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Ken, AKA Recycled Man
Ken & Harriet's Place-The History
Ken, Aitken ....The Recycled Man .....
My Story .... Brain Injury to Restoration from Brain Injury
From December 1995 to 2007
This is Ken at 7.45 a.m. in sunny Queensland, Australia. The sun starts to
rise at 5.00 a.m. and 4.30 a.m. is the time I get up. I am so excited about
life, I must get up and get into life again after six hours sleep. I am a
brain injured person from December 1995 (now eleven years ago) of all things
off a boogi-board in a metre of water in the surf at Peregian Beach (one of
the beaches north of Brisbane). We do a lot of surfing and swimming over
here as it is a subtropical climate.
I ended up in the Princess Alexandra Hospital here in Brisbane for six
months resulting from a big bleed on the brain from simply hitting the sand.
I was in a four week coma till early January 1996. I lost my ability to
talk, walk and have a rational mind for many months. In February 1996, I was
transferred to the Head Injuries Unit in the same hospital. Therapists
helped me to remember how to walk, and think again in a beginning way.
As result of this accident, I could readily have been in a wheelchair for
life, had major memory and thinking problems, severe social and behavioural
problems, which can be consequences of a brain injury. I count myself a very
fortunate man to have none of these. I have written my story 'The Recycled
Man'. I talk in more depth here on the issues of how to recover from a brain
injury in my story below. I am not the same man I was before my accident.
Harriet, my wife and two children experience this closely. I have gone into
in a new season of life which I am happily exploring .... the Gift of My
Accident!!. You can get over brain injury in short time!
My story .... Thriver Thinking ..... From Survivor to Thriver:
I had a severe brain injury falling off a boogie-board in shallow water in
the surf at Peregian Beach on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia in
December 1995 .... as simple as that. This was eleven years ago. I have
written my story 'The Rose Water Story' .... by Ken Aitken .... from when I
was in Hospital in February 1996. The story is about how to be a victor
though the worst situations in life. This is a short version of my story
compared to 'The Recycled Man' story with its the four chapters listed in
the page 'My Story' on this
<http://www.newearthcommunity.org/thriver_thinking.html>
New Earth Community
website. 'The Rose Water Story' can be downloaded as a
<http://www.newearthcommunity.org/pdfs/my_story/The_Rose_Water_Story.pdf>
PDF download = 567 KB.
I attribute my ongoing recovery primarily to my Christian Spirituality which
has brought healing, restoration and transformation of life purpose. A
Christian spirituality comes a consequence of having a Christian Worldview.
It isn't another Spirituality in the Post Modern Culture of many
spiritualities which are all seen to be equal. It is a unique Spirituality
which integrates the whole of life ..... of the Inner, Middle and Outer
Persons {Spirit, Soul (= mind, will and emotions) and the Physical Body}. It
means being a disciple of the Person of Jesus Christ, not a follower of a
Church as a Corporation. A Christian Spirituality could also be termed a
Spirituality from Jesus Christ. The heart of a Christian spirituality is
having an new identity through Jesus Christ. When you have an identity you
then have a purpose for being here.
The link between an identity and purpose is the structural axis for
restoration from a brain injury or maintaining a healthy direction in life
for anyone. Late in 2005 I was talking to my friend, Wayne Spyve. He
mentioned this really wonderful concept to which something within me
immediately responded. He said I should move from seeing myself as being a
Brain Injury Survivor, and think of myself and others who had been through
similar challenges, to seeing myself as a Brain Injury Thriver. This
radically changed the way I saw myself, my relationships and my ability to
influence others. My spirit kept calling out "You are a Thriver, not just a
Survivor".
The Context Of My Brain-injury: I ran a small Landscape Design and
Construction Company called 'New Earth Systems P/L' for 20 years doing
very creative, individual designer gardens for wealthy residential clients
around Brisbane . I was more an artistic sort of person, a lateral thinker
..... more artist than businessman. I thought of a landscape as would a
sculptor in a solid medium, but I saw it as a three-dimensional piece of
space which people walked through. This space changed with time as it grew
and changed with the time of day: shadows vs. sun patterns, boulders,
colour, plants, trees, earth-forms, solid structures and water. These were
the ingredients in a subtle flow of landscape design and construction.
