Lost & Found: What Brain Injury Survivors Want You to Know

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Thanks for doing the word-finding for me! This article is exactly what I wished so often that I could explain to people when I have problems from my brain injury.
Hello, I suffered from a T.B.I last year around this time. This past year had been hell on earth. I nearly almost died at the beginning of the month because my brain wasn't getting the proper nutrition to heal. It was as if I had the gates of Hell in my head for this whole year. I had severe confusion, Pure-O ocd (the doubting disease), horrible memory problems, massive migraines, no motivation to do anything (even live), no good emotions,anxiety that caused me to go into flight or fight mode, horrible depression and almost a character change. But, by faith in Christ and refusing to die I did some research on what can regenerate brain cells, I found that changing my diet to all organic foods(Salmon, chicken, walnuts, flaxseed, blue berries, eggs, almonds, 100% extra virgin olive oil, and not eating anything processed, packaged or unadulterated, drinking raw milk and pure alkaline water, fish oil vitamins, B-complex and St. John's wort could do so. It has been about 21 days since I have started this diet along with excersice and I can say that I am almost fully better. I have no migraines whatsoever, my thoughts are aligning up, I can sleep like a baby, and I have motivation to live. I am still struggling with the OCD, but it has slowed down alot and I expect it to leave at this rate I am going. I share this with those who are struggling with a T.B.I. I had to leave school to come back home and heal properly. I am hoping and praying that I will be fully recovered in the next couple of months. Praise God! There is hope friends!
I became a Neurofeedback practioner to help a 53 year old friend who\'d had an open head TBI at the age of 5. He was in a coma for 30 days but survived. His subsequent life was a living hell. He suffered from hard core drug and alcholol addiction until he was 50 when I met him. Last hear he had a total shoulder replacement and the general anastesia really knocked him down. Neurofeedback has now made a huge difference in his life as well as other TBI client I\'ve worked with. Effects of Anastesia were completely lifted, Orgainization skills improved markedly, sleep improved, memory improved, depression lifted, stressors became less so. Neurofeedback is brain training on steriods and can rapidly accelerate progress with retraining the brain. Please look in to it as it can change your lives for the very much better in a very short amount of time!
Hello, i am a survivor of TBI, i have just recently been trying to make some friends on facebook, not really noing what i was doing, they have blocked me, cant even get to sign in, through my dissability, i have cognitive problems , i tink there is to much going on for me to coprehend, it hard enough having this dissability, the worse is putting up with peoples and businesses disriminating against me, my main focus on my facebook page was TBI,i am tring my best to make some friends as i have none , live by myself, now faceebook has cut me off, this was quite important to me at the moment, i am having a opperation tommorow, the general anesthetic really effects me quite badly, i fall into a deep depressive hole and feel like hurting myself, the facebook page was all i had left to keep me going, is there anyone there who can contact them and restart my page ,please. Paul Riddler
This website fulls me with hope, thank you for suppling a great place for people like me, who are TBI "survivors" Paul. Newzealand.
Thank you for providing this great website, there are not many if any groups here in New Zealand, i no i am not alone now, best wishes to all TBI survivors out there. Paul, Eternal optimist.
