Singapore Brain and Spine Injury Foundation, SBSIF

Is there a problem?

In Singapore, trauma is the overall fifth highest killer, responsible for the most number of hospitalizations and is also the number one cause of death in children and young adults. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health problem as it accounts for one-half of trauma-related deaths in Singapore and a further unquantifiable proportion of severe and permanently disabled survivors. Socio-economically, the loss of human work-life years, long-term disabilities and impairment cost society millions of dollars per year. Direct costs include diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and rehabilitation of patients while indirect costs include societal losses secondary to restricted or lost productivity.

Brain and spine injury not only causes death, it can result in severe neurological morbidity

severe spinal cord injury

severe brain swelling

The physical and psychological suffering from lifelong disabilities endured by TBI patients and their significant others are tremendous and its effect incalculable. The unimaginable impact severe head injury has on the family is often underemphasized and not adequately addressed. Patients recovering from moderate head injury have specific problems re-integrating into society with no organized body to turn to. Information on the extent of minor of head injury in our community is lacking.

Neurological morbidity, is evidently devastating. It is also ‘unique’ in itself. Unlike other conditions and diseases, injury to the brain often results in neurocognitive deficits, personality and character change, memory loss, decrease in intellect in addition to motor and sensory deficits (e.g., paralysis). Effectively, this not only results in varying limitations in the patient’s ability to look after himself, the family also discovers that their loved one has changed into ‘different’ person.

Brain and spine injury has a strong impact on family and loved ones

Inpatient care can be very intensive, involving teams of health-care workers

Brain and spine injury often occurs without warning, plunging a family into immediate crisis. In many other diseases, patients go through a gradual process of abnormal symptoms, investigations and then diagnosis. A road traffic accident victim is on the other hand taken out without prior warning!

With the peak age of traumatic brain injury at 30-40 years of age, the family involved is immature and not financially independent. They would be left to grapple with financial, emotional and medical issues, all at the same time.

In the acute period of severe TBI, the spouse would have to make crucial medical choices; in the later phases, he or she often becomes the sole bread winner, possibly having to look after a dependent spouse and young children simultaneously.

Brain and spine injured patients often have specific and special needs. Their care would be more comprehensive, their recovery better optimised with a foundation directly overlooking these needs and coordinating such care.

We are all equally susceptible to the ill-effects of TBI. It can happen to anyone at anytime. Not only does the Singapore Brain and Spine Injury Foundation (SBSIF) want all Singaporeans to be aware of this, it wishes for all to contribute to the care and support of unfortunate victims and needy families. We want to prevent such devastating injuries, to realise the problems that families face, to help them cope and to improve the lives of patients and their loved ones involved.

A family in an acute crisis or turmoil would welcome a foundation with the mission of supporting and giving hope to brain and spine injured patients. The SBSIF aims to provide ‘holistic support’…..giving hope.