A recipe for recovery: how one man overcame a brain injury

 

Last October, when Wayne Becker received his first paycheck from his new job as a cook at a local restaurant, it was twenty years and one day since Becker’s brain injury.

A victim of a car accident two decades ago, Becker has been working and volunteering in the Kingston community for twenty years as part of his rehabilitation program. Following Becker’s brain injury, he began his rehabilitation with Providence Care’s Regional Community Brain Injury Services (RCBIS), in Kingston. It was here that Becker was encouraged to become involved in volunteer work that served his interests, while also helping him regain his independence and confidence while living and working in the community.

As someone who enjoys putting out a quality product that people can appreciate and working with a team, Becker found exactly what he was looking for by working in a kitchen. He volunteered in the kitchens at both Providence Care’s St. Mary’s of the Lake Hospital and the Kingston non-profit organization, Martha’s Table.  During this time, Becker was provided with a great support system doing work he enjoyed and meeting people that had experiences similar to his own.

Neil Muchmore is a service coordinator for RCBIS and Becker’s primary support during rehabilitation. “The goal of RCBIS is to maximize recovery and independence, encouraging our clients to take ‘safe risks’ while pursuing their goals,” says Muchmore. “We shouldn’t underestimate the power of peer discussions and supportive environments with similar people. Wayne is a great example of someone who has taken initiative in his rehabilitation, and while RCBIS has been happy to help and encourage him along the way, I give Wayne all the credit in his recovery.”

Working together all the time, the connection between the RCBIS staff and the clients is obvious: twenty years ago, Becker was Muchmore’s first client, and over the years the two have shared plenty of experiences and learned a lot from working with each other.

For Becker, the past twenty years have been a long road to recovery. After his volunteer work at St. Mary’s and Martha’s Table, Becker was encouraged to pursue work in the atmosphere that had been so appealing to him – the kitchen.

Now working full-time in a local restaurant, Becker will never forget the care and support he received over the years through Providence Care’s RCBIS program. “The support I received at Providence Care gave me the confidence to take things to the next level,” Becker says. “Sometimes it’s hard to make the big transitions, and RCBIS was there to help with those transitions. I was very fortunate to have people like Neil who could show me that there was light at the end of the tunnel. It takes time and it takes work, but if you just keep plugging away, you will get there.”