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Though her Ivy League degrees are in finance, Trisha Meili speaks with the confidence of someone who's worked a lifetime in head trauma rehabilitation. Unfortunately, her education in TBI came first hand.
In 1989, Meili, known to the world as "The Central Park Jogger" was bludgeoned, raped, sodomized and beaten so severely she was given last rites. Because she was a victim of rape, the media never released her name.
Fourteen years after the attack, Meili introduced herself to the world in her book, I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility.
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| Fourteen years after being attacked, Trisha Meili has introduced herself to the world in her book, I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility. |
Today, the former Wall Street investment banker devotes her life to motivational speaking and supporting survivors of TBI.
Recently, Meili met with ADVANCE to reflect on her experiences in the healthcare system and on living with such an injury.
'Feeding the Psyche'
In her book, Meili credits the now-retired Pat Babb, RN, as one of the most influential forces in her recovery. Babb was retained by the Meili family during the transition between New York's Metropolitan Hospital and Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, CT, where Meili matriculated for rehabilitation.
"My mom really saw the effect Pat had in calming me down. She asked if Pat could come to the rehab hospital so someone was there who wasn't a strange face. My parents were there in the beginning but lived in Pennsylvania and were trying to help me not feel so lost and alone," Meili recalled.
The fiercely protective Babb soon earned the nickname "The General" from one of Meili's brothers, but it was her empathy that made her stand out from the rest of the medical team.
Initially, Meili was restrained because she was thrashing and pulling out IV tubes. The doctors thought she was lashing as a result of her brain injury, but Babb suspected she was reliving the attack.
"I'm a hands-on nurse," Babb said in the book. "You don't hurt patients; you do everything possible to ease their transition from illness to health. So I immediately untied you because you were fighting the restraints and it seemed to me you were reliving the attack over and over. I told you, 'You're safe. It's over. You're not there anymore.'. I'm very strong so my way of restraining you was to pick you up and hold you."
It wouldn't be the last time "The General" conflicted with the doctors.
Babb was bothered by the fact that the doctors would discuss Meili's condition at the bedside. She felt the conversations were discouraging and belonged in a conference room. After the doctors finished their rounds, Babb would tell Meili she's "a hero" and "captain of her own ship."
"She was very encouraging. For me, the role of nurses is to feed the patient's psyche. It affects how you feel about yourself. I feel very strongly that there's a mind/body connection. There's lots of research showing that it's very valid and she was a big help," Meili said.
Exercising the Mind
Learning more about that mind/body connection has occupied much of Meili's time in the years following her attack. Through her work with the Achilles Track Club, a worldwide organization encouraging people with disabilities to take up running, Meili started noticing the improved attitude participants had once they started running.
"It's just anecdotal stuff, but the effect of running seems to help with mood and cognitive ability," she said.
Together with Achilles founder, Dick Traum, Meili connected with a researcher who was studying TBI and convinced him to add some questions about exercise to his study. The "anecdotal stuff" Meili observed is now being investigated for research on how exercise can help patients with Alzheimer's and dementia.
Supporting Sensitivity
Since leaving Wall Street for nonprofit pursuits, Meili's worked extensively with the Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Program (SAVI) at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
She was unconscious upon her arrival at the ED and, therefore, couldn't receive the counseling services provided to rape victims. However, later she was contacted by the charge nurse at Metropolitan who recalled holding her hand and reassuring her.
"Sexual assault nurse examiners nurses have a job to do in collecting evidence, but it's crucial to treat the whole person," Meili said. "When you're in trauma, you're scared. We [at SAVI] tell our advocates to trust what feels right but to listen and take cues from the survivor. A big part of that is letting people know they're in a safe environment."
Today, Meili's imparting her success story to those recently discharged from Iraq and Afghanistan at VA hospital brain injury programs.
"Hey, look, life doesn't end. It's going to be different, but different doesn't mean worse. Life can still be full and rich," she said.
Robin Hocevar is senior regional editor at ADVANCE.
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