Brain injury patients at NeuroRestorative Tyler created masks for the Unmasking Brain Injury project. These masks are created to personify how the patients perceive their own brain injury.

To illustrate his experiences with brain injury, Keith painted a mask blue, adding red arrows pointing to areas of damage to his brain.

White tears indicate the left side of his body was more significantly affected by two strokes, while red tears indicate the right side of his body was also affected by a third, single stroke.

He painted a cross between the eyes with fireworks bursting out. A mouth turned up on one end and turned down on the other end.

“The cross indicates divine intervention,” Keith said in a written narrative explaining the significance. “The smiling and frowning mouth indicates both the sadness of the brain injury and the happiness/blessedness of the recovery.”

Keith, of Tyler, is one of several members of the East Texas Brain Injury Support Group that painted masks for the Unmasking Brain Injury project in observance of Brain Injury Awareness Month in March.

The masks, along with an interpretative narrative for each one, will be exhibited in the community to offer insight into the experience and recovery process of a brain injury.

The exhibit will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at UT Health Northeast’s Blue Star Café and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 28 at the Spring Into Good Health Fair at UT Health East Texas Physicians, 2231 W. Gentry Parkway. The masks can also be seen by appointment throughout March at NeuroRestorative Tyler by calling 903-714-7116.

The project is the second in Texas in connection with an international Unmasking Brain Injury campaign founded by Hinds’ Feet Farm, a nonprofit organization that serves adults with brain injuries.

The campaign promotes awareness of the prevalence of brain injury, gives survivors a voice, educates others of what it’s like to live with a brain injury and shows that persons living with a disability due to brain injury can return to a productive life and deserve respect and compassion.

Data shows that over 381,000 Texans live with a disability due to traumatic brain injury and the American Stroke Association has reported that stroke is the fifth leading cause of death.

The mask painting project gives them the opportunity to show what’s going on inside and their challenges that others cannot see, said Kristy Easley.

Easley is a speech-language pathologist/clinical evaluator for NeuroRestorative Tyler, a post acute brain injury rehabilitation program, the only one of its type in East Texas.

Providing both inpatient rehabilitation and day treatment, NeuroRestorative is located at UT Health Northeast and cosponsors the East Texas Brain Injury Support Group with Mackenzie Life Care Planning.

The support group members began work on creating their full face masks last October using paint, craft materials, words or symbols to reflect how they feel.

Easley said many people that have experienced a brain injury feel they are almost wearing a mask since they may look like the person they were before the injury. Making masks gives them the opportunity to remove the mask and let others see their challenges.

Chris, of Lindale, who suffered traumatic brain injury in a 2011 motorcycle accident, painted his mask black to represent having no memory of anything and added question marks and exclamation marks to show his inability to speak at that time.

The prominent eyebrows on his mask symbolize the first time he could finally recognize himself. The red cheeks indicate the embarrassment that he felt many times when he was trying to speak and couldn’t get his thoughts across because of his aphasia.

The white lips and a blue line on his mask represent his being able to speak better over time, while the eyes are painted sky blue and with green grass to symbolize the improvements he continues to make every day.

Robby, of Golden, calls his mask “Joy in Pain” because it depicts the struggles and pains since he suffered a brain injury in a high school football accident but has overcome the struggles and turned them into something good.

His mantra is “trust, believe and inspire” – trust in his faith, believe things are possible and inspire others.

Brandon, of Palestine, whose brain injury came during a motor vehicle accident, painted his mask black, green and purple to describe his different layers of feelings of anger, physical pain and being glad he is alive and ready to move forward with faith and hope for the future.

Brandon attached a cloth with puzzle pieces imprinted on it across the mouth and nose on his mask. The cloth signifies that his whole journey with brain injury has been a puzzle and that he feels he’s not fully understood and it has been a challenge to make others understand there are many pieces to the puzzle.

Open to brain injury survivors, caregivers, friends and professionals, the East Texas Brain Injury Support Group meets at 6 p.m. the first Monday of every month in the Blue Star Café at UT Health Northeast.

For more information about the support group or the rehabilitation program of Restorative Tyler, located on the sixth floor of UT Health Northeast, Easley may be reached at 903-714-7116, 903-877-8700 or kristy.easley@neurorestorative.com.

Twitter: @Tylerpaper

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Blue Star Café, UT Health Northeast

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 28, Spring Into Good Health, UT Health East Texas Physicians, 2231 W. Gentry Parkway

By appointment throughout March at NeuroRestorative Tyler, 903-714-7116