HOPE Beyond Trauma ...a mother's journey

Summary

HOPE Beyond Trauma . . . a mother’s journey is based on Janie Smith’s caregiving journey after her 15-year-old daughter sustained a severe brain injury in an automobile accident. It is story of a family’s journey into the unknown, how they helped one another survive and, eventually, thrive. Years later, Janie watches her youngest son deploy to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan again and again and tells of the difficulties soldiers and families face when they return home from the war zone. Janie grew up the youngest of four children in a small farming community in Arcanum, Ohio, She has personally experienced the effects of brain injuries all her life, as her older brother Ronnie was brain injured at birth. Her father died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education & Health from Cedarville College (now University) in Cedarville, Ohio, and she has taught at preschool through high school levels. Janie worked for the American Red Cross as a Hospital Recreation Worker stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She became familiar with wounded soldiers returning from Vietnam and their families. Janie met Richard, a Military Policeman, when he registered her car on post. They were married in the post chapel five months later. She served as a Director of Military Sports Activities and Director of Youth Activities in Stuttgart, West Germany. In 1995, she founded Hidden Treasures Travel Agency, specializing in travel for people with disabilities. Janie was an integral part in starting several brain injury support groups in Northern California. She worked with a company to teach back-to-work and life skills to adults with brain injuries. Later she spent eight years working in various administrative capacities with a community integration program for developmentally disabled adults. Janie received her coach certification through Coach Training Alliance. Janie lives in Fairborn, Ohio with her husband of 38 years, Richard W. Smith, (First Sergeant, U.S. Army Retired) and their dog, Rudy. Janie would love to meet you and is available for speaking engagements. Please contact her at janie@hopebeyondtrauma.com for more information. Our website is at http://www.hopebeyondtrauma.com.