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Fixing Boo Boo
Do you know a person with a brain injury? Pat did. Her sister, Barb, needed help and Pat wanted to help. All Barb really wanted was to be treated like everyone else, but it was difficult since she was born with cerebral palsy. All the family wanted was for her to be safe and well cared for, especially after a life-changing accident that left her brain-injured. Stubborn and determined, Barb carved out a life for herself, overcoming many obstacles. After her husband died, she needed assistance to cope with daily meals and chores. Her sister and brother-in-law encouraged her to sell her house and come live with them. The family thought they were providing a home for a family member, but they had no idea what dealing with brain injury meant. They found out! A story of one family and the struggles they faced to live with the diagnosis of Brain Injury.
- GenresNonfiction
246 pages, Paperback
Published February 27, 2017
About the author
Pat Stanford
4 books28 followersPat Stanford was born in Philadelphia. Her farming family moved to Delray Beach, Florida looking for year-round growing seasons when Pat was one. She lived there until a brief stint in the Air Force took her to California.
She graduated Florida State University with a B.S. in Secondary Education, which was never used for its intended purpose.
'Fixing Boo Boo' is a fictionalized account of what happens when a brain-injured sibling comes to live with a sister who doesn't know what that means. It won the 2017 Gold Medal in the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President's Award for Florida Non-Fiction.
'Proverbs of My Seasons' is poetry that reflects the "seasons" of the author's life. Aside from this full length book of poetry, Pat has poetry published in several anthologies.
She is working on a second nonfiction work, which will tell the stories of 30 different families affected by brain injury, a second volume of poetry and an adventure, set in Mongolia.
Pat lives in Tallahassee, Florida with her husband, a rambunctious puppy, and a quirky cat.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 13, 2018
Recommended to care-givers and anyone who wants to understand the challenges.
Not so long ago, I was put into an induced coma as a last resort, and my husband was told if I survived I might be brain damaged. Reading “Fixing Boo Boo” made me realise what he had been prepared to take on. It isn’t an easy book to read, but it’s a well-written account of a carer’s struggles when a loved one can’t be “fixed”.
Not so long ago, I was put into an induced coma as a last resort, and my husband was told if I survived I might be brain damaged. Reading “Fixing Boo Boo” made me realise what he had been prepared to take on. It isn’t an easy book to read, but it’s a well-written account of a carer’s struggles when a loved one can’t be “fixed”.
July 26, 2017
This is an emotional book about a sister becoming a carer for her older sister with a brain injury. It really makes you think how much Pat and Gary devoted themselves and gave up alot of their lives to care for Barb. Filled with good and many sad times as well as all the struggles and fights to help Barb get the best care. Very well written and I found myself surprisingly hooked from page one until the end. Recommend this book to fans of non fiction and anyone living with brain damage or anyone with a disability, an eye opening insight
June 1, 2018
I wanted to read Fixing Boo Boo because I had a sister-in-law who had a brain injury as a result of a botched heart surgery and was in in a coma for six and a half years.
She passed away last week before I finished reading the book.
Barb, with her brain injury, accomplished a lot.
She was very lucky to have a caring sister like Pat and a brother-in-law like Pat's husband.
Rarely do we find such care and devotion by a sibling.
The book was very detailed and well-written.
I used my Amazon Alexa to read part of the book to me and it sounded great.
Highly recommended to those interested in caregiving.
She passed away last week before I finished reading the book.
Barb, with her brain injury, accomplished a lot.
She was very lucky to have a caring sister like Pat and a brother-in-law like Pat's husband.
Rarely do we find such care and devotion by a sibling.
The book was very detailed and well-written.
I used my Amazon Alexa to read part of the book to me and it sounded great.
Highly recommended to those interested in caregiving.
August 4, 2018
Enlightening, insightful, heartfelt. Well presented, very down-to-earth and eye-opening. This book should serve as a manual for humanity. At the end of the day, everyone is special in some way, so we need to take good care of each other.
August 15, 2018
I had been aware of traumatic brain injury but until reading this book, I truly didn’t understand the impact that it can and does have. Not just on the individual with the injury but on their families and caregivers. Fixing Boo Boo is a true story about two sisters, one who has a traumatic brain injury and the other who becomes her caregiver. They have never been close which adds to the difficulty of their journey. It is raw, honest, heartfelt and wonderfully written.