Rather an intangible product to sell and run a business with!!
Out of this stage I built a structure for my life: my marriage with Harriet,
business and the house plus we had a family. See the
<http://kenandharrietshouse.blogspot.com/>
website on the house here.
It was a very difficult business in which to make money, mainly due to the
very non-standard and the seasonal nature of the work. My former life was
not sustainable ... my creativity in my business couldn't be standardised
vs. a success business needs to be like a biscuit cutter .. Making a few $$
off large numbers of components. That all changed overnight when I had a
simple accident but with severe consequences. I had a severe brain injury
falling off a boogie-board in shallow water in the surf at Peregian Beach on
the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia in December 1995 .... as simple
as that .... as I said above. This was over eleven years ago.
In this time frame, I have gone into in a new season of life. I went
through a real transformation of life whereby I went from being:
1. Physical Gardener (Outer Sustainability) >>>>> 2. Inner Life Gardener
(Inner Sustainability)
1. Outer Sustainability: In a gardening and agriculture sense ... can
certain practices be maintained... is what you doing now preparing the way
ahead for new life? Will these gardens go for twenty years in the future?
2. Inner Sustainability: In an ongoing personal sense .. Can your life be
maintained to? ... is what you doing now preparing the way ahead for new
life?
I have also discovered the significance of the Inner and Outer Life.
Sustainability I have come to see, has to be a wholistic view on life of
Inner, Middle and Outer Persons. Problems come because things do not change
from the Outside to Inside but from the Inside to the Outside. This side of
the accident, I was in hospital from the 8th of December 1995 till May 1996
(which is six months), I have really discovered people in a big way. I have
come to value people no matter who they are or what do and say. I have come
to see all people as made in the image or likeness of God. Even though
people may be broken people, we can all be restored through Jesus Christ
back into that image of God again. See the next section in this website on
the <http://www.newearthcommunity.org/thriver_thinking.html>
New Earth
Community website on a sustainable life and the question: 'What is
Spirituality'?
The result of my accident was such that I was:
o In a coma for four weeks from early December 1995 to early January 1996.
I felt like a three year old child in the first week after I woke up from
the coma with no control over my actions
o In hospital for six months
o Had to learn to walk, talk, eat solid food all over again
o I had to learn everything over again .... how dress myself etc.
o Get my brain back together from a very scrambled state since December
1995
o I lost a lot of intuitive ability to feel what other people are saying
..... although that has come back now
The one major thing that has come out of this accident is that I am on a
permanent life-long Income Protection Policy where I went from virtually no
work in 1995 to where I didn't have to ever work again. I talk more about
this in my story 'The Rose Water Story'. That is a real God-coincidence as
to how I came to have that in place four months before the accident I didn't
know I was going to have. Now you cannot get these policies at all in
Australia for business people.
Eleven years on, I wouldn't doing a fraction of what am doing now without
the principle of being synergistically linked to others. This has occurred
in the following ways:
* Harriet my Wife: First and foremost is my wife Harriet who would
drive every day to see me ..... for six months even while I was in a four
week coma. Harriet drove from Chambers Flat from where we live, to
Woolloongabba at the Princess Alexander Hospital. Finding a park outside the
hospital and walking in made journey of at least an hour. That was a journey
of 30 kms. each way. After the visit she had the long journey home again.
Harriet would sit by my bed for hours, reading to me and singing as she had
an understanding that even though I was in a coma, I could understand her.
This generous support which I received, was a very important part of my
recovery. Many other patients are not so fortunate.
. My Family: In 2007 (now eleven years on) it has become very
close again like a little community in and of itself, all members working
for the common good. This is because we all share in a common, a sustainable
life of structure, spirituality and social network. I have two children ....
