In 2002, former North Battleford resident Bruce McEachern was servicing an air conditioner when he fell off a roof. In that instant, his life changed.
He was living on the lower mainland of British Columbia at the time. How he came to fall, he has no idea.
鈥淚 was nowhere near the edge, there鈥檚 no rhyme or reason why I went towards the edge,鈥� he says.
He had inside access to the roof, so he wouldn鈥檛 have been trying to get down that way.
鈥淚 was near my van,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 maybe thought I left a door open and went to check, or heard something.鈥�
He has no recollection, even though, despite traumatic injuries, he was found conscious, having dragged himself to a point where he was sitting up against the building, moaning for help.
鈥淚 don't remember that day at all, or the week after, or much of the next two years,鈥� says McEachen.
Physically, it was a long road to regain mobility, and he is still living with pain and fatigue.
鈥淭he first two years were probably the roughest,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 was in a wheelchair for six months. It was another couple of months after that before I could take full weight, start walking. It was a couple years before I felt semi-normal.鈥�
His injuries required extensive treatment.
鈥淚 have about five feet of scarring on me from where they did surgeries.鈥�
But surgery couldn鈥檛 help when it came to the primary reason the fall changed his life. He had sustained a brain injury.
鈥淚t changed my life, affected every area of life.鈥�
McEachern says every brain injury is different.
鈥淚'm quite fortunate,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 am fairly high functioning, still able to drive, but unable to work.鈥�
His memory has been significantly affected, although it has improved.
鈥淚t's come a long, long way. The first couple of years I basically didn't have a yesterday, no memory, except for certain things that got repeated and repeated and repeated,鈥� he says. 鈥淒ay to day I couldn鈥檛 remember.鈥� He chuckles, 鈥淚 could watch the same movie every day for the first time.鈥�
His long-term memory is still mainly intact, he adds. It鈥檚 short term that is more affected. For example, he remembers his birth date easily, but not his age.
His ability to read is still intact, but retaining what he鈥檚 read is not.
鈥淚f I read a page, I might remember the last line,鈥� he says.
He can still do mathematics in his head, he adds, but by the time he goes through the process, he鈥檚 probably forgotten why he was doing it in the first place.
"I'll do single equations in my head, and I usually get it right, but I have no idea what the question was 鈥� absolutely none 鈥� most of the time, 鈥� he says. 鈥淓specially if it鈥檚 more than one process where you have to do a couple of things in your head to get to the answer, I can never remember the question. So, if it's really important, I have to write it down.
McEachern also experiences mental fatigue, especially if there is a lot of stimulus around him. This is common to people with brain injuries, he says. In his case, it is exacerbated by ongoing pain from his other injuries.
鈥淭here's a lot of other things that come into play,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f my pain level is up or I haven't slept well 鈥� I will fatigue mentally a lot faster.
His mental processes can also be slowed down by too much stimulation, which is one of the reasons he decided to move back to the area about seven years ago.
He鈥檇 been home for a visit and was staying at his brother Dan鈥檚 cabin at Aquadeo Beach, which has since become his home.
鈥淚t was kind of odd, because one night when I went to the outhouse late at night, I walked around the corner and it was like I stepped into another world,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 didn't know what was going on, I just froze. There was something different that I didn't recognize.鈥�
He began to believe he鈥檇 lost his ability to hear.
鈥淚 stood there for a few more minutes in the silence, then I heard the coyotes in the distance. I realized I hadn't gone deaf, it was silent,鈥� says McEachern. 鈥淚 didn't recognize it.鈥�
He has found he functions better with the least amount of audio or visual stimulus as possible. Living in a city, where 鈥渇light or fight comes up pretty quickly鈥� would simply be too much, he says, despite the fact that there are more services in the larger cities for people with brain injuries.
鈥淭he more stimulus there is, the harder it is for me to function mentally,鈥� he says.
He has now purchased his brother鈥檚 cabin, winterized it, and is living there.
Something else he hasn鈥檛 been able to do with his brain injury is to manage his money.
鈥淚 got into huge debt in B.C. and my brother's been managing it for the last seven years and has turned that debt around to the positive.鈥�
McEachern fills his time with hobbies he enjoys, such as carving, leather-making, knife-making and 鈥渓ake鈥� activities such as boating. He was always an outdoorsy person.