April 2, 2018
Fixing Boo Boo is a story of family, and never giving up on the ones who you love. Barb (Boo Boo) has several issues that leave her care giving to her sister Pat, and Pat's husband Gary. Throughout the book you can feel their frustration with the medical community, and even Boo Boo, but not once did they turn their back's or wash their hands of the situation.
As far as I'm concerned Pat and Gary are Angels on earth, but I encourage you to read their story and decide for yourself.
As far as I'm concerned Pat and Gary are Angels on earth, but I encourage you to read their story and decide for yourself.
April 19, 2017
Sometimes life presents us with difficult decisions that we cannot fix, but we can try. That's what happened to Pat and Gary Stanford when they brought her sister Barb into their home. Born with a 'mild case of cerebral palsy,' Barb had a host of disabilities but in spite of the difficulties they presented, she managed to make friends, go to college, get married and learn to sail. Life may not have been perfect for Barb, but it was tolerable and she knew a measure of security. That is until she experienced a traumatic brain injury, and then another while sailing around the state of Florida; until her husband died of cancer; until her world fell apart.
She was barely surviving in her tiny shotgun house in Gainesville, Florida with the help of friends when Pat and Gary intervened. They opened their lives and their home to the woman Gary nicknamed Boo Boo and thus began a spiral that nearly broke them apart. Endless rounds of doctor's visits, erratic behaviors and eventually, assisted living facilities and then stays in the hospital filled their lives as they tried to help the one for whom there could be no happy ending.
This is definitely a book for compassionate caregivers as it provides an honest portrayal of the challenge they took on and how it impacted their own lives, not just that of the loved one who needed them so desperately.
She was barely surviving in her tiny shotgun house in Gainesville, Florida with the help of friends when Pat and Gary intervened. They opened their lives and their home to the woman Gary nicknamed Boo Boo and thus began a spiral that nearly broke them apart. Endless rounds of doctor's visits, erratic behaviors and eventually, assisted living facilities and then stays in the hospital filled their lives as they tried to help the one for whom there could be no happy ending.
This is definitely a book for compassionate caregivers as it provides an honest portrayal of the challenge they took on and how it impacted their own lives, not just that of the loved one who needed them so desperately.
April 3, 2017
Fixing Boo Boo is a story that takes you through a family's tragedy when one member is in a car accident which results in traumatic brain injury.
Barb already has her issues as she's born with cerebral palsy. Then with the death of her husband her younger sister brings her home to live with her family.
The two women didn't have a good relationship growing up but Pat hoped that maybe this would be her chance.
Pat takes you along with her as she begins to learn, often the hard way, how to help her sister. You find yourself cheering the small victories then sadly shaking your head.
I found myself thinking that Pat and her husband, Gary, should be nominated for sainthood. What an amazing story you'll want to read and learn from.
Barb already has her issues as she's born with cerebral palsy. Then with the death of her husband her younger sister brings her home to live with her family.
The two women didn't have a good relationship growing up but Pat hoped that maybe this would be her chance.
Pat takes you along with her as she begins to learn, often the hard way, how to help her sister. You find yourself cheering the small victories then sadly shaking your head.
I found myself thinking that Pat and her husband, Gary, should be nominated for sainthood. What an amazing story you'll want to read and learn from.
March 26, 2018
A Life of Sorrow
I chose this rating because there were aspects of the book I liked as well as those that I did not. The author writes of Barb’s injury, yet does not concisely describe its impact on her brain. It seemed like though the author took care of. Her, she felt that Barb was a burden to her and her family.
The best parts of the book were the descriptions of what Barb did and how she lived. Those snippets gave a window into her life and her mind.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is estranged from loved ones. This book exemplifies how little time we have with the people that we a surrounded by.
I chose this rating because there were aspects of the book I liked as well as those that I did not. The author writes of Barb’s injury, yet does not concisely describe its impact on her brain. It seemed like though the author took care of. Her, she felt that Barb was a burden to her and her family.
The best parts of the book were the descriptions of what Barb did and how she lived. Those snippets gave a window into her life and her mind.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is estranged from loved ones. This book exemplifies how little time we have with the people that we a surrounded by.
September 17, 2019
Pat Stanford, the author of this book, was the youngest of three children in a farm family in Delray, Florida. When the kids were young, their father sold his farm in New Jersey to buy one in Florida. He expected the longer growing season to make him a wealthy farmer. No one told him about hurricanes or bumper crop years when farm produce sold for practically nothing. Is that what turned him sour or was he simply an angry, controlling man. Whatever the reason, his children grew up in a tense household. None of the siblings were close as children and all left home as early as possible.
