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You have selected:Living with Traumatic Brain Injury

TBI and the Meaning of Life

I don’t think the meaning of life is really any different without a brain injury, except it may be more clear after TBI. It is clearer because it is less clouded by alternatives.

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.

A Good Job Done Well: Conquering Brain Injury One Step at a Time

For the past 14 years, I’ve been living a reasonably productive life with a brain injury. All things considered, I’ve done pretty well except for one big stumbling block.

Dr. James Kelly: What’s Different About the Marcus Institute for Brain Health?

At the Marcus Institute, the focus is on spending time learning about their veteran patients and finding as accurate a diagnosis as possible in order to best tailor treatment.

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Dr. James Kelly: Learning Self-Monitoring and Self-Efficacy After Brain Injury

Dr. James Kelly discusses NICoE's major focus on helping those with brain injury become independent. To help with that goal the program helps patients learn the nature of their problem, what triggers their symptoms, and how they can address those symptoms as they arise.

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Dr. James Kelly: National Intrepid Center of Excellence

NICoE, the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, was created with the goal of helping duty service members with TBI relieve symptoms, put them on a trajectory of recovery, and aim them back into the the military world that they live in.

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Dr. James Kelly on Improving Conventional Treatments: Vestibular Rehabilitation and Eye Movements

Dr. James Kelly knows that brain injury results in physical changes to the body which can be addressed and improved using rehabilitiation therapies. Vestibular rehabilitation has proven effective in addressing issues of balance and mobility.

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Dr. James Kelly on Concussion Care: Combining Conventional and Alternative Treatments

Dr. James Kelly talks about the growing interest in combining conventional and complementary, or alternative, treatments to help with traumatic brain injury recovery.

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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 Jeni Bounce

Momma was told, "You should make arrangements for a nursing home" due to my broken neck and the massive injuries to my brain. Fast-forward eleven years later, and with lots of hard work on my own, with determination, and by never quitting, I now live my life to the fullest that I am able to handle.

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.

Joey's Story: The Hope of Fly Fishing

Joey Maxim's story of finding hope through fly fishing

For 16-year-old Joey Maxim, the way back to life after a near-fatal car accident started with a fly rod in his hand.

What is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE?

Dr. Daniel Perl describes chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

Daniel P. Perl, MD

Topic:

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

Concussion / Mild TBI

Living with Traumatic Brain Injury

Military & Veterans

Seniors & Brain Injury

The Process of Adjusting to Life After a Brain Injury

There is a process that survivors go through while adjusting to their injury. Dr. Kreutzer explains what this is like from the survivor's point of view.

Jeffrey Kreutzer, PhD

Topic:

Living with Traumatic Brain Injury

Rehabilitation

Thinking / Cognitive Symptoms

How Does Ambiguous Loss Impact a Person with a Brain Injury?

"When I look in the mirror I see the same person who was there before, but when I go to work, I just can’t do the job the same way."

Jeffrey Kreutzer, PhD

Topic:

Behavioral & Emotional Symptoms

Caregiving & Brain Injury

Living with Traumatic Brain Injury

How Do You Save a Marriage After a Brain Injury?

Dr. Kreutzer shares what he tells patients struggling with their marriage after a brain injury.

Jeffrey Kreutzer, PhD

Topic:

Family Concerns

Intimate Relationships

Living with Traumatic Brain Injury

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

Happy Holidays!

As the July Holiday weekend draws to a close and the spacious break until Labor Day has me thinking about the holidays. Specifically, why I don’t really care for them.

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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...

Beautiful Truth

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to share with a group of caregivers and survivors at a rehab. From the moment they entered the gym, I sensed their exceptional spirits. This was not surprising, as I have discovered the brain injury community to be comprised of the finest people you will ever encounter.

Feeling Brain-Injured

Recently, some friends asked me to join them at a local bar for a monthly get together. I chose to decline because I try to avoid situations that make me feel brain-injured.

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.