking at elementary schools across Greater Victoria.
As a prop, he drops four tomatoes that represent the lobes of the brain on the floor, with and without a helmet. Bruise your parietal lobe? Perhaps you wonB次元官网网址檛 be able to taste Christmas dinner, he tells the kids, or smell that turkey coming out of the oven.
B次元官网网址淲hen they see the tomatoes get crushed, they know. They get excited and become part of the cause,B次元官网网址� Goldberg says. B次元官网网址淭hey know the brain is a valuable organ. Kids put on helmets. They believe in it. They arenB次元官网网址檛 about judgment or looking cool.B次元官网网址�
The B次元官网网址渉elmet hairB次元官网网址� campaign has picked up steam and found sponsorship, and should keep Goldberg occupied well into 2013. Last year he remarried and through 15 long years of incremental recovery, has built a new life for himself.
B次元官网网址淎 big thing is to work within your limitations and accept that itB次元官网网址檚 OK to fail,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淎 patient wonB次元官网网址檛 get better tomorrow or next week. ItB次元官网网址檚 a long process. You just have to do the best you can every day.B次元官网网址�
To see the Are You Still a Genius? game show see . To contact Goldberg about the helmet hair campaign email greg@tbitalks.com.
editor@saanichnews.com