This made things especially difficult when the older sister Barbara needed help. Barbara was born with a mild case of cerebral palsy, but it was a car wreck in her twenties that cause the brain damage that left her a virtual invalid. She married, but her husband Bill was a crude man and they lived poorly. After the parents' deaths, the siblings had minimal contact.
Then Bill died and Barb wasn't able to care for herself. Their father had (oddly, I think) extracted a promise from his son-in-law that he would care for Barb when she needed it. And so Pat and Gary relocated Barb from her home in Gainesville to their home in Tallahassee. The best laid plans.....
Mrs. Stanford makes her living as a corporate writer and she tells her story well. She served in the military and her personality is forceful and sometimes abrupt. She's intelligent and likable and able to laugh at herself. A damned good thing because she and her patient husband were in for a wild ride.
I can't quite decide about Barbara. There's no question that her brain damage left her with poor balance and bad short-term memory. She also comes across as cunning, stubborn, and manipulative. I was reminded of "difficult" people I've dealt with. The ones who can be sweet as pie when there's someone to impress, but hell-on-wheels when it's just family. The ones who insist on giving you things, then claim you've stolen from them.
Having been a care-giver myself, I had frequent moments of deja vu reading about Pat's struggles with the tangled health care system. Even with the best insurance available (which was NOT the case here) it's a constant battle. Barbara had a host of health problems from bad diet, over-weight, and just plain ageing. Her sister bravely tackled them one at a time, while fighting bureaucracy and Barbara's own stubbornness. It seems at times that the Stanfords are fighting Barbara while fighting FOR her. Sometimes that's the case.
I researched extensively after my mother's stroke and came to the conclusion that Pat reached - that what we know about the brain and how it works is FAR outweighed by what we don't know. Facilities can have impressive titles and highly paid staff and lovely buildings but that doesn't mean they know any more than laymen do about how to help a brain damaged patient. Indeed, sometimes an intelligent, observant family member knows far more than the "experts."
If you're interested in the subject of brain damage or if you just want to read a book that lays a family's strengths and weaknesses bare, this is a good bet for you. I enjoyed it.
This made things especially difficult when the older sister Barbara needed help. Barbara was born with a mild case of cerebral palsy, but it was a car wreck in her twenties that cause the brain damage that left her a virtual invalid. She married, but her husband Bill was a crude man and they lived poorly. After the parents' deaths, the siblings had minimal contact.
Then Bill died and Barb wasn't able to care for herself. Their father had (oddly, I think) extracted a promise from his son-in-law that he would care for Barb when she needed it. And so Pat and Gary relocated Barb from her home in Gainesville to their home in Tallahassee. The best laid plans.....
Mrs. Stanford makes her living as a corporate writer and she tells her story well. She served in the military and her personality is forceful and sometimes abrupt. She's intelligent and likable and able to laugh at herself. A damned good thing because she and her patient husband were in for a wild ride.
I can't quite decide about Barbara. There's no question that her brain damage left her with poor balance and bad short-term memory. She also comes across as cunning, stubborn, and manipulative. I was reminded of "difficult" people I've dealt with. The ones who can be sweet as pie when there's someone to impress, but hell-on-wheels when it's just family. The ones who insist on giving you things, then claim you've stolen from them.
Having been a care-giver myself, I had frequent moments of deja vu reading about Pat's struggles with the tangled health care system. Even with the best insurance available (which was NOT the case here) it's a constant battle. Barbara had a host of health problems from bad diet, over-weight, and just plain ageing. Her sister bravely tackled them one at a time, while fighting bureaucracy and Barbara's own stubbornness. It seems at times that the Stanfords are fighting Barbara while fighting FOR her. Sometimes that's the case.
I researched extensively after my mother's stroke and came to the conclusion that Pat reached - that what we know about the brain and how it works is FAR outweighed by what we don't know. Facilities can have impressive titles and highly paid staff and lovely buildings but that doesn't mean they know any more than laymen do about how to help a brain damaged patient. Indeed, sometimes an intelligent, observant family member knows far more than the "experts."
If you're interested in the subject of brain damage or if you just want to read a book that lays a family's strengths and weaknesses bare, this is a good bet for you. I enjoyed it.
April 16, 2018
"Fixing BooBoo" is an amazingly detailed chronicle of the author's experiences in caring for her disabled sister. It is a remarkable story of familial love and duty and extraordinary perseverance.
Barb, or BooBoo as was her nickname, had never had a normal life. Having been always a little restricted by physical and mental problems, she had persevered, even achieving a college degree in social work, until an unfortunate automobile accident left her with a severe brain injury. She overcame this setback to her career dreams, and became a nurses' aide. In fact, she overcame every obstacle that life threw in her way, until the death of her husband.
Barb suffered from a disintegrating hip for years, as well has hammer toes, COPD and a partially paralyzed diaphragm. As she was unable to live alone, her sister Pat and husband Gary took her into their home and tried to help her. Because of her many physical problems, surgery for a hip replacement was delayed for many months, while they worked to alleviate the obstacles.
Barb was not an easy "houseguest"; Pat and Gary experienced a great deal of stress in attempting to take care of her, exerting every possible effort to help her maintain a healthful and happy lifestyle. Eventually, doctors and therapists recommended assisted living for Barb, and finally, admission to a nursing home. Pat and Gary made numerous trips to help Barb and to see to her wellbeing, at all hours of the day and night. There were many hospital visits, and a great deal of care needed. Through it all, Pat and Gary remained steadfast in their concern for Barb and in their attempts to "fix BooBoo" by whatever means available.
This five star book is both a heart-rending story and a gut-wrenching saga of what one family went through. Pat Stanford has given the reader insight into the world of the disabled, as well as the world of the caregiver; the story of their lives is compelling and riveting, as one problem follows another. Pat Stanford is to be commended, not only for taking charge and rising to the needs of her sister, but for telling the beautifully written story so that others might learn from it.
Barb, or BooBoo as was her nickname, had never had a normal life. Having been always a little restricted by physical and mental problems, she had persevered, even achieving a college degree in social work, until an unfortunate automobile accident left her with a severe brain injury. She overcame this setback to her career dreams, and became a nurses' aide. In fact, she overcame every obstacle that life threw in her way, until the death of her husband.
Barb suffered from a disintegrating hip for years, as well has hammer toes, COPD and a partially paralyzed diaphragm. As she was unable to live alone, her sister Pat and husband Gary took her into their home and tried to help her. Because of her many physical problems, surgery for a hip replacement was delayed for many months, while they worked to alleviate the obstacles.
Barb was not an easy "houseguest"; Pat and Gary experienced a great deal of stress in attempting to take care of her, exerting every possible effort to help her maintain a healthful and happy lifestyle. Eventually, doctors and therapists recommended assisted living for Barb, and finally, admission to a nursing home. Pat and Gary made numerous trips to help Barb and to see to her wellbeing, at all hours of the day and night. There were many hospital visits, and a great deal of care needed. Through it all, Pat and Gary remained steadfast in their concern for Barb and in their attempts to "fix BooBoo" by whatever means available.
This five star book is both a heart-rending story and a gut-wrenching saga of what one family went through. Pat Stanford has given the reader insight into the world of the disabled, as well as the world of the caregiver; the story of their lives is compelling and riveting, as one problem follows another. Pat Stanford is to be commended, not only for taking charge and rising to the needs of her sister, but for telling the beautifully written story so that others might learn from it.
January 19, 2018
Families – where would we be without them? Some people have the good luck to get on well with all their immediate family members for all of their lives. Probably most people have long-standing minor problems or, perhaps occasional major ones, with a family member. But the unlucky few find that the needs of someone in their family take over their life.
In this book, Pat Stanford engagingly recounts her experience of trying to look after her brain-damaged sister – Boo Boo of the title – after the death of her husband. It is a tremendously challenging time, from exhausting efforts to care for her at home to equally exhausting problems of finding alternative facilities and keeping her in them. The author pulls no punches about the nature of her situation: one lives with her frustrations and the mounting physical and emotional toll. Yet at the same time, she shows some people at their very best.
I have only limited experience of brain damage – and it clearly varies hugely not only between people but also within the same person at different times ¬– but I would think this book would be highly comforting to someone in the same position. Not because there is wealth of help out there – there clearly isn’t – but because they would feel they were not alone. The author also helpfully offers a list of resources for people needing information and support.
In this book, Pat Stanford engagingly recounts her experience of trying to look after her brain-damaged sister – Boo Boo of the title – after the death of her husband. It is a tremendously challenging time, from exhausting efforts to care for her at home to equally exhausting problems of finding alternative facilities and keeping her in them. The author pulls no punches about the nature of her situation: one lives with her frustrations and the mounting physical and emotional toll. Yet at the same time, she shows some people at their very best.
I have only limited experience of brain damage – and it clearly varies hugely not only between people but also within the same person at different times ¬– but I would think this book would be highly comforting to someone in the same position. Not because there is wealth of help out there – there clearly isn’t – but because they would feel they were not alone. The author also helpfully offers a list of resources for people needing information and support.
April 5, 2018
Fixing Boo Boo - A real story told with brutal honesty and delivered with the graceful wording of a loving sister.
I struggled with this book. Not because of bad technique, transitional grammar, or poor prose. No...I struggled with this book because the author, Pat Stanford, crafted her words so well that through each and every line I read I could feel the joy, pain, happiness, and sadness experienced by the author herself and her husband while caring for her sister.
Fixing Boo Boo is an intense book documenting not only the effects suffered by Barb after her car accident but the emotional toll on those who cared for her. This is a real story told with brutal honesty and delivered with the graceful wording of a loving sister and exceptionally talented author.
I struggled with this book. Not because of bad technique, transitional grammar, or poor prose. No...I struggled with this book because the author, Pat Stanford, crafted her words so well that through each and every line I read I could feel the joy, pain, happiness, and sadness experienced by the author herself and her husband while caring for her sister.
Fixing Boo Boo is an intense book documenting not only the effects suffered by Barb after her car accident but the emotional toll on those who cared for her. This is a real story told with brutal honesty and delivered with the graceful wording of a loving sister and exceptionally talented author.
July 20, 2021
Fixing Boo Boo; A Story of Traumatic Brain Injury was her first major published work, but she is currently working on a companion book, where other families tell their stories, showing the broad range of brain injuries.
Pat was born in Philadelphia, but her farming family moved to Delray Beach, Florida looking for year-round growing seasons when she was a year old. She lived there until a brief stint in the Air Force took her to California.
She graduated Florida State University with a B.S. in Secondary Education, which was never used for its intended purpose.
Pat was born in Philadelphia, but her farming family moved to Delray Beach, Florida looking for year-round growing seasons when she was a year old. She lived there until a brief stint in the Air Force took her to California.
She graduated Florida State University with a B.S. in Secondary Education, which was never used for its intended purpose.
January 25, 2018
Pain only a family member can feel.
I found this book at times hard to read, not because it wasn’t well written, it stuck a never with aging family members all around me. It made me look into my and my families own mortality. A great read, highly recommended.
I found this book at times hard to read, not because it wasn’t well written, it stuck a never with aging family members all around me. It made me look into my and my families own mortality. A great read, highly recommended.
August 16, 2018
Emotional
I went through so many different emotions while reading Fixing Boo Boo. I took care of my mom for 7 plus years and my entire family can relate to the things that the characters went through. I totally recommend reading it.
I went through so many different emotions while reading Fixing Boo Boo. I took care of my mom for 7 plus years and my entire family can relate to the things that the characters went through. I totally recommend reading it.
October 7, 2025
An inspiring look into what it really means to “help” someone you love. Pat Stanford writes with honesty and grace as she and her husband open their home and hearts to her sister after a brain injury. This is a touching reminder that caregiving is messy, meaningful, and full of unexpected lessons.
January 17, 2020
Very interesting. Learned a lot about brain issues. A good read.
May 15, 2017
Fixing Me
Although this book is labeled as fiction, it reads like a real account of what happens when one relative takes in another relative for whatever reason. Either way, I appreciated this account of one sister truly reaching out to help another. It showed me that regardless of how much we might love a sibling, we might never truly understand them but loving them is all that matters. Bravo to Pat on completing such an emotional first novel.
Although this book is labeled as fiction, it reads like a real account of what happens when one relative takes in another relative for whatever reason. Either way, I appreciated this account of one sister truly reaching out to help another. It showed me that regardless of how much we might love a sibling, we might never truly understand them but loving them is all that matters. Bravo to Pat on completing such an emotional first novel.
July 10, 2017
it is difficult sometimes to remember those with TBI or Cerebral Palsy, are still human beings and want respect.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews