returning from a traumatic brain injury

[shootingstar]

Funny I and my two riding buddies all had traumatic brain injuries. Mine was the least of the 3 (we all had car v. bike accidents). My one friend is now on life long anti-seizure medication. My other has some physical limitations. All 3of us have the same quirky, weird injury in that when we type, words get messed up. Not typos, just weird word order for instance I might type for "I need to stop by the store and pick up milk" "I guy need to want by the store and see up milk". The words are all spelled correctly but make no sense in terms of context. I don't speak that way; I just type that way.

I have to re-read emails and letters a number of times to catch all the weird mistakes. It's tough because words aren't spelled wrong so spell checker doesn't help. Grammar checker will catch it sometimes.

When we send emails back and forth, and the weird words are there, we understand and figure out what the other was trying to say but sometimes my emails come back with the note "please interpret Pamspeak"...

A head injury is scary. It helps to go through cognitive redevelopment and do mind games and puzzles. And with time, things get better although this little quirk for me is permanent. It is actually getting worse as I get older. That's frightening!

Sounds scary. Hope no other crash happens again.

[Pip]

I didn't have a crash - I had brain surgery (an endoscopic third ventriculostomy if you want to Google it), but I ended up with some kind of brain injury as a result. The doctors never managed to work out why, but I developed both horizontal and vertical diplopia (double vision), and vestibular problems. I started running again after about four monhts, even though I was still having post-surgery problems. After six months I tried a couple of spin classes. After that I went out with a friend for a short bike ride, and a couple of months after that I felt confident enough to start pack riding again. Today I still have the vision issues - treated with prisms, and I still have a sensation of being rocked, but I live a pretty much completely normal life. I do still get tired more easily and being tired makes my symptoms worse. I work full time and I run, cycle, etc.

Of course it depends on the injury, but my surgeons told me the most recovery comes in the first six months, and it was around the six month point that I started feeling more normal. They also said it can take up to two years to improve as much as you're going to.

If I have any advice it's to be your own advocate. Know your body, find out as much as you can about your injury and don't be afraid to seek the help you need!

[smilingcat]

not remembering your accident is fairly common. Not remembering any thing of the day even things prior to the accident is normal too.

One thing I hated was not being able to go to sleep after some of my milder concussions. Doctors wanted to "talk" to you every hour or two... Make sure you didn't slur and your cognitive skills were intact... Make sure you weren't becoming agitated nor combatitive.

Unfortunately, too many of us have had major concussion or two. So you are not alone. Lots of good anecdotal comments of what happened afterward. Recovery back to normalcy, tiring easy for few month to a year, symptoms gets worse when tired etc. are all normal course of recovery. Be patient and love yourself.

The important thing is you survived, able to write about it, and your way to recovery. Worry about the bike later.

I wish you speedy and complete recovery. Yes I too have suffered several major crashes with concussion and broken clavicle (collar bone both sides).

Take it easy rest and sleep.

Sweet dreams,

Smilingcat