Interview with Nancy Bauser, Author, ACSW, BCETS, BCDT, CPC

On a November day, on her way to or from student teaching, she was a passenger in a very small Italian sports car that collided with a large American vehicle and she sustained a severe closed head injury.  She was in a coma for 2½ months.  When she began to regain consciousness, she refused to believe that she had limitations.  Although she had problems, she would find another way, to do what she wanted to do.  

Forty-two years after the car accident, Nancy still does not recall much of the first few months after her injury.  She remembers that she had to relearn how to do everything – how to walk & talk, and how to take care of her most basic needs.  When she would attempt to speak, Nancy would pause for several seconds between words and sentences.  She remembers repeatedly going to speech therapy, until one therapist told her to just keep talking.  

Today, Nancy is a Trauma Recovery Expert/Disability Life Coach.  She specializes in assisting survivors to reintegrate into an active and inter-dependent life.  She has a husband who supports and assists her, in doing those things that she can no longer do for herself.  

Nancy struggles with her memory, the organization of her days, fatigue, depression, and the high costs of medical care.  She thinks of her brain injury as the enemy that she has to battle on a daily basis.  Her life experiences make her empathetic toward survivors and caregivers.  That’s what makes Nancy Bauser believable and effective.