Greetings, my name is Paul, i live in New Zealand, i am a survivor of TBI, or as we call it here AHI, aquired head injury, back in 1991, i was a victim of a home invasion,i tried to stop the offender raping a lady at my house, he was much bigger than me and had a base ball bat,didn,t recieve medical attention till the next day,nearly died, fractued skull, after this my life fell to bits, i lost everything, my job, my house , partner, ended up homeless on the streets, pretty tough when you cant think straight, well thats what i used to call it anyway, used to get picked up by the police for being drunk and not a drop i had drunk, i suppose i was pretty angry back then, but then thats another symtom of TBI, the Accident compensation corporation of Newzealand found an easy out from caring for me, i was angry at what a specialist said, or didnt understand what he said , and cleared his desk, he wrote a unfavourable report, No Rehabilitation for me, i try nto to reflect on the past years to much because i get pretty sad and can slip pretty fast into a bad depression. I am 51 now, live by myself quite isolated really, my mum passed away 18 months ago, she was the one person who took the time to understand my dissability, the rest of my family , just kicked me out of the house 3 days after the funeral, not much empathy there. Anyway i have been given some strength from reading about other peoples challenges and successes, a lady said to me the other day , "your a survivor" to be honest there have been times in my life where i wish i hadn't been. I have another challenge going on at the moment, i have Kidney stones, the had to operate lythotripsy, think i spelt that wrong, anyway they used a general anesthic, for the op, after the operation i felt different, i felt really sucisidal, very dark indeed , they kicked me out of Palmerston North Hospital, the next day after the op. I have another operation sceduled for 15/2/2012, at the hospital, i pre warned them about my head injury, i am very scared that it will be even worse than the last time, they do not seen to care or understand, i was also given morphine and tramadol, and about 4 other drugs, i am pretty worried that this op could be curtains for me, sorry but i am worried. Before i got unwell with kidney stones , i found the best thing for me was to help people, and stick to a routine, keep my exersize levels up, and for me one of the most important sleep when you want to sleep, obey your body, be kind to yourself, i used to berate myself hard out for years, all this gained was varing degrees of depression, i also take 200 mgs of vitimin B per day, and get a Vb injection every 6 months, i think this helps to stimulate memory, oh well, at least i cant remember alot of the bad things that happened to me when i was homeless, lol, sorry AHI humour, hey guys and girls i look forward to corresponding with you in the future. Every day above groud is a good day, Paul Eternal Optimist. My email adress, ioablogs@gmail.com
It\'s just like someone climbed in my head and said: \"you\'ll be OK\" Thank you, and I will struggle on, as tough as today is. Just a year and half along, and I thought it was tough just to hear the words \"traumatic brain injury\". What\'s tough is today. \"... man waiting with patience\" = Henning
(sigh )8 years later the struggle moves forward hand in hand with jesus and thank you for my dear friends who make my recovery easier every day.
I needed this 20 years ago I could never explain to people in words what was going on in my brain but that explains it perfectly. Thank You.
Thank you so true, i had a hemmorage due to AVM removal and this is so true :)
This is such an excellent article and it seems to read my "mind". I was involved in a car crash and got a tree in the head through the door of an old corvette stingray which shatters as it is made of fiberglass. It wasn't until weeks later that deficits started showing up. I sunk into a deep depression, suffer from sleep problems which make brainwork worst. People outside my immediate family just don't seem to get it. It has been almost 8 years now and according to a recent neuropsychological testing done, I'm still at the same place. I have learned to deal with it for the most part, I'm on medication for the depression, anxiety, PTSD, and migraines. My life changed in a split second. I'm who I was before, just different. My husband says he loves his "second wife" as much as the "first". We've been married 33 years. Without the ongoing support and love of him and our 3 adult children, I wouldn't be here now. This is a great site.
This is a great article. I am 28 years old now, but I hit a tree when I was 16, as it came in the passenger door. I got a concussion from the tree on my right frontal lobe. I got TBI and have been slow since. Well, not slow, just how you described it in the article. I feel like it read my brainwaves, what ones I have left. Thank you
I SO CAN RELATE TO THIS..MY DAUGHTER IS 17 AND DEEP TBI SINCE 2007 FROM CANOEING ACCIDENT
Thank you everyone, that participate in this site; I feel like I am always 'work under progress', and understanding fellow challenged people's views is VERY HELPFUL! and finally, addition's towards a good attitude ....really is priceless~ David
FANTASTIC! - Its "about time" that someone got it right and finally wrote this down! I certainly could have used this in 1999. (year of my TBI) This information needs to be circulated to not only family & friends, but also to neighbors, employers and the general public. Brain Injury does NOT EQUAL loss of intellectual capacity! Thank you very much for putting this into a simple formate for others to understand. Hopefully with more of this type of education TBI can finally be addressed respectfully in our lives and communities. (TBI survivor aug. 1999)
This is great insight for loved ones of TBI survivors. My husband\'s injury date is approaching 2 years this week. After 42 years together it is a struggle for both of us to adjust to \" the new Jeff\". Through love & commitment the mantra in our house is \' this is a process\'. It took me a long time to gain the understanding that Jeff\'s lack of improvement was because he wasn\'t trying hard enough. We are in a much better place now that I have let go of the anger & have accepted that challenges God has given us. God has a reason.... & I trust that this experience was intended for both Jeff & I to grow. We are growing! The best statement I ever saw in writing ( & it\'s taped in a place where only I see it) is this: You don\'t recover from a TBI. You learn to live with it.
