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Life after brain injury remains a bit surreal. One might think that after fifteen years, I would have mastered the subtle nuances of this second life, but not even close. Occasionally, I am reminded that I live on a different plane than the neuro normals of the world but I've found ways to adapt and celebrate.

Living alongside David Grant's TBI was a treatment-resistant case of PTSD. For over fifteen years, he lived with innumerable night terror events. The kitchen calendar counted the bad nights. A good month noted three or four bad nights. A tough month, like last November, came with nineteen night terror events. Last November was as bad as it gets. Life was unsustainable… until it wasn’t.

Last week, while scrolling through my news feed on social media, I had a rather abrupt realization: my life looks pretty normal these days. As I scrolled through my posts from the last few weeks, a picture emerged — a picture of someone enjoying life.

You might be asking yourself what changed. That’s the same question I asked myself. It’s a simple question with a complicated answer.

Brain injury anniversaries are complicated. Like an unseen gravitational force, my mind is drawn back to that day. But this year feels different. My anniversary is still many months away… but thoughts of it are already creeping in at unexpected times.

“There is an inherent value to lessons learned by living them.”

Brain injury survivor David Grant reflects on the fifteen years since his accident — and what he’s learned since his life changed.

As it turns out that pivotal day — when I was hit by a car on my bicycle and sustained a brain injury — opened the door to the purpose-driven life that I now live.

"I’ve seen both sides of the suicide coin, both as a surviving family member as well as an actual survivor. I have a deep empathy for those who think life would be better off without them, but I know that they are wrong. When you feel that way, you have no perspective; you are unable to understand that there are people who love you unconditionally and who would be shattered had you succeeded."

Looking back over the years, I never expected to live a life defined largely by being a brain injury survivor. Early on, I was completely unable to see that there might be a silver lining to all that has come to pass ...

If, within your own personal or professional circles, you know someone with a brain injury or PTSD who has been living the survivor life for years, please know that time does not equate to freedom from challenges. Reach out to those you know and ask how they are really doing. You might just be surprised by what you hear — and how much your asking means.

These days my wife and I do a lot of laughing, but in the spirit of transparency, we never forget the years we spent crying together.

Well, it finally happened. After successfully dodging COVID for over three-and-a-half years, the virus finally struck our household. Since the outbreak, my biggest fear about COVID was having a preexisting brain injury — what might the virus do to further compromise my already challenged brain?