Sharon Pancho was a full-time manager at a McDonald’s on Kaua‘i when she suffered a stroke in her early 40s. While she could still perform meaningful work, she was unable to perform the same job and could not return to
Sharon Pancho was a full-time manager at a McDonald’s on Kaua‘i when she suffered a stroke in her early 40s. While she could still perform meaningful work, she was unable to perform the same job and could not return to her former position.
Maria Dorado, whose daughter sustained a brain injury from a car accident in her early 20s, struggled to find support and activities that were appropriate for her daughter who had difficulty speaking and walking.
Of those who acquire brain or spinal cord injury, “approximately 80 percent never go back to their full-time position,” said Suzie Woolway, Think Big! co-founder and a speech pathologist and partner with ‘Ohana Sports Medicine in Kalaheo.
Six years ago, Woolway, Pancho and Dorado, formed Think Big!, a support group to help those who acquired brain injury, especially those over 22 years old. Woolway said it is a gap group, which is provided very few programs and activities.
The gap group on Kaua‘i is substantial. “Statistics show that more than 700,000 people every year sustain brain injury and most are between the ages of 15 and 30. If one percent of the population of Kaua‘i are living with disabilities from brain injury, that comes out to around 640 people,” she said.
Today, the support group helps more than 25 members “of all shapes, colors and ages,” she said, and is thinking bigger. This Saturday, Think Big! is holding a mini conference to discuss a program that would blend Kaua‘i Community College students with the support group participants.
The half-day event will be held at the Office of Continuing Education building at KCC from 8 a.m. to noon and includes breakfast. Speakers include Woolway and Louanne M. Lisk, a clinical neuropsychologist.
This program with the college is a new direction for the support group. Initially, it teamed up with different agencies such as Hawai‘i Disability Rights Center, Vocational Rehabilitation, Hawai‘i Center for Independent Living, to name just a few, she said. Think Big! also worked with different specialists such as nutritionists, physical therapists and occupational therapists, she said, “anyone who we thought could help us be better advocates for ourselves and each other.”
“Putting the survivors into a program like this helps them step out and take control of their own life. I’m not asking for handouts. If you rely on state and federal funding, you’re vulnerable to the cuts,” she said.
Survivors “continue to grow and change after an ABI. They need a supportive, nonjudgmental environment to continue to gain and use new skills. KCC is a perfect place for this, just by being a college,” Woolway said.
At the same time, she said Think Big! can also support KCC in some of its programs including gardening, nursing, early intervention, aviary and culinary. An example is an artist in Think Big! who can offer his knowledge and talents to the students.
Those receiving the service who also provides a service is what sustainability is all about, she said.
“You can’t always be the one receiving aid.”
To register for the KCC conference sponsored by YMCA of Kaua‘i and Think Big!, call Woolway at 808-652-0267 or email woolway.suzie@gmail.com.
• Jane Esaki, business writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 257) or by emailling jesaki@thegardenisland.com.
