When The Sun Rises is a very moving piece that describes the impact a traumatic brain injury has on a marriage and how unwilling and unprepared the medical community is to deal with those impacts. This essay challenges the medical community to look beyond rehabilitation of the injured person and offer solutions that impact their lives.

In it, Karen Grazionale shares a glimpse of the journey she and her husband took when he was hit by a car as he jogged with his friends, noting where the inadequacies of the medical care system left her to figure out things on her own. As her husband’s body healed, his mind deteriorated. As he became angry and delusional, she became anxious and afraid. She didn’t recognize this man she’d brought home from the rehab facility and she didn’t want to live this way. Fortunately, a research study on the impacts of a traumatic brain injury on marriages opened up and they were able to participate. Through it they learned how to communicate and interact with one another differently. Both she and her husband credit the intervention they received as having saved their marriage. Unfortunately, most couples aren’t able to receive this type of intervention and when they do, it’s with clinicians who know nothing about brain injuries and the neurological behaviors associated with it that can destroy a marriage. This essay challenges the medical community to look beyond standard rehabilitation of the injured person into the struggles that couples face and offer solutions targeted to help them learn how to support one another in their new lives.

Karen has written a memoir that expands on these themes while weaving in a story of love, courage, and commitment. She intends to partner with a literary agency and publish it in the US and UK. The full essay and other works by Karen can be found at www.karengrazionale.com.