Claire and Anthony .... they have been very supportive of me.
. Support from Friends: I not only had excellent support from my
wife but many, many friends throughout my hospitalisation where nearly 100
++ people came to see me over six months. Some people I hadn't seen for
fifteen years. My mind was not very good then but some friends would sit and
read for hours beside my bed.
. To hear in a coma .... Colin and Julianne: One day two of my
friends, Colin and Julianne had come to see me with their little baby. Even
though I was in a coma, I heard them talking. When you are in coma you can
hear people but cannot respond. Colin said to his wife 'Ken will not be
doing this in hurry'. Colin put the baby in my arms and I felt it lying
there. The photograph in the Rose Water story is of that occasion.
. Money from Friends: As soon as my injury occurred in December
1995, friends who I hadn't from for years, phoned Harriet from down south
even in other states to see how I was. People began to send notes of
encouragement to her with cheques of money: A$100.00, A$250.00, A$500.00 and
a A$1000.00 in one case
Inner and Outer Life: I have discovered in a major way, the importance of
the Inner and Outer Life. Everyone of us has a private space in our lives
that we carefully guard. I call it 'The Garden of Life' A garden is a
personal space you can go out into and to enjoy the peace, the cool air, the
shadows of trees, the sun shining with translucent light through tree leaves
and palm fronds, the perfume of beautiful blossoms. No one else comes there
except yourself and your family. Even friends do not just drop in. They are
invited out there with you after you have let them into your house.
Strangers who come are intruders and will be dwelt with by the police.
It is the same with relationships. You have enter someone's inner life with
their consent. You do this by valuing the person and listening intently to
what they say. By listening intently (consciously in a rational way and
unconsciously with your intuition), you are as it were gently knocking on
the door of their inner house. If that person trusts you, they will then
invite you into the garden of their life. Then you can talk gently back and
forth, establishing a relationship with them. They will then open their
door of their inner life at a later time if you knock. Keeping that process
going is a Sustainable Relationship. If I act suspiciously or try and crash
the door with a sledge hammer, I will not be let in. That is what I call an
Unsustainable Relationship.
Some Inner Life Gardens are very ordered whereas other are very weedy. Some
people do not know where they are. There are definite values and principles
of life which really work in everyday life. I say 'Go through open doors,
not closed doors .. Otherwise you will get a very sore forehead. .. Look not
at closed doors of the past but expect to find new doors of opportunity in
Life in the future which will open up for you'. That is why I have become an
Inner Life Gardener (Inner Sustainability) to hundreds of people around the
world by e-mail. This means to build an inner life of Structure,
Spirituality and Social Network.
Spirituality: In Western countries, the culture is highly individualised
(Competitive and Corporate). We often see only the physical things of life.
This is in contrast to many Eastern countries which have a different
perspective. There is a focus more on the family and the community
(Cooperative). A culture like this sees more the invisible, unseen things
of life.
Spirituality is an unseen dimension of life. This unseen dimension of life
has a direct effect on our lives here and now, if we let it. It is a
relationship with the universe and the personal higher power (God). We have
an outer person (our physical body), middle person of mind, will and
emotions, (our soul), inner person (our spirit). If our confidence and sense
of identity is only in the first two areas, these can be taken from us in a
moment but an ongoing personal relationship with a personal higher power
(God) is a permanent restoring aspect of life (i.e.. this is our definition
of a sustainable life).
More specifically then, our spirituality is implicit, i.e. is inward, self
evident and undefined. It refers to how the individual lives meaningfully
with the ultimate questions of life, his or her response to the deepest
truths as he or she comprehends these. There is a very real invisible
spiritual world. It answers such queries as:
* Who we are as people?
* What is the meaning of life?
* What values should I live by?
It is much deeper than being a rational experience of the mind, or just a
belief in something, but is a dynamic quality of life with interacts with
everything you do. It has very practical effects on such things as your self
image, your work, family, social network and the whole of life.
