Get Me Through Tomorrow: A Sister's Memoir of Brain Injury and Revival (American Lives)

On August 4, 2004, Jason Crigler was onstage in a New York City nightclub when a blood vessel burst in his brain. The thirty-four-year-old guitarist, a fixture in the downtown music scene who had played with Marshall Crenshaw, Linda Thompson, and John Cale, narrowly survived the bleed. A string of complications that followed—meningitis, seizures, coma—left him immobile and unresponsive, with his doctors saying nothing more could be done. Meanwhile, Jason’s medical insurance quickly hit its lifetime cap, meaning that his policy would no longer pay for his care. Despite such overwhelming circumstances, Jason’s parents, sister, and pregnant wife were sure that he was still there, trapped inside his incapacitated body but able to fight his way back. They mounted an intense course of rehabilitation for him even as they fought a healthcare system that was geared toward defeat. In intimate and unflinching prose, Mojie Crigler chronicles her brother’s harrowing decline and miraculous recovery. Get Me Through Tomorrow is much more than the story of a medical victory amid a broken healthcare system, however. It is about a sister’s metamorphosis from fearful naïf to assertive caregiver. It is about families bridging heartache and divorce to find hope. It is about the deep and enduring relationship between siblings—and the love that transforms them. On August 4, 2004, Jason Crigler was onstage in a New York City nightclub when a blood vessel burst in his brain. The thirty-four-year-old guitarist, a fixture in the downtown music scene narrowly survived the bleed. A string of complications that followed--meningitis, seizures, coma--left him immobile and unresponsive, with his doctors saying nothing more could be done. As they monitored his care, the family was frustrated by confusing and mixed messages about his prognosis for recovery. They were also frustrated by their health insurance, which "questioned every treatment and refused many of them" with the goal "to pay as little money as possible." Depending on what they hoped would be humane and competent care, the family came to the "harsh realization that Jason's care was driven not by what would help him but by cost." Meanwhile, Jason's medical insurance quickly hit its lifetime cap, meaning that his policy would no longer pay for his care. Despite such overwhelming circumstances, Jason's parents, sister, and pregnant wife were sure that he was still there, trapped inside his incapacitated body but able to fight his way back. Cowed, at first, by his physicians, the family defied their advice and brought Jason to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, renowned for treating brain injury. There, he made enough progress to be discharged. In intimate and unflinching prose, Mojie Crigler chronicles her brother's harrowing decline and miraculous recovery. "Get Me Through Tomorrow" is much more than the story of a medical victory amid a broken healthcare system, however. It is about a sister's metamorphosis from fearful naif to assertive caregiver. It is about families bridging heartache and divorce to find hope. It is about the deep and enduring relationship between siblings--and the love that transforms them On August 4, 2004, Jason Crigler was onstage in a New York City nightclub when a blood vessel burst in his brain. The thirty-four-year-old guitarist, a fixture in the downtown music scene who had played with Marshall Crenshaw, Linda Thompson, and John Cale, narrowly survived the bleed. A string of complications that followed - meningitis, seizures, coma - left him immobile and unresponsive, with his doctors saying nothing more could be done. Meanwhile, Jason's medical insurance quickly hit its lifetime cap, meaning that his policy would no longer pay for his care. Despite such overwhelming circumstances, Jason's parents, sister, and pregnant wife were sure that he was still there, trapped inside his incapacitated body but able to fight his way back. They mounted an intense course of rehabilitation for him even as they fought a healthcare system that was geared toward defeat. In intimate and unflinching prose, Mojie Crigler chronicles her brother's harrowing decline and miraculous recovery. Get Me Through Tomorrow is much more than the story of a medical victory amid a broken healthcare system, however. It is about a sister's metamorphosis from fearful naive to assertive caregiver. It is about families bridging heartache and divorce to find hope. It is about the deep and enduring relationship between siblings - and the love that transforms them.