Rochelle Brace has a good grasp on what makes her unique.

She loves exploring the outdoors, enjoys arts and crafts, finds meaning in helping others. She adores her husband, her job, her adopted Hawaii home.

Just as important, she appreciates what a tenuous luxury it is to be herself each waking day.

A recreational therapist at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, Brace has devoted herself to helping those who have suffered traumatic brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury and other life-altering conditions reclaim what is most fundamental to their sense of identity.

“A lot of times it’s their leisure activities and interests, so we interview their family and try to include those things in their day-to-day programming and incorporate them into other therapies,” Brace said. “We try to figure out, ‘How do we get you back to the things that make you you?’”

For some it’s making it back to the garden, or the golf course, or the sewing circle. For others it’s being able to walk along the beach safely. Some want to regain a sense of independence by driving again. Some simply want to be able to help care for their loved ones as they’ve always done.

Brace, who graduated from Chico State University in California and worked in Chicago before relocating to Hawaii three years ago, said she especially enjoys working with younger patients.

Recently she worked with an adolescent boy whose rehabilitative goal was to throw a dance party.

“He made the playlist, helped make the decorations and hang them, figured out how much food to get — all of it,” Brace said. “We invited the staff to come during lunch, and his family came in from a neighbor island.”

And since many patients will continue to experience residual problems, Brace and her colleagues work just as hard to link patients to resources and provide follow- up care for new or emerging situations.

Brace once worked with a teenage girl who suffered traumatic brain injury after being hit by a car. In addition to severe physical injuries — she narrowly avoided having one of her legs amputated — she also experienced memory and language difficulties.

With Brace’s help she was able to complete high school and continue on to college, where she is able to independently seek out the resources and accommodations she needs to succeed.

Brace, who proudly attended the girl’s high school graduation, stays in regular contact with her.

“I’m never going to be a millionaire, but that’s not why I do what I do,” Brace said. “The point is being able to impact people’s lives and rebuild them, to help them get past their barriers and move forward. Maybe it’s not the same path they were on, but we can find other paths that are equally gratifying and rewarding to them.”

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.