Lost & Found: What Brain Injury Survivors Want You to Know

I love this article. I just recovered my sense of smell. This is not a lie, I was using a males perfumefor over a yar. withou noticing. This past week I woke up and I was able to smell... I spend over $400 in perfume. I lost it but I just found it, memry is still an issue but I know I am doing much better. PLease be hopefull, we have reasons to be.

need to get in contact with the writer of this Barbra Webster, to talk about making this go even more public.

I absolutely love this article. It has helped my family and I tremendously. I'm a brain aneurysm survivor. I wish that Facebook would allow this to be shared instead of blocking it as "spammy." In honor of National Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month, this would the perfect time to add to world awareness with this article.

Thanks for doing the word-finding for me! This article is exactly what I wished so often that I could explain to people when I have problems from my brain injury.

I became a Neurofeedback practioner to help a 53 year old friend who\'d had an open head TBI at the age of 5. He was in a coma for 30 days but survived. His subsequent life was a living hell. He suffered from hard core drug and alcholol addiction until he was 50 when I met him. Last hear he had a total shoulder replacement and the general anastesia really knocked him down. Neurofeedback has now made a huge difference in his life as well as other TBI client I\'ve worked with. Effects of Anastesia were completely lifted, Orgainization skills improved markedly, sleep improved, memory improved, depression lifted, stressors became less so. Neurofeedback is brain training on steriods and can rapidly accelerate progress with retraining the brain. Please look in to it as it can change your lives for the very much better in a very short amount of time!

This website fulls me with hope, thank you for suppling a great place for people like me, who are TBI "survivors" Paul. Newzealand.

Greetings, my name is Paul, i live in New Zealand, i am a survivor of TBI, or as we call it here AHI, aquired head injury, back in 1991, i was a victim of a home invasion,i tried to stop the offender raping a lady at my house, he was much bigger than me and had a base ball bat,didn,t recieve medical attention till the next day,nearly died, fractued skull, after this my life fell to bits, i lost everything, my job, my house , partner, ended up homeless on the streets, pretty tough when you cant think straight, well thats what i used to call it anyway, used to get picked up by the police for being drunk and not a drop i had drunk, i suppose i was pretty angry back then, but then thats another symtom of TBI, the Accident compensation corporation of Newzealand found an easy out from caring for me, i was angry at what a specialist said, or didnt understand what he said , and cleared his desk, he wrote a unfavourable report, No Rehabilitation for me, i try nto to reflect on the past years to much because i get pretty sad and can slip pretty fast into a bad depression. I am 51 now, live by myself quite isolated really, my mum passed away 18 months ago, she was the one person who took the time to understand my dissability, the rest of my family , just kicked me out of the house 3 days after the funeral, not much empathy there. Anyway i have been given some strength from reading about other peoples challenges and successes, a lady said to me the other day , "your a survivor" to be honest there have been times in my life where i wish i hadn't been. I have another challenge going on at the moment, i have Kidney stones, the had to operate lythotripsy, think i spelt that wrong, anyway they used a general anesthic, for the op, after the operation i felt different, i felt really sucisidal, very dark indeed , they kicked me out of Palmerston North Hospital, the next day after the op. I have another operation sceduled for 15/2/2012, at the hospital, i pre warned them about my head injury, i am very scared that it will be even worse than the last time, they do not seen to care or understand, i was also given morphine and tramadol, and about 4 other drugs, i am pretty worried that this op could be curtains for me, sorry but i am worried. Before i got unwell with kidney stones , i found the best thing for me was to help people, and stick to a routine, keep my exersize levels up, and for me one of the most important sleep when you want to sleep, obey your body, be kind to yourself, i used to berate myself hard out for years, all this gained was varing degrees of depression, i also take 200 mgs of vitimin B per day, and get a Vb injection every 6 months, i think this helps to stimulate memory, oh well, at least i cant remember alot of the bad things that happened to me when i was homeless, lol, sorry AHI humour, hey guys and girls i look forward to corresponding with you in the future. Every day above groud is a good day, Paul Eternal Optimist. My email adress, ioablogs@gmail.com

(sigh )8 years later the struggle moves forward hand in hand with jesus and thank you for my dear friends who make my recovery easier every day.

Thank you so true, i had a hemmorage due to AVM removal and this is so true :)

This is a great article. I am 28 years old now, but I hit a tree when I was 16, as it came in the passenger door. I got a concussion from the tree on my right frontal lobe. I got TBI and have been slow since. Well, not slow, just how you described it in the article. I feel like it read my brainwaves, what ones I have left. Thank you

Thank you everyone, that participate in this site; I feel like I am always 'work under progress', and understanding fellow challenged people's views is VERY HELPFUL! and finally, addition's towards a good attitude ....really is priceless~ David

This is great insight for loved ones of TBI survivors. My husband\'s injury date is approaching 2 years this week. After 42 years together it is a struggle for both of us to adjust to \" the new Jeff\". Through love & commitment the mantra in our house is \' this is a process\'. It took me a long time to gain the understanding that Jeff\'s lack of improvement was because he wasn\'t trying hard enough. We are in a much better place now that I have let go of the anger & have accepted that challenges God has given us. God has a reason.... & I trust that this experience was intended for both Jeff & I to grow. We are growing! The best statement I ever saw in writing ( & it\'s taped in a place where only I see it) is this: You don\'t recover from a TBI. You learn to live with it.

I was in a drowning accident 17 years ago. The effect on me has been profound and at times very hard to describe. People don't understand why I'm so tired and that I get really exhausted when they want to talk and talk. I am getting better, but it's very slow and extremely frustrating. I sent this to my Mum in the hope that she might get some insight.

The thing about TBI that bothers me most is that people who don't have it or don't know it mostly hurt the rehabilitation of it. Since mine occurred at 16 during the formation years of my life all the bad advice, bad instruction, bad support, bad participation and bad care doubled the time it took to get better. I'm lucky that i learned a few things about money on the way so that i could finally separate myself and isolate myself to allow my own body to correct itself.

I have discovered and posted this to my daughter's FACEBOOK page who has TBI due to a near-fatal auto accident 12-29-10. I am her Legal Guardian and each day is a challenge and inspiration! My daughter was Head Triage Nurse for years before this accident and she observes that it is hard when you "know too much".

I find it difficult to chat with people, I dont know. It is especially more difficult as I look normal, except I have alot of scars as a result of the RTA in which I got the ABI. It is difficult for me to try to overcome this obstacle, as I have no real support systems now!

In 1981, I was in a car crash, for thirty years i have lived with Frontal Lobe Damage. Until the internet came around I felt i lived in my own nightmare. So much more info on brain damage, especially Frontal lobe in the news these days. War, football, ... head injuries have brought the light to the world on what i struggled thru alone for too long. Excessive sleeping pills for years, none would shut my brain down, now hear that thoses sleeping pills prevent the brain from attempting to heal itself. I have taken Elival for sleep, depression, pain and ritalin for the daytime to keep me somewhat focused. so much to say on this subject.... been writing poetry for years and was a main therpy for me over the years.

Wow! This is very similar to a section on my own web site. I am recovering from TBI sustained 11 1/2 years ago and am actually only now just starting to be able to navigate my way around the web sites for those of us with TBI's. Because I find lots of information on one screen very overwhelming I have set up a site that I hope may be easier for people like me to understand. For more on this subject please come and visit 'me' - I would love to receive your support! http://www.mylatentself.co.uk/you-think-i-know/

My nephew was in an automobile in 1979 and was in a semi-coma for 55 days with a TBI. At that time I was his guardian and sought help from the only organization around our area at that time that told me he could function in normal classes. He even got an early childhood education degree, but he was never able to hold a job at any school for more than one year. After the last one, the lead teacher informed me that not only, under the umbrella of cognitive behavior, did he have a short-term memory problem but he had trouble with reasoning and