Former TIRR Patient Receives Rehabilitation Award

Laura Rolf, a former patient at The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research who has recovered from a traumatic brain injury resulting from a 1997 car accident, received the 2001 Promethean Award from the Texas Rehabilitation Association at their annual awards ceremony Sept. 14.

The Promethean Award is presented each year to a Texan with a disability who has demonstrated self-motivation and personal courage in overcoming his or her disability beyond the assistance provided by any public or private service helping agency.

Rolf, who has played golf since age 5, is head coach of the Lady Eagles golf program at the University of North Texas in Denton. She is a UNT alumnae, and was a competitive golfer who won a number of tournaments before her 1997 graduation. Rolf turned to coaching after two years of competing on the Futures Tour, the prime developmental tour for the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

En route to Texas from Florida to celebrate the Christmas holidays, an oncoming car hydroplaned and collided full-speed with Rolf's car, only seven miles from her Wharton home. She sustained a brain injury and other medical problems including a broken thigh, dislocated ankle, broken nose, and internal injuries. She was in a coma for 13 days.

Following her stay at Memorial Hermann Hospital, Rolf was transferred to TIRR in the Texas Medical Center, and remained a patient for two months. She continued therapy at TIRR's Challenge program, an outpatient rehabilitation program.

Part of therapy was returning to the game that was her life. Just 16 months following this hospitalization and medical rehabilitation, she resumed touring and competed in a Futures tournament.

The Texas Rehabilitation Association is an organization of individuals who advocate for and provide vocational rehabilitation services to Texans with disabilities. The organization's purpose is to advance rehabilitation for people with disabilities in Texas by:

1. Providing opportunities to become independent, self-supporting and contributing members of society;

2. Increasing the public understanding of the social and economic gains of employment of people with disabilities; and

3. Providing opportunities for constructive and creative discussion of problems relating to rehabilitation and providing training opportunities to Texans involved in rehabilitation endeavors.

TIRR's Challenge program nominated Laura Rolf for the Promethean Award. Challenge offers specialized services that focus on the skills that are critical for the transition to independent living, school or work following brain injury. This outpatient, community-based day treatment approach addresses the physical abilities, memory strategies, interpersonal communication, and problem solving skills needed for long-term success.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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