Getting Back on the Bike

David Grant and his wife smiling into the camera

David A. Grant blogs about life after brain injury

My name is David A. Grant. I am a husband, a father, and a son. On November 11, 2010, I was unceremoniously forced to start closing the book on my old life and begin life anew as someone with a traumatic brain injury. My brain injury is singularly the most life-changing event of my life.

In this space, I will offer you the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a survivor. I'll share my victories, my defeats, my pains, and my joys. My hope for other people with brain injury is that they will see reflections of their own lives in my words and know they are not alone. Learn more about David >

The Latest from David

Staying Healthy Beyond Brain Injury

David Grant and his wife smiling at camera

For close to nine years, I’ve been working on navigating life as a brain injury survivor. Thankfully, as time passes, my life as a brain injury survivor has gotten easier. Like any human being with a heartbeat, though, I have other health issues. These are health issues that need my attention and constant care. It is at the intersection of brain injury and some of my other health concerns where things can get very dicey.

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Laughing at Life After Brain Injury

David Grant and his wife smiling at the camera

Learning to laugh at challenges means that they don’t own me. It means that I am not going to let them drag me down.

Brain Injury Battle Scars

If you are new to a life that now includes brain injury and everything feels different and unfamiliar, you are not alone. We all go through it. But I can share with you that time will change your perspectives...

Brain Injury Perspectives: Then Vs. Now

Brain Injury Perspectives: Then Versus Now with David Grant

The life that I live today is vastly different than I expected. Let’s talk about then versus now...

Staying Positive When the Road is Dark

Last month, I hit a low point and realized that it was time to seek professional help again. I sought out a local doctor familiar with using EMDR to treat my PTSD.

Is There a Simple Solution to a Complicated Problem?

Though solutions come in unexpected places, I never expected my local Target store to hold to key to freedom from one of my biggest challenges since my brain injury – living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Therapeutic Lying After Brain Injury

Some may question the morality of lying. As I moved deeper into my new role as a caregiver, I reached out to learn as much as I could about caring for someone with mom’s type of brain injury. My mistruths are categorized as Therapeutic Lying.

The Importance of Sleep after Brain Injury

It’s time to put a label on one of my biggest fears as a brain injury survivor: Backsliding. Over the last couple of months, I began to fear that this was happening to me until another survivor shared with me that lack of sleep exacerbated brain injury symptoms. And in two ticks of a clock, the lightbulb went on over my head.

Depression or Sadness after Brain Injury – Understanding the Difference

At first glance, sadness and depression may seem like they are related, but when you dig a bit deeper, they are as different as apples and zebras.

Knock Knock – I’m Still Here!

As the years pass, things get easier, life gets easier. But brain injury is patient. Every now and then, life happens, and my brain injury challenges come back to the forefront. It’s like my injury says to me, “Knock, knock, I’m still here!”

Brain Injury Academy

Early on, I thought that all brain injuries were traumatic. Over time, as I moved through Brain Injury Academy, I learned that there are traumatic brain injuries as well as acquired brain injuries. While the root causes are vastly different, the aftermath is the same. It’s akin to different lyrics set to the same music.

The Uncertainty of Life After Brain Injury

My biggest fear was laid out in front of me: What if my most difficult brain injury challenges return with a vengeance? I don’t want to be “that guy” who did well for years, only to sink back into the abyss. It happens to others, and it could happen to me.

The New Pace of Life

Things take longer than they used to. I have slowed down. Sure, some of it can be attributed to getting older, but most of the new, slower pace that life has taken on is injury related. I’ve found that in that slower pace, life has become rewarding in very unexpected ways

Life After Brain Injury – An Unexpected Hangover

There is a certain finesse required to live a reasonably happy life after brain injury. Try to do too much, and watch out.

What is Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor? (And why you should care)

“Regular exercise bathes the brain in a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. This specific protein has been shown to speed brain injury recovery.” That was all it took to fuel my hunger to learn more about BDNF...

The Only Normal I Know

Shortly after my injury, I heard someone describe life after brain injury as “the new normal.” Frankly, I could not stand that phrase. There was nothing normal about my life during those difficult early years after my injury.

Caught Between Two Worlds

It’s time for a deep and personal confession. As my path of recovery continues to move forward, I have been consumed by guilt. In what amounts to a bit of irony, I’m experiencing survivor guilt.

Life After Brain Injury – Changing the Inner Narrative

We've all got it, that inner voice that constantly narrates our lives. It is simply part of being human. But as many of us know, brain injury can complicate things. Gone can be the ability to know intuitively when and how to handle things. Without warning, our inner narrator takes on a new power.

Taking it all in Stride

Sometimes unexpected and unrelated medical conditions can exacerbate my traumatic brain injury symptoms. I have known this for years, but have just learned a new lesson about how true this can be.

My Seven-Year Nap

There are times when it feels like things cannot get any more surreal, and then they do. Such is the unexpected life that unfolds for so many of us after brain injury.

The Double-Edge Sword of Time

People close to me often think I am “over” all my brain injury challenges. Herein lies the challenge of being a long-term survivor...

Living with an Invisible Disability

None of these challenges is blatant to the naked eye, but spend a bit of time with me, and you’ll learn soon enough that I’m not as normal as I look. Such is the nature of being invisibly disabled.

Measuring Brain Injury Recovery a Bit Differently

For years, I measured my recovery by external gains. I looked for tasks that I could do better and longer. This was easily quantifiable data. I recently took some time to take stock of my growth over this past year. And what I saw surprised me. In fact, it was a completely unexpected revelation.

Two-Thousand Five Hundred Days of Lessons

I'd like to share a bit about what I've learned in almost 2,500 days as a brain injury survivor.

The Lingering Effects of Brain Injury

I can’t believe that I’m coming up on seven years out. As time continues to pass, my perspectives change, and my insight deepens. Sometimes I forget that those close to me still hurt. In the reflection of their inner pain, I see my injury for what it really is.