He drives into North Battleford, usually once a week. He picks up his meals on wheels (prepping and preparing food is fatiguing due to his injured wrists), does whatever errands he needs to, sometimes has coffee with a friend or sits in on a game of cards.
鈥淚 usually play cards with my brother and my dad's old friends,鈥� he says. 鈥淒ad [Gus McEachern] passed away two years ago, and we're still playing cards in his shop with his friends. That's sort of my social life.鈥�
Every second week, he also attends a coffee group for brain injury survivors, which is also open to the family and their caregivers, called New Beginnings Acquired Brain Injury Support Group.
鈥淭here are a couple of different coffee groups in town,鈥� says McEachern.
He serves as the liaison between New Beginnings and the Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association, whose spring and fall retreats and annual camps he usually attends.
He recently returned from the camp (where he does actually camp because he enjoys camping) at Arlington Beach at Last Mountain Lake.
鈥淔or a lot of brain-injured people, we just don't relate to most other people,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat's why I like the retreats.鈥�
McEachern once tried to start a chapter of the Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association locally, but there wasn鈥檛 enough core interest, he says. However, he remains involved and is supportive of the association鈥檚 work to prevent brain injuries.
The Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association is a provincial, community-based organization working in partnership with other community organizations to deliver prevention and education programs to the public and to improve the lives of survivors and their families.
When he was still living in British Columbia, McEachern was also involved with the brain injury organization there, first attending meetings for the benefit of his wife, though they have since parted.
鈥淲hen I first started going, I didn't want to be there, and that's not uncommon,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 was trying to maintain a positive attitude but I found it energy sucking.鈥�
One man, however, was able to connect with him and would often pick him up for lunch or coffee. He also had an acquired brain injury.
鈥淗e was the only person I could relate to at the time, nobody else, because he understood what I was going through,鈥� said McEachern. 鈥淚f it wasn鈥檛 for that one person, I probably would never have gone back and I probably wouldn't be here now.鈥�
He adds, 鈥淲hen I got to the end of my rope financially and felt like I was failing in all areas of my life, I went for help and I found it completely different this time. It was a friendly, fun atmosphere and I could relate to the people there.鈥�
He still goes back to visit them when he鈥檚 out there, he says, in particular the friend who had been there for him. On his last visit he was able to express his thanks for what a difference he had made to his life.
鈥淚 didn't know at the tine, but he had been through a mentoring course and that's exactly what he was doing, he was mentoring me,鈥� says McEachern.
Now he tries to do the same.
鈥淭here are a few people I have met who鈥檝e been fairly new and I鈥檝e been able to be there for them,鈥� he says.
This past month, the month of June, has been Brain Injury Awareness Month, and McEachern is grateful to the City of North Battleford for making the proclamation.
The general public is generally unfamiliar with how acquired brain injuries can change someone鈥檚 life. It can even cause people to appear intoxicated, because balance problems are common among brain injury survivors.
鈥淚 don't often fall, but I often take a sidestep,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 common that people think you鈥檙e drunk or something because you can't walk straight.鈥�
He also says it鈥檚 often difficult for people to understand the difference between brain injury and mental illness or an intellectual disability.
鈥淭he whole mental process is slow, the intake and getting it out,鈥� says McEachern. 鈥淪ome of the smartest brain-injured people I know have the most difficulty expressing it. You have to be very patient with them, give them the time and space. They can be quite brilliant, it's just very hard for them to express it.鈥�
If the survivor appears physically normal, people have trouble understanding why they can鈥檛 do everything the same as they can.
鈥淭hey think, 鈥榊ou look normal, you sound normal, what's wrong with you?鈥� They just don't get it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 even know people who've had a brain injury and are fully recovered that don't get it.鈥�
Because acquired brain injury is misunderstood, some people don鈥檛 get the help they need, says McEachern, especially people with addictions.
鈥淎lcohol and drugs seem to affect the brain-injured worse and there are a lot of people who just fall between the cracks.鈥�
That鈥檚 why McEachern is hoping the awareness of what acquired brain injury is and how it affects people becomes more prevalent. It鈥檚 not always obvious.
鈥淔riends who knew me before and after, in a short visit they can't really tell the difference,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut if they hung around me long enough, they'd see it."
