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You have selected:Living with Traumatic Brain Injury Personal Stories and Blogs

I Didn’t Know What I Didn’t Know

David Grant and his wife smiling at camera

Something that I talk less about these days is how brain injury still affects me. And there are times, times like I am about to share, that brain injury still rears its ugly head, and leaves me completely bewildered and baffled.

Staying Healthy Beyond Brain Injury

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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Acceptance

Finding acceptance after a brain injury isn't easy. "For a long while, I bucked against our reality. I found myself caught between what I had once known and an uncertain future. The in-between caused marked turmoil. As much as I didn’t want to accept Taylor’s brain injury as part of our lives, it is. As much as I wish it didn’t affect Taylor and our family … it does."

The Way We Provide and Ask for Support: Life After Brain Injury

Recovering from a horrific accident, brain injury and defying all expectations, Ben Clench tells his story and shares important lessons around the way we provide and ask for support.

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...

Having a Brain Injury Was Never the Plan!

The Amazing Brain Injury Survivor Support Group in Framingham, MA, shares what they wish they had known earlier about living with brain injury. We invite you to add your thoughts as well!

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...

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.

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.

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.

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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.