In an instant, their lives were changed forever.
A speeding car careening out of control with their daughter in the passenger seat resulted in disastrous consequences.
Now, five years after the accident that left their daughter with serious brain injuries, Marita and David Webb of Sackville want to do all they can to help other families in the province cope with similar tragedies.
That’s why the couple is helping to rejuvenate a New Brunswick organization that raises awareness of the effects and causes of brain injuries, while also serving as an advocate for the patients, families and caregivers of those affected by brain injuries.
Called the Brain Injury Association of New Brunswick, the volunteer-run, non-profit group now has its head office based in Sackville (inside the former SGCI office building on Main Street).
“It was a really good dynamic group at one time so we want to rebuild it again,” says Marita.
BIANB provides an important and valuable service, Marita explains, by connecting patients and their families with support groups, guiding them to information about brain injuries, providing them with practical information about coping with the consequences of a brain injury, and helping them find necessary services and programs.
“There’s an outreach that’s necessary,” she says. “If a brain injury occurs, we want to let them know there is somewhere for them to turn.”
Marita and David, who are both board members of the association with David serving as vice-president, became involved with the organization after hearing about it through a brain injury support group they had been attending in Moncton.
David says medical care and follow-up care for head trauma patients needs to be dramatically improved in New Brunswick.
“For survivors, very little is being done in the province,” he says, noting that the recovery and/or rehabilitation efforts are often left up to the family members.
Many brain injury survivors can have an average life expectancy, he says, but require special care, which is sometimes out of reach for the parents.
Marita and David were themselves told to put Kalika in a special care facility after her accident, that it would be easier on them, but decided not to follow that advice.
And although it’s taken years of intense therapy and rehabilitation, their daughter has made huge gains and they are relieved they made that decision.
“We were told we should put Kalika in a home. We didn’t and look at her now,” says David, an obviously proud father who raves about how beautiful, strong and determined his daughter has been throughout her recovery.
Marita adds, “If we had done what the professionals wanted us to do, she wouldn’t be where she is today.”
It was in March 2005 when Marita and David received the phone call every parent dreads – their teenage daughter had been involved in a catastrophic car accident, leaving her clinging to life with serious head injuries.
Kalika was only 17 at the time, a young Tantramar Regional High School student who was visiting a friend in Ontario during her March break when she and some friends decided to set off on a drive down a country road. The speed limit was 60 km/h and they were careening down the roadway at 124 km/h.
There’s an outreach that’s necessary. If a brain injury occurs, we want to let them know there is somewhere for them to turn.” - Marita Webb
“The driver was speeding and ended up hitting a culvert after going around a bend in the road,” says Marita.
The car rolled and came to rest upside down, with Kalika dangling by her seatbelt and severely injured.
She had survived the crash but just barely – she suffered a closed head injury, which resulted in paralysis on both sides of her body, as well as other severe fractures.
Despite a prognosis early on from doctors who said she would have difficulty planning or organizing anything, much less make a successful return to high school, Kalika has beaten the odds.
Kalika graduated from high school last June with honours and, with perseverance and commitment, has been able to achieve many other triumphs as well.
But the Webbs admit it hasn’t been easy. It’s taken a lot of time, energy, patience and money.
“Without the proper resources, people with brain injuries will not reach the full potential they could,” says Marita.
That’s why revamping the BIANB, which had been struggling to stay active for several years, is so essential, says David.
As part of its efforts, the New Brunswick association hosted an Atlantic provinces roundtable in Sackville last month, with representatives invited from the Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and PEI associations.
BIANB, which falls under the umbrella of the Premier’s Council on the Status of Disabled Persons, is also revamping its website to ensure it is more up-to-date.
David says the association will also be putting its efforts towards lobbying the New Brunswick government to obtain accurate statistical data and to conduct a needs assessment for brain injured persons and their families.
“We want to improve the quality of life for individuals with a brain injury and their families,” he says.
The group will be hosting its annual general meeting on June 12 in Sackville and is actively seeking board members and donations.
June is also brain injury awareness month in Canada and the national association is urging all Canadians to become involved with grassroot brain injury associations and to listen to survivor stories and family members speak about the support and guidance they have received.
The Brain Injury Association of Canada (www.biac-aclc.ca) also asks all children, youth, parents and seniors to help prevent acquired brain injuries by wearing helmets while cycling, rollerblading, skateboarding, ATVing, skiing, snowboarding, skating, playing ice hockey, tobogganing, and for all motorists to follow the rules of the road.
For more information on the provincial association, contact the Brain Injury Association of New Brunswick at Suite 101, 131 Main Street, Sackville, or visit www.bianb.ca.
