As a survivor of brain injury who utilizes services associated with the Connecticut Department of Social Services ABI Waiver program, I was interested in finding out more about those who help develop and oversee my support services. Often there is a divide between providers and those they support and in this post I ask The Supported Living Group’s Executive Director, Jamie Arber, to open up about himself to help me better understand what motivates him to support me and others in the brain injury community.

It didn’t occur to me until days later that I had been in a ski accident and was totally paralyzed. A merciful doctor diagnosed me with locked-in syndrome. A blot clot formed in my neck, broke free, and entered my brain stem causing an ischemic stroke; I was lucky to be alive. He didn’t need to explain further – I was trapped in my body or ‘locked-in.’ What hope did I have to live a normal life? I’d ruminate on this until the words lost their meaning.