1. It is with great pride that I invite you to join me in celebrating
our 35th
anniversary! ARBI’s co-founders, Alice Laine and
Audrey Morrice never envisioned that their humble idea
of helping one person would flourish for thirty-five years!
Today, ARBI is needed more than ever.
ARBI’s story began in 1972 with one survivor – Alice’s son,
Mel. Mel survived a devastating brain injury as a result of a
hit and run. With a grim prognosis and no hope for recovery,
Alice turned to her friend Audrey for support. When Mel was
stable enough to come home, Audrey made a promise to
help him. She worked intuitively with Mel for six hours a day, six days a week for
six years. Although she had no formal training, Audrey’s creativity, determination
and drive helped Mel relearn how to talk, walk, think and write, allowing him to
lead a meaningful life once again.
Eventually Audrey, Alice and volunteers began helping other brain injury survivors
in the basement of the Woodcliff United Church. In 1978, ARBI was formed.
ARBI’s 35th
Anniversary Campaign celebrates our past, present and future clients,
families, staff, volunteers, donors and core funders! ARBI helps approximately one
hundred individuals and their families in our community every year. Our referrals
and waitlist continue to grow. It is through your gifts of time and resources that
make our work possible. Thank you!
I am asking for your help! Please make a special gift in honour of our 35th
anniversary. Your contributions will help us sustain our current programs and help
those on our growing wait list. There are so many ways you can help us; please
see the fundraising ideas in this newsletter. Remember that your voice is also
powerful. Share our inspiring success stories and your ARBI experiences with your
friends and colleagues.
Be assured, there is no greater gift than a second chance at life! Here’s to another
35 years of making life better for survivors.
Executive Update
A message from Judy Stawnychko
Spring/Summer 2013
Volunteers give the gift of time: Join our team and make
life better for a brain injury survivor. Contact us at 403-242-7116 or
email info@arbi.ca for more info!
www.arbi.ca | facebook.com/associationfortherehabilitationofthebraininjured | @ARBI_ca
Annual Stampede
Breakfast and
35th
Anniversary
Celebration
ARBI invites you to join us at our
Wednesday, July 10
9:00 - 11:30 am
3412 Spruce Drive SW
Come and join us for
breakfast, music and
appearances by special
guests!
Please RSVP to
info@arbi.ca or
403-242-7116
Presented by

2. 2 arbichat Spring/Summer 2013
On April 23, 2013, ARBI hosted Get Your Head in the Game:
Tackling brain injury in sports, head onat the Calgary
Petroleum Club. Six-time Stanley Cup winner and former MP
Ken Dryden provided the keynote address on the growing
prevalence of brain injury in sports. As parents, community
leaders and athletes, we need to acknowledge the
consequences of brain injury and identify ways to prevent
them.
Dryden’s keynote address was followed by a fantastic panel,
comprised of former athletes who have been personally
affected by brain injury, and experts on the subject. Panel
guests Wendel Clark, Dave Dickenson, Kerrin Lee-Gartner, Kevin Pearce, Willem (Winne) Meeuwisse,
MD, PhD, and Eric Francis engaged in a dynamic - and sometimes controversial - debate. Brain
injury survivor and ARBI board member, Randy Fowler, provided the closing remarks, reminding us
that brain injuries can occur as a result of every day activities and personal choices, in addition to
sports.
This event was made possible by our sponsors: Keynote Sponsor Peters and Co. Limited, Breakfast
Sponsor Terry Falkenberg, Stephen Avenue Securities, Sports Heroes Sponsors McDaniel and
Associates Consultants Ltd., Canoe
Financial and W. Brett Wilson, Twin Butte
Energy Ltd., and Robert and Pat Steele. A
big thanks goes out to our media sponsors,
CTV, 96.9 JACK FM, and the Calgary Sun,
and to Heath Brown of CTV Sports for
emceeing the event.
We were thrilled both Ken Dryden and
Kevin Pearce took time to visit the clients
at ARBI. For more event highlights, visit
www.arbi.ca/events
Get your head in the game
The SaeboMAS: Saebo
mobile arm support
ARBI recently acquired an
innovative piece of equipment called
the SaeboMAS. This dynamic mobile
arm support helps clients achieve a
zero gravity position. Therefore, clients
with shoulder weakness can now
participate in highly repetitive
activities that would have otherwise
been difficult or impossible!
Previously, many exercises required
hand-over-hand assistance. The
SaeboMAS allows the client to take
on a more active role, while the
volunteer’s hands are free to assist as
needed. The results include increased
motor control, strength, and range of
motion, which lead to greater
independence in daily activities.
On-Site Program
Update
The SaeboMAS support system in
action!
The conversation has started!
Kevin Pearce,TBI survivor, inspires clients
Star of the soon-to-be-released documentary, The Crash Reel, visits ARBI
After spending the morning sharing his personal experience with traumatic brain injury on
the panel for Get Your Head in the Game, Kevin Pearce joined us at ARBI to share his story with
our clients. Pearce spoke to survivors about the traumatic brain injury he sustained from a
snowboarding crash while training to qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics; Kevin was a strong
contender to win Gold in snowboarding in Vancouver.
“Visiting ARBI this week was amazing. It was so cool the see how everyone
was so happy and in good spirits. Love and happiness is so important and
healing for your brain’s recovery, which was very apparent at ARBI,”
Kevin Pearce.
Pearce discussed his personal journey and road to recovery, openly sharing with clients about the
difficulties he faced during his rehabilitation. But most importantly, Pearce provided the clients
with hope, encouraging them to keep moving forward in their rehab. Clients flooded to Pearce
to get their photos taken with him, and waited in line to get a personalized autograph.
The Crash Reel documentary chronicles Pearce’s rise to fame on the professional snowboarding
scene, his crash, and his personal road to recovery. It will be released in theatres in
Canada December 2013. To learn more, go to www.thecrashreel.com

3. Anecdotes from the front-line
The front-line team at ARBI is on the
flooreachday,supportingvolunteers
as they coach clients in their rehab.
This month, Angela recounts...
arbichat Spring/Summer 2013 3
Help us celebrate 35 years!e
ARBI at the forefront of ethics conference
ARBI to present at upcoming Canadian Bioethics Society Annual Conference
ARBI will be presenting at the 2013 Canadian Bioethics Society Annual Conference taking place in Banff, AB from May 29 – June 1, 2013. The
presentation is entitled: Brain Injury Survivors Deserve a Second Chance at Life.
In the past decade, ARBI has seen a very steep decline in traumatic brain injury referrals. Historically, ARBI provided rehab programs and support
exclusively to traumatic brain injury survivors. Today, traumatic brain injury survivors comprise only 20% of our clientele. Most families of ARBI
clients report that they were strongly advised to remove life-support within days of their family member’s injury. Could this be related to the
trend of very early withdrawal of life support? In a recent Canadian Critical Care Review of six hospitals, decisions regarding end of life are made
often within the first three days of injury. Misdiagnosis in level of consciousness has been reported as being really frequent (Childs et al., 1993;
Andrews et al.,1996; Schnakers et al., 2009).
ARBI believes survivors deserve a second chance at life and has witnessed positive outcomes for survivors when given that chance. We are
looking forward to sharing our experience and expertise with leaders in the field of bioethics at the conference. To comment or share your
opinion, send us a Tweet @ARBI_ca.
Memorable
Moments
Art therapy comes to ARBI
The Community Integration Program is fortunate to be hosting art
therapy student Jade Wolfe from the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute.
Jade is providing an art therapy program for our clients for eight
weeks.
New and exciting CIP group will provide many
benefits for clients
The Art Therapy group currently focuses on six of our clients who have communication challenges, such as aphasia
(affects the ability to communicate) or dyspraxia (can affect speech/language and motor control). The idea behind
the Art Therapy group is that “art making”as a creative process, may foster our clients’communication with
themselves, as well as with others. The benefits include getting in touch with their emotions, and sharing important
feelings that they may be unable to express verbally.
Additional benefits are relaxation, improvements to motor skills, and exercising personal choice. Or, as one participant uttered…“fun”!
This is ARBI’s 35th
anniversary year and we are asking our friends and families to get involved.
Together we can ensure that ARBI will be here to offer survivors a second chance at life for
another 35 years! As well as making your own personal gift, you can help by fundraising for
ARBI during this special year. No effort or contribution is too small - it’s your participation that is
meaningful.
Please consider one or more of the following ways to get involved:
You can help by starting the conversation – share survivor success stories with your friends,
families and colleagues. We know they will be inspired.
You can help in the traditional way, such as donating proceeds from a bake sale, raffle,
company or family function.
You can help by using the easy online tools available at www.arbi.ca/give to set up your
own personal fundraising page. It’s a great way to connect with friends and family. If you
need assistance, we’re happy to guide you through the steps - just contact carlynn@arbi.ca
You can help by participating in the CycleTherapy Tour 2013: Ride for ARBI as a Virtual Rider.
Visit www.arbi.ca/events for details.
You can help by spreading ARBI’s message on Facebook and Twitter. Social media is fun and it
works!
We need to engage the Calgary community to ensure we can continue to meet the ever-
increasing need for ARBI’s services. Survivors and their families need to be assured that there
is help. Our 35 years of experience has shown us that survivors can regain lost abilities, reunite
with their families and participate in meaningful community activities.
Mary fractured her shoulder in January,
just as we were developing a new physical
program for her. In early March, Mary
was ready to start her new program. One
new exercise was climbing up and down
four stairs. When Mary first started this
exercise, she could only do three sets of
the stairs. A few weeks later, Mary could
do five sets, take a rest, and do five more.
Before we knew it, Mary was doing 15
sets! Recently, Mary said to me, “I am
going to do 20 today!” Sure enough, Mary
did 20 sets without any rest! It was a great
moment! From a fractured shoulder just
a few months ago, she has come a long
way. Go Mary go!

4. Please help make life better for survivors – donate today!
ARBI raises 37% of our $2.1 M annual budget. It is easier than ever to make a gift:
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GIFT OF SECURITIES
3412 Spruce Drive SW, Calgary, AB T3C 3A4
Phone: 403-242-7116 Fax: 403-242-7478
info@arbi.ca www.arbi.ca
4 arbichat Spring/Summer 2013