I discuss this more on my website at:
www.newearthcommunity.org/what_is_spirituality.html
We all have a spirituality of some kind to explain the world. A spirituality
is very powerful in the way it integrates our lives and the lives of many
others. In the end, spirituality leads to significance in life. There is
initially a Horizontal Spirituality which links us with each other, of me to
you and you to me. Then it links us further to the physical world and it
gives us directions on our relationship with the Earth and all other living
creatures.
Then there is a Vertical Spirituality which gives our relationship with a
Personal Higher Power who is the infinite - personal God. Another way of
describing this spirituality is in this way:
The Internal Spirituality: .. The Interconnectedness of all life: The
Spirituality of the Interconnectedness of all things between the living and
non living .. This leads to a horizontal spirituality with the purpose to
aid others to a better quality of life and belief system
The External Spirituality: ... The infinite-personal God .. Transcendent
..... outside the Created Cosmos .. This is a vertical spirituality .. Any
healing and restoration has to come here then spread out horizontally to the
spirituality detailed below.
For me, I have a Christian Spirituality. This then means that there are two
parts to the world: An invisible Spiritual Realm and a very visible Created
realm. The first part 'The Invisible Spiritual' leads to a focus on the
Presence of God through the Holy Spirit with what I call a Christian
spirituality. It is a 'Spirituality from Jesus Christ'. This is quite
different to a Christian religious approach. See the differences below.
When I speak about Christianity, I mean a Christianity which is focused on
the resurrected Jesus Christ. It is also focused on the Holy Spirit who He
gave to be His personal representative to each person here on earth. It is
Spirit-filled Christianity and not a ritualised, hierarchal Christianity
that has Corporation view of itself. Harriet (my wife) and I have personally
share in the life of this 'Spirituality from Jesus Christ'. It is this life
which has sustained us and our family of two children since my severe brain
injury eleven ++ years ago. It enabled us to go on four week holidays to
England, Italy and France in the last few years. See our Travel Blog:
http://travelblogkenandharriet.blogspot.com/
Spirituality is quite different to Religion.
Religion is explicit (outwardly evident and defined) and is marked by four
things: a cult, creed, code (ethics) and community (which is more inward
looking.
My concern and passion now is to make a major difference in the world. This
is to connect and share with other survivors as well everyone around the
world and share some of my hope and love for life.
BALANCE:
At the moment in my restoration from brain injury, my balance is still out.
I have to be careful of where I walk:
. Initially walked with a broad base but have been told recently, I
walk very normally now
. Used to be able to balance on a thin edge like a metal traffic
barrier and walk the entire length or jump from rock to rock with the
greatest of ease when I was rock fishing in the ocean
. I cannot ride a bicycle now .. Used to ride for kilometres when I
had one when I was younger. I would now fall off a bicycle from a lack of
balance
. Cannot walk up narrow paths as I have to be very careful
. I have to come down backwards still on steep steps at home whilst
holding on to the banister
. Whilst on holidays at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains New South Wales
in May 2002, I went down 100 steps to the first sister of the Three Sisters.
It had a double handrail and. I went down frontwards even though cliffs fell
300 metres in front! Something must be changing as I haven't been able to go
near steep edges due to unsteadiness with balance
DECISION MAKING:
Initially my mind was slowed right down .. It is hard to take initiative for
one's life and make clear decisions. The result of this for me, is that my
wife Harriet had to learn to manage all the small decision making, the
driving and managing all finances on a day to day basis as we ran a small
landscape design and construction business up to then and I did most of
that. That has finished now as the whole business revolved around my
creative design talents
However, in decision making on larger things, most things in 2007, are easy
for me to decide on. I organise quite complex building decisions on our
property. See the Blog Site: <http://overviewofseptember2007.blogspot.com/>
http://overviewofseptember2007.blogspot.com/
I go on short day or weekend outings with my wife. See the Blog Site:
<http://whalewatchingsparadise.blogspot.com/>
http://whalewatchingsparadise.blogspot.com/
When I am at home, I spend a lot of time on my computer. I do lot of writing
on new blog sites through the free program 'Blogger':
<http://www.blogger.com/start>
http://www.blogger.com/start It
like setting
up a free book which you can send to someone on the Internet. In this book
you can add chapters of writing called posts and with photographs inserted
(as many as you like). You come back at a later date and edit your posts,
delete and add more photographs or add another post if you so desire. Other
people who receive your blog in an e-mail ,can add comments to your blog
site at the area indicated at the bottom and other people who read what they
have said, can add comments to what they have said. It becomes possible to
have a long term world wide discussion on your blog site.