Thank you for putting this so well. I find I know what I want to say to explain my situation since brain injury but just as quickly forget and miss the opportunity to deal with situations where I am judged harshly. That is brilliant!
I was in a drowning accident 17 years ago. The effect on me has been profound and at times very hard to describe. People don't understand why I'm so tired and that I get really exhausted when they want to talk and talk. I am getting better, but it's very slow and extremely frustrating. I sent this to my Mum in the hope that she might get some insight.
This is absolutely magnificent. It is EXACTLY what the world needs to read & UNDERSTAND. I started a blog only last week to try & help others 'get-it'. I will absolutely be putting this up on my blog & will keep re-posting to push the message. Thank you http://abumptothehead.wordpress.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abumptothehead/207941139296925?sk=wall
The thing about TBI that bothers me most is that people who don't have it or don't know it mostly hurt the rehabilitation of it. Since mine occurred at 16 during the formation years of my life all the bad advice, bad instruction, bad support, bad participation and bad care doubled the time it took to get better. I'm lucky that i learned a few things about money on the way so that i could finally separate myself and isolate myself to allow my own body to correct itself.
This was putting letters to words, to sentences, formulating a simple explanation for the varied experiences we all have as TBI survivors. Brilliantly! Thank you very much and printing as well to share. Heart to Heart, Hand to Hand, Eye to Eye. Peace & Understanding be with ALL.
I have discovered and posted this to my daughter's FACEBOOK page who has TBI due to a near-fatal auto accident 12-29-10. I am her Legal Guardian and each day is a challenge and inspiration! My daughter was Head Triage Nurse for years before this accident and she observes that it is hard when you "know too much".
Very interesting to read so many of the statements I can relate with. It is a challenge everyday but with time things get better!!
I find it difficult to chat with people, I dont know. It is especially more difficult as I look normal, except I have alot of scars as a result of the RTA in which I got the ABI. It is difficult for me to try to overcome this obstacle, as I have no real support systems now!
tears rolling down my eyes as im reading this. It's like God answered my prayers. my family do not understand at all they do not even accept my TBI. I have had several explosive tempers with them when I try to explain to them and did not know how to put it in words. Thank you so very much for understanding.
In 1981, I was in a car crash, for thirty years i have lived with Frontal Lobe Damage. Until the internet came around I felt i lived in my own nightmare. So much more info on brain damage, especially Frontal lobe in the news these days. War, football, ... head injuries have brought the light to the world on what i struggled thru alone for too long. Excessive sleeping pills for years, none would shut my brain down, now hear that thoses sleeping pills prevent the brain from attempting to heal itself. I have taken Elival for sleep, depression, pain and ritalin for the daytime to keep me somewhat focused. so much to say on this subject.... been writing poetry for years and was a main therpy for me over the years.
My brain was under autoimmune attack for 10 years before my doctors correctly diagnosed it, so it's not traumatic, just traumatic to me. This article is very helpful in validating what i am going through. Going to print it out and put it on my family's fridge, as they don't "get it".
Wow! This is very similar to a section on my own web site. I am recovering from TBI sustained 11 1/2 years ago and am actually only now just starting to be able to navigate my way around the web sites for those of us with TBI's. Because I find lots of information on one screen very overwhelming I have set up a site that I hope may be easier for people like me to understand. For more on this subject please come and visit 'me' - I would love to receive your support! http://www.mylatentself.co.uk/you-think-i-know/
Finally, a site that helps my family understand why I do the things I do. About 6 years ago I survived an AVM that ruptured. It is an every day struggle and changed the person I was. Has changed my children\'s lives forever too. Tears just about everyday.
My nephew was in an automobile in 1979 and was in a semi-coma for 55 days with a TBI. At that time I was his guardian and sought help from the only organization around our area at that time that told me he could function in normal classes. He even got an early childhood education degree, but he was never able to hold a job at any school for more than one year. After the last one, the lead teacher informed me that not only, under the umbrella of cognitive behavior, did he have a short-term memory problem but he had trouble with reasoning and thinking. That made everything click into place. He also cannot manage money which I have found to be true of other TBI'ers. Later he found a TBI support group of which he is a member. The support he receives from that was, I think, a lifesaver for him.
