Brainstorming for Project 1

I thought for a long time about what exactly I wanted my first project to be about.  I wanted it to be something that obviously means a lot to me, but I also want to be able to intrigue and relate to my audience. Though several thoughts came to mind, the one dominant thought that sticks with me is writing about my brother's illness and the trauma that came along with it.  This stands out in my mind because of the severity of his illness, and the the fact that my brother, as well as my whole family, is still dealing with it's consequences to this very day. It was a traumatic experience to say the least, and I find that it is a topic that I find solace in discussing.

 My brother Andrew was only 23 years old when he became extremely sick and almost died in November of 2004.  He had collapsed at work one day and was rushed to the hospital.  My family and I did not think it was anything too serious, but when the emergency room found blood on his brain and called in a Neurologist, we were terrified.  The ordeal only went downhill from there-my brother needed emergency brain surgery, which he received 2 days later, and went on to develop Menangitis and almost died.  Of course there is so much more to the story, but I'd like to save all the details for my project.

I don't just want my project to only state the actual facts about what happened, but I would like to discuss, in detail, about this rare illness that my brother had, and possible warning signs of it.  I'd like to raise awareness of it, because it is something that can be detected is the proper precautions are taken.

There are so many little aspects of this massive story that can be useful in the full presentation of this project- the nurses who stayed with my brother for almost a month and pretty much brought him back to life, the rigorous recovery process that my brother went through (and, in my opinion, is still going through to this day).

I want to be very descriptive in this project, because I want my audience to feel as though they are there with my brother, family, and me, as we struggled to cope with this devastating and unexpected horror. I want to talk about the waiting rooms, the hallway leading up to the ICU, the way the rooms smelled, the weather outside, etc.  I really want to lay everything out on the table that was occurring during this time.