You too can make up blogs and send photographs to other people around the
world. When you have created a blog with a name, you then go through a section
of preset templates for colour and layout. Then you can add chapters of
writing called posts and with photographs inserted in the post. I have
nearly 80 blogs now which I keep coming and editing or adding fresh posts.
See some of my travel blogs at:
. <http://chateauxvillandry.blogspot.com/>
http://chateauxvillandry.blogspot.com/
<http://eiffeltowerken.blogspot.com/>
http://eiffeltowerken.blogspot.com/
<http://venicetrip.blogspot.com/>
http://venicetrip.blogspot.com/
..... just photographs
. <http://sorrentovmills.blogspot.com/>
http://sorrentovmills.blogspot.com/
<http://ravelloandvillacimbrone.blogspot.com/>
http://ravelloandvillacimbrone.blogspot.com/
<http://cinqueterre1.blogspot.com/>
http://cinqueterre1.blogspot.com/
<http://travelblogkenandharriet.blogspot.com/>
http://travelblogkenandharriet.blogspot.com/
Some blogs for sharing the joy and inspiration of life:
<http://thedamkap.blogspot.com/>
http://thedamkap.blogspot.com/
<http://thepowerofcreativitykap.blogspot.com/>
http://thepowerofcreativitykap.blogspot.com/
<http://mountainwingskap.blogspot.com/>
http://mountainwingskap.blogspot.com/
<http://africaflying.blogspot.com/>
http://africaflying.blogspot.com/
<http://thecabride.blogspot.com/>
http://thecabride.blogspot.com/
Some blogs for sharing my past history:
. <http://themullumbimbytrain.blogspot.com/>
http://themullumbimbytrain.blogspot.com/
<http://thecairnstrip.blogspot.com/>
http://thecairnstrip.blogspot.com/
Application of Blogs for self help group communication:
. <http://braininjurysurvivornetwork.blogspot.com/>
http://braininjurysurvivornetwork.blogspot.com/
.... I use this blog which is included in an e-mail broadcast that connects
hundreds of brain injury
survivors around the world.
When you have set your first blog, you can edit your blog (or later blogs)
through what is called a Dashboard. This a central control panel is which
only entered by you through your e-mail address and password. Then you have
access to functions such as: View blog, Create a blog, manage posts (ie. The
chapters you have written in your blog), settings (where can edit the name
of your blog or delete your blog altogether).
Brain Injury Survivor Travels Around the World:
Even though I have had a very severe brain injury eleven years ago, I have
gone through a process of restoration from being a brain injury to a brain
injury thriver.
With the freedom of life we have and having no mortgage on our five acres of
land plus the house we built, Harriet and I have been travelling overseas
every two years to see the world. In between we have been seeing parts of
Australia which is a very large country. We are also a member of
<http://www.wyndhamvrap.com/home>
Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific and
because they are linked with Interval International, we have available free
accommodation in 3 star apartments around the world. These are free of cost.
See the travel blog at: <http://travelblogkenandharriet.blogspot.com/>
http://travelblogkenandharriet.blogspot.com/
I am now in a new season of life which I am really enjoying. I no longer a
brain injury survivor but a brain injury thriver.
Well, I would love to hear from everyone who reads this story from around
the world,
Regards,
Ken Aitken
Ken Aitken (B.Sc)
Ken and Harriet
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