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Laughter is the best medicine
By MARIANNE KLINGEL
| Article published on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006 |
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| Photo by MARIANNE KLINGEL |
| Grace Peay and Ackerman of Indian Rocks Beach will be featured speakers at the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor Conference. |
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INDIAN ROCKS BEACH – Traumatic brain injury is no laughing matter. Unless you are Grace Peay, an Indian Rocks Beach resident who believes humor is not only helpful, but essential to surviving serious illness or trauma.
Peay and her service dog, Ackerman, use therapeutic humor to brighten their lives and those around them.
The pair will be featured speakers at the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor Conference in Austin, Texas, Feb. 16 to 19.
In 1996, Grace Peay was a healthy, 33-year-old nurse who ran 10 miles a day.
She was jogging along Gulf Boulevard when a pickup truck crashed into her and sped off.
Peay was flown by helicopter to the hospital, where her physical injuries were deemed minor and she was released.
An undiagnosed brain injury would change her life forever.
Peay suffered blinding headaches and dizziness. She had difficulty talking, mispronounced words, and said common phrases backwards. Even a simple cognitive task such as remembering her phone number was impossible. Peay was forced to drop out of school, quit her job and stop driving. Friends drifted away. She felt she had lost everything.
Then she began to laugh.
“I realized that I could look at what happened as horrible or I could look for the good in it. I decided to use everything I could to heal,” she said. “I started watching ‘The Three Stooges’ and ‘I Love Lucy’ and found that laughing made me feel better about everything.”
Peah’s hero is Gilda Radner.
“Her ‘Saturday Night Live’ skits did more for me than hours of therapy,” she said.
A friend took Peay to a pet store to hold golden retriever puppies. Playing with them, she was able to talk for the first time without stuttering. Peay began to feel that her new life, while drastically different from the old, held its own promise of joy.
In 1997, Peay applied for a service dog from Canine Companions for Independence, an organization that trains dogs to assist persons with disabilities. Two years later, she was matched with Ackerman, a retriever-lab mix she calls “my fuzzy-footed cane with a tail.” Ackerman steadies Peay as she negotiates challenging environments such as malls, grocery stores, and restaurants. He opens doors and retrieves dropped items. Ackerman has full legal access and accompanies Peay everywhere.
She believes the dog’s biggest contribution is the “social icebreaker” effect. People stop, talk, and laugh more when he is present.
“People who would have walked on by before want to meet Ackerman,” she said. “At first it’s ‘Hey Ackerman’ and then it’s ‘Hey Grace.’ We’ve made a lot of friends together.”
Peay believes part of Ackerman’s talent as a working dog is making people happy, and she encourages people to pet him.
The pair gives back by visiting nursing homes, rehab centers and schools, talking about health, humor and animals. Ackerman participates in plays with Project Pup, recently taking the role of the bride in a doggy wedding.
“It didn’t seem to bother him any,” Peay laughs.
Asked about her favorite type of humor, Peay said, “I just like to mess with people.”
When passers-by mistake Ackerman for a seeing-eye dog and think she is blind, she generates double takes by complimenting their clothing or reading a magazine.
“I used to take myself so seriously,” she said. “Now I feel like we’re all down here together and it can be hard, so let’s laugh about it and have some fun.”
Peay’s advice for others who are injured?
“Prayer. Remember that God has a gosh-awful sense of humor,” she said. “He sometimes gives us presents that are really ugly on the outside, things we don’t want. But if you dig deep inside, you often find a beautiful gift under the ugly wrapping.”
Grace and Ackerman’s presentation at the upcoming AATH conference is entitled, “Oh, My Gosh! Your Amygdala is Showing.”
The amygdala is part of the brain’s limbic system, which regulates emotion.
Peay said her brain injuries have made her extremely honest.
She shrugged and said, “No time for game playing.”
There promises to be plenty of play at the conference, though. Peay said attendees are some of the happiest, most excited people you’ll find anywhere.
“Everyone believes in looking at the lighter side of things,” she said.
In addition to speaking, Peay and Ackerman plan to see the city and enjoy Austin’s famous country music scene.
No comedy clubs, though. Life is enough to keep this pair laughing for a very long time.
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Article published on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006
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