My husband is 3 years post TBI (he was shot in the head). I read him this article & he disagreed with many of the statements. He wants people to know that HE often thinks he has more stamina than he does, can do more things than he can & understands more than he does. He wishes people would humor him a bit & not say "I told you so" when he thinks he can do more than he really can do.
Thank you so much for this article. I have a son currently in high school with a brain injury. He is able to participate in college prep classes with accommodations. I have forwarded a copy of this article to all of his teachers. They are grateful to have a way to understand him and his efforts.
after surviving a suside vest IED while serving in afghanistan.this was very helpful for me to try and understand what i am going thru and putting my family thru. my hope is to help my wife and family understand.
Reading this made me cry.. you found the words I've been searching for so long. Thank you~
as a mild TBI patient, i've felt all these things along with great frustration when others didn't understand. i think i'm going to post this as my status on facebook once a day. thanks! i think i'm going to start going to support groups, so i can be around people who truly do understand.
Surviving a brain injury has been a slow process. The list provided here gives me thanks to those who have researched this issue. I have live alone, so when I presented my MRI to my father..no response. I have lost communication with others but not with the TBI team here in Colorado Springs, very good organizations out there for those who need it!
Thank you soo much as a mother of a 20yr old with a TBI I have struggled to find something so simple yet explains so much. I am certainly going to print this off and pass it round my friends to help them understand. Thanks.
yes i wish that when i got my tbi 12-25-1972 while serving in in the us navy i was in a severe hellicopter crash instead of getting help i gotPUNNISHED abused medical neglect right here in the good USA as of today still no help been told iam costing the VA a lot of money
YES I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT EASYER TO UNDER STAND MORE HOW MY WIFE FEELS AND THE WAY SHE SEE\'S THINGS. I KNOW THAT READING THIS SURE MAKES ME SEE THINGS A LOT BETTER. I\'M GOING TO PRINT A FEW COPYS FOR A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS SO THEY WILL UNDER STAND JUST WHATS GOING ON WHEN THOSE TIMES ACURE.
tears...this is what i have wanted to scream at my family for three years, i am glad i can share it in a more constructive way. I was discharged with no follow-up, and absolutely no provider anywhere along hospital recovery even mentioned tbi to me or my family. i thought i was alone. i understand now. thx maybe my loved ones will too.
well done, team amazing! thanks for the work and thought your group put into this. i'm sure it will be a help for many of us!
thank you for posting this; patience is more than a small virtue when dealing with an injured brain.
I suggest adding that talking on the phone is quite difficult. Talking face to face allows me to use gestures and facial expression to make up for many of the words that I cannot instantly recall and allows me to avoid interruptions These interruptions often cause me to lose track of what I am trying to say and my effort to communicate simply fails.
Thank you so much for this insight into my daughters brain, I know this is going to help my family and friends understand just a little more about the injury my daughter has to deal with for a lot of years to come......Kath
Excellent piece! Thank you for putting all of these ideas into one article... we've heard each of them so many times. (signed) Wendy, Encephalitis Global, Inc.
THIS WEBSITE IS AWESOME!!!! I AM A TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY SURVIOR OF 18 YERES. THIS SITE IS SO RITE ON OF SOM MANY THIGS I AM , HAVE, & CONTINUE TO STUGGEL WITH. I FEEL THAT THIS WAS A BLESSINGS TO FIND. SOMEONE THAT GETS IT ALL. I AM NOT ABEL TO REED BOOKS BECUZ COMPRENSION, BUT I AM ORDERING SO FRENDS WILL GET ME MORE. THANK YUO SO MUCH FOR THIS SITE.....
Thank you, Thank you! Everyone expects my 20 year old to get on with her life. I am printing this up to show the next person who pushes her beyond what she is capable of at this point of her rehabilation.
wow, amazing! my 20 yr old has a brain injury, thank you for posting this, i will post on his site. thank you and blessings.
I am printing this to give to my 12 year old sons school/teacher. What wonderful advise for all of us dealing with a loved one following a brain injury!

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