They try to capture some action shots. QLI client Jason Jensen positions his ice skates just so, hoping 
that the ice will align on the edge of the skates, passing over the edge of the frame. He and occupational therapist and assistive technology specialist Olivia Ollis test this out a bit before opting to go round in circles. “We should keep it simple, right?” Jason jokes. He is grateful that even on a hot and sunny July day, there is a place to come and skate. This will be his last time at Grover Ice before he returns home to Minnesota. To his job, to his community, and above all, to his wife and kids.
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Jason dons many different hats in his daily life. He proudly serves in law enforcement, overseeing a unit of thirteen detectives for the Lakeville Police Department. “For me,” says Jason, “law enforcement was neat, not only because of the opportunity to interact with people from different walks of life and world views, but it’s a higher calling to serve those in need—it’s the honorable thing to do.” As a father to son Noah and daughter Olivia, his off times are always filled with activities.
Jason also finds time to volunteer as a local high school hockey team coach. “It’s probably as big a deal for us up north as high school football is in Texas.” Jason recalls the beginning of a standard practice in late January 2025: “I coach goalies, and we were in the middle of warming up—I was looking away when one of the players lost their edge on the skate and collided with me—I hit my head on the ice.”
Jason’s resultant traumatic injury led to damage in the temporal area of his brain. In the early stages of his recovery, sessions at outpatient clinics allowed for good physical progress, but Jason was looking for something more. “It’s not just getting better physically, but cognitively, emotionally, spiritually,” he recognized. “I wanted to give it my all, see where it goes, so I can say I made the best decisions I possibly could—and didn’t miss any crucial windows of time for recovery.” When it came to taking the
next steps in his recovery, Jason desired an environment where absolute trust could be placed—but where there was also a common connection, a clear sign that the team with whom he was working truly cared about him.
No two brain injuries are alike. For Jason, physical barriers were quickly overcome, but the core struggle of his injury was manifested in lessened abilities for cognitive processing. Places in the community he frequented became overstimulating, and working through administrative tasks like those he faced in his work environment were more difficult and complex than he anticipated. Therefore, the keys to his program at QLI were to be centered on reestablishing confidence and slowly building out his skill sets so that success would be at hand upon his discharge back home.
“Jason arrived at QLI knowing where he wanted to be in the immediate future, but without a clear idea of how to get there,” remembers speech language pathologist Zoey Bertsch. Putting the pieces together for that future meant connecting Jason with community partners and slowly beginning to simulate what the ideal day would look like for him. At first, these sessions focused on his administrative role. Jason, with Zoey and vocational specialist Drew Verts, ran through exercises of receiving, drafting, and summarizing content for theoretical reports to his chief. Within a couple of months of implementing strategies dedicated to strengthening his executive functioning skills, Jason started doing remote work a few hours each morning.
The team did not stop there but collaborated to connect Jason with other community partners. “We introduced Jason to places like 88 Tactical and Mick Doyle’s Kickboxing and Fitness Center,” says community integration specialist Ellie Fischer, “and allowed him to plan, being able to regularly schedule the appointments and the agendas himself.” Jason traveled with team members to these facilities, where they were able to safely simulate the kinds of physical tests and weapons—handling checkpoints that Jason could anticipate with a full return to work. These were passed with flying colors, and as confidence grew for Jason, anxieties and overstimulation began to subside, with strategies he learned always at hand in case stress began to increase.
Though hesitant at first to do so, Jason put his skates back on, not only to go out to local Omaha rinks himself but to get involved in team activities and clinics once more. Given the already great physical progress of his recovery, Jason also worked with the team in passing driving tests, getting approval to utilize a rental car and drive himself to the ice rinks like Moylan Iceplex, helping at beginner skating clinics for children, and observing hockey team practices. All of this, because of the team equipping Jason with strategies to grow in them to have the full and sure ability to manage his life, get back to work, and reapproach the fulfilling activities that remained important to him. “To have grace and be appreciative and take advantage of opportunities has been crucial for me,” Jason reflects. “There’s a kind of greatness that has come out of this time.”
Categories: Brain Injury, Neuroplasticity