Picture this, you’re wandering back to your car, the parking lot is a little icy and you slip, hit your head and you wake up in a hospital. You have no memory of what’s going on and you seem to be forgetting what just happened. You can’t really feel your fingers and you feel like your co-ordination is off, the balance just isn’t there.
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That fall caused damage to the brain in what’s considered an acquired brain injury. Could happen to anyone, it’s important to be careful. I’ve been thinking a lot about the brain and injuries recently. In Lloydminster, we have the Lloydminster and Area Brain Injury Society (LABIS).
They provide programming, support and resource sharing for those who have suffered a brain injury. LABIS has what I’d consider a truly made in Lloydminster story. Just a couple of people who saw a need for something and acted.
It all began when Pat Tenney’s father suffered a stroke and Doris Laybourne’s son sustained a traumatic brain injury due to a horse accident.
When they returned to the community, they realized there was a lack of support for brain-injured people and their families in the Lloydminster community.
A letter was sent to the Meridian Booster explaining the need for the services and an information meeting was set for Jan. 14, 1986. The 18 people in attendance resolved that a society was needed to support Lloyd and the surrounding area and the ball kept rolling. LABIS would be incorporated in Saskatchewan on Oct. 8, 1986, and then a few years later in Alberta in 1989.
The first program was developed in 1987, the Life Enrichment Program. It was designed to be educational, recreational and social for participants.
I picked a good day to go into LABIS to rummage through old history books as it was one of their program days. LABIS staff happily played games and interacted with the people using their service. If I had to describe it as anything, it all felt, normal. These people whose lives have been changed by an acquired brain injury got to enjoy a relaxing afternoon hanging out and playing games.
As I sat on the comfy leather chairs, listening to soft music under dim lighting I was taken back to past decades when LABIS first started. Photos depicted people going bowling, sitting around a campfire at Bud Miller Park, taking part in the annual Lloyd Ex Fair parade and doing plenty of crafts.
The thing I noticed that was consistent throughout all the photos I saw, was the immense smiles on the faces of volunteers and participants. The work done by LABIS is invaluable. It gives people using their service a sense of normality and gives the people who normally care for them some time to rest and relax.
I’ve been on a bit of a kick this year talking to non-profits and trying to spread a more positive word, as we’re constantly surrounded by negativity. There are non-profits, like LABIS, who are always in need of volunteers, board members and donations to help keep them going. Without their services, Lloydminster would lose a valuable resource that we likely don’t think about too often.
One thing I’ll remember is being surrounded by the joyous sounds of games and fun on a very windy Lloydminster afternoon and the story of individuals who pushed for a much-needed service in the Border City.
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