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Traumatic Brain Injury
A National Institutes of Health website states that a traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs "when a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain." People involved in automobile, bicycle, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents comprise about half of all cases. The severity can range from mild to severe.
In his lifetime, 36-year-old Patrick Jones of Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, has had eight concussions. "And each of the concussions was different," he said in a telephone interview. "A couple of them were bicycle-related. One happened when I was going fast on a bike, and a car turned left and cut me off."
The first came at age 12. While swinging at a playground, he severely injured his head after the rope snapped at the highest point of the swing.
Even with the concussions, Jones, a University of Denver graduate, was still physically able to work as a personal financial adviser. Then in 2002, while running over a landscaping berm, he accidentally knocked his head on a low-hung tree branch at full force. It was the straw that broke the camel's back, he said. Since then, he has been unemployed.
His current symptoms are constant vertigo, variable fatigue, and short-term memory and cognitive challenges.
As for the vertigo, he said, "On a 'good' day, I'm able to compensate. For walking and hiking, I use two walking sticks. On 'hard' days, I can't compensate, so I just stay in a reclined position, and read, or use the Internet."
With fatigue, he experiences "good days" only about half the time.
As for short-term memory: "My concentration is easily distracted. I can derail my own thoughts and have no idea what I was thinking a second before. The distraction can be either an internal or external stimuli." (Due to short-term memory issues, in order to successfully complete this telephone interview, Jones had to prepare his answers beforehand.)
He said that family and friends sometimes don't understand his disability-related shortcomings because, to them, he looks just fine on the outside. "I have an invisible injury," he said. His condition has challenged his wife, too.
Even with all his injury problems, he still enjoys serving others. In 2007, Jones was ordained as a permanent deacon in the Catholic church. He said, "In terms of ministry, I moderate two support groups for brain-injured people, and have a website, braininjurychaplain.com."
Contact danieljvance.com [Blue Valley Sod and Palmer Bus Service grants make this column possible.]
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Live Via Satellite: Visa Refusals Can Affect Performances by Foreign Entertainers
Q.: What kind of visa must an entertainer have to perform in the United States?
A.: Some foreign entertainers get a "green card," which allows them to live and work in the United States indefinitely, and eventually apply for U.S. citizenship. Green cards are usually obtained either through marriage to a U.S. citizen or based upon the petition of a sponsoring employer. Very famous, accomplished entertainers can also petition for lawful permanent residence on their own, but usually only if they have some earned high-level awards or are established, recognized stars. Most entertainers who live outside the United States come to perform under a "visitor", "P entertainer," or "O outstanding performer" visa.
Q.: What is a visitor visa?
A.: Performers who come for short appearances not involving performing for pay (say, an awards banquet) might come as visitors. They may have a visa sticker in their passport, good for several years, which lets them visit repeatedly as long as they do not abuse their status as visitors. People from certain countries (e.g., the European Union countries, including Great Britain) are subject to the "VWPP" program and do not need a formal visa to visit the United States. People from "VWPP" countries arrive, with passport, at the airport, complete a form on the plane, and are admitted to the U.S. as visitors for up to 90 days, although they may also be asked for proof of the purpose of their visit and proof of return transportation back home. Canadians also do not need formal visas to visit the U.S.
Q.: What is a "P" visa?
A.: Many entertainers coming to the U.S. to perform for pay--especially groups like bands--come on P visas. They are admitted for up to a year at a time, and must convince the consulate that they are "internationally recognized," defined as "a high level of achievement…evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition substantially above that ordinarily encountered, to the extent such achievement is renowned, leading or well-known in more than one country." Solo performers also can get a P visa, but only if there is something culturally unique about their performance.
Q.: What is an "O" visa?
A.: Individual entertainers not associated with a group generally must qualify for an "O" visa to perform for pay by demonstrating that they are "outstanding" in their field of endeavor. Someone with a major record deal and a fan base probably would qualify for an O visa, and can be admitted to the U.S. for up to three years at a time, depending on the purpose of the trip.
Q.: My favorite foreign entertainer had to cancel a U.S. performance because he was refused a visa. Why did that happen?
A.: There are many reasons why someone seeking admission to the U.S. might be refused a temporary visa on "grounds of inadmissibility," and even someone who has already been issued a visa may be prevented from crossing the border for a variety of reasons.
One reason is a serious enough criminal record. The types of criminal convictions that disqualify a person from entering the United States--even for a short amount of time or for a discrete purpose--are surprisingly broad. They include any significant crime of moral turpitude; two or more petty crimes involving moral turpitude; and any drug conviction (including foreign convictions)
Even without an official criminal conviction or a judicial admission, a known drug abuser, or someone who is reasonably suspected of being a drug trafficker, may be denied a visa. If someone has been photographed taking illicit drugs recently or is reported to be in a rehabilitation program, border guards may act on this knowledge, even if the person has never been involved with the police.
Q.: I work with a foreign celebrity who has a drug record. Can I bring him to the U.S. to perform anyway?
A.: There are two waivers that may be available to a non-resident celebrity with a disqualifying drug record. A decision to provide a waiver must consider the relative risk to society, the seriousness of prior violations and the reason the celebrity wishes to enter the United States. Such decisions are completely discretionary and are made on a case-by-case basis, and can be revoked at any time.
First, if you can prove that drug conviction (or admission of drug use) involved simple possession of marijuana in an amount less than 30 grams, he may be able to get a waiver. He does have to apply for it, however, and if he is a first-time applicant, the decision may take time.
Second, no matter how bad his past drug record is, he still may be able to get a waiver, although he will have to apply, and both the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security will have to sign off on it. It currently costs $545 to apply for a waiver.
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Laura on Life
Watching the wildlife in my backyard has always amused me. No, I'm not talking about my children this time. When my children are not in it, my backyard teems with all kinds of animals. All of them seem to have only two things on their minds: Food and procreation. Ah, nature!
The birds are beautiful creatures. They come to my backyard in all different colors and sizes united with the express desire to empty my bird feeder. They also have two common enemies: Those wily squirrels, whose first and last thoughts are how to get at that birdseed, and my cat, whose intentions are a bit more ambitious than the squirrels'.
I went into a specialty store the other day where they had set up a demonstration of a birdfeeder that was "squirrel-proof". The perch, where the birds were supposed to light, was spring-loaded. When something heavier than a bird sits on it, the perch spins around like the inside of a blender on Cinco de Mayo. The unlucky squirrel who was attempting to steal the birdseed would first learn the definition of the word G-Force as he hangs on for dear life, and then he would go sailing through the air fervently wishing that he, too, had wings. Then, like a teenager who lost his lunch after riding the roller coaster, he's back up there, again.
We once had a family of raccoons who figured out how to lift the lid off our trash cans. They'd eat until they were full and then they'd put the lid back on and leave! I wanted to interview their mother to find out how she got them to put something back where they found it. Parents everywhere would trade their minivan for that information!
There are a couple of ducks that I watch now and then. Just before they um…contribute to the continuation of their species, they have a courting ritual of bobbing their heads up and down. You can imagine them thinking: "Do ya wanna", "Yeah"… "Do ya wanna", "Yeah"…"Do ya wanna", "Yeah"… and then he makes his move. He nearly drowns that female while he does his thing, then sits high in the water and flaps his wings like he's crowing. The female just ducks under the water and shakes herself clean. It's embarrassing! Have they no shame?
We had an opossum that would wander over every night and eat our cat's food. Our cat, amazingly, would just sit there and watch it eat her food. Well, I sat that cat down for a long talk. I told her, "If you don't want to watch the birdfeeder all day waiting for a meal to fly into your mouth, then you'll have to start defending your food bowl." She told me in her meowy way that she didn't like the food in her bowl. I said, "What, it's good enough for the opossum, but it's not good enough for you?"
You can reach Laura at lsnyder@lauraonlife.com Or visit her website www.lauraonlife.com for more columns and info about her books.
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