Walter Kilcullen - #5Thoughts Flashback: Harris, Human, and Harriet

Walter was born and raised in Kearny, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City with a population of about 60,000. He liked everything about the town and Kearny High School. The town was ethnically diverse, as was Kearny High School. He did reasonably well academically and played basketball and baseball all four years.

One day a nurse came up to him and told him about a mentoring program offered by the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey. After a training session, he became Sandy’s mentor along with five others. After 20 years he is still helping Sandy, who is now 59.

What does a mentor do? Mentors try to get the survivor as many benefits possible — housing, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. Walter introduces activities like handicapped horseback riding, joining a support group, finding work opportunities, etc. He always helps them set goals that include gaining as much independence as possible. He takes each of the survivors he mentors out to lunch at least once a week.

When he became a mentor, he decided to learn as much as he could about brain injury. He joined a support group, read books, and subscribed to magazines. He has leaned much in the last 20 years but continue to learn. He wrote and published two books (Brain Injury: Living a Productive Life After a Stroke or Traumatic Brain Injury & Stroke: Promising Research that Could Change Your Life) and currently publishes a free online magazine called Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Life Magazine. (You can subscribe by emailing him at [email protected].) Over the years he has mentored many survivors. Some have died, some have moved, and some have moved on and continued their journeys on their own. Every one of them has learned to make the most of their lives with a just a little help from him. He is currently mentoring five survivors, and after 20 years he still enjoy his role as a mentor.

 

Brain Injury Peer Visitor Association Webiste - here

#5 Thoughts Friday: Harris, Human, and Harriet

 

For more information you can visit www.biamd.org or call the free helpline at 1-800-221-6443.

 

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