Upon returning from a weeklong vacation in New York with her family, 17-year-old Lydia wants to see her friends. "We decide to go to a bar. We drink, we dance, we mess around," shares Lydia (L-14). The night comes to an end, and Lydia and two of her friends accept a ride from a young man they don't know. "He decided to drive at 120 km an hour on a boulevard, after drinking several beers and taking drugs," says Lydia (L-28). Then, while taking a turn, he ran into a tree. "I hit my head. And all the consequences of the traumatic brain injury were horrible," she recalls (L-31). Lydia is brought to a pediatric care center specializing in traumatology, where she wakes up a month later with a diagnosis of severe TBI. "I didn't understand what had happened," states Lydia (L-35). After several months in acute care and intensive functional rehabilitation, Lydia confides: "I still think about it every day" (L-42).
Data collection and analysis yielded six themes and four subthemes, which were considered the most important factors illustrating this family's resilience process: (a) family characteristics (i.e., fighter personality, cultural and spiritual beliefs, presence of hope, keeping a sense of humor), (b) support of family members, (c) support of friends, (d) practicing sports and leisure activities, (e) back-to-school support, and (f) feeling helpful to the adolescent.
I have a strong capacity for resilience (...). When I'm faced with something very difficult, I try to find the positive and adjust my thinking accordingly, then I tell myself: this is what is in front of us, we will try to find a solution with what we have. (D-205)
We got to here, then tomorrow is another day. Then after that, next week, next month, it will be something else. You have to move forward, then you have to move on. Put it behind you, it's over, let's move forward. (D-738)
What helped me, was seeing her [Lydia] every day. Something was always changing (...). I didn't have any expectations, every day, I would see what happens. I lived only 24 hours at a time, I was living day to day and I would embrace every little success. It was a winning strategy. We were all happy. (D-215)
The combative personalities of the family members were one of the subthemes addressed within the family characteristics theme. The strength a family shows when faced with a difficult, or even critical, situation manifests in different ways. For example, Lydia's mother shares:She expands on this capacity she has to not apprehend the future, which, according to her, is a facilitating factor:She adds:For her part, Lydia shared these thoughts, demonstrating her strength of character: "I'm going to finish it [rehabilitation] as quickly as possible (...). Right now I can't walk, but tomorrow, I will!" (L-347). She confides: "I'm happy that my pride took over because that's what helped me persevere" (L-501). "I've been given a second life. A second chance. It's incredible," she concludes (L-694).
Cultural and spiritual beliefs were mentioned. Some of these seemed to be facilitating factors, in the sense that they helped the family adapt to this new situation. Diane states: "I prayed, often, even very often" (D-912).
This family shares, completely naturally and often, the important role that hope played in their resilience process. To wit, Diane states: "We always had hope" (D-630).
A last subtheme identified was keeping a sense of humor despite the situation. Indeed, this seems to have positively impacted this family's journey. On this subject, in reference to Lydia, Diane says: "(...) her sense of humor, she kept her sense of humor, she found humor" (D-593). For her part, Lydia shares: "I kept my sense of humor and this helped a lot, the fact that I always laughed" (L-602). "My accident, I laughed about it because it was easier. It was easier to get past it, and then to joke about it. Even if it made people very uncomfortable, I thought it was funny," she adds (L-999). She also says: "I read somewhere once that "humor shows man's superiority over what he is living ..." (...) this helped me because people stopped treating me like a victim, stopped treating me like I was disabled and needed help" (L-1008).
The family interviewed unanimously stated the importance of the support provided by family members during this difficult situation. Diane says: "I think the fact that family members were there for us, I think that is what made all the difference" (D-279). "My parents were there for me (...), I wouldn't be how I am today without them, without their help, I think that's what made the difference," says Lydia (L-62).
I have a very good friend who is a doctor, so we would talk every day (...). He helped calm me down. This was an incredible source of support because it gave us the energy to keep going. (D-237)
The family expressed the importance of immediate family during this period but also highlighted the positive impact of friends' support. Diane shared her experience:Lydia states that the difficulties would have been even more pronounced "(...) without, also, the help of my family and friends" (L-63).
Taking part in sports and leisure activities can be beneficial not only for the adolescent but also for the parent. In this regard, Diane states: "We have a cottage in the country, this was great therapy for us. It's amazing how much it helped" (D-510). Lydia, when asked, mentioned the benefits of physical activity for her: "I started working out, which really helped me. I feel a lot better. It's when I'm active that I really feel alive again" (L-123). The benefits of her workouts have an impact on her everyday life. In fact, she shares: "When I look at myself today (...), I am the happiest person on Earth. I am so happy" (L-856).
For this family, back to school seems to be an important step because school is an integral part of Lydia's life. Generally, the actions taken by school staff and administration and the support they provide are elements that can facilitate a family's resilience process. In this specific case, Diane assures that the school's support was essential when her teenage daughter went back. "She just wanted to go back to school (...). The school gave her a lighter, adapted course load when she returned" (D-532).
Finally, this family underlined the importance of feeling helpful to Lydia. In this regard, Diane shares: "I would tell the nurses: don't do this, I'll do it (...). My role [is to] provide support: physical and psychological support and understanding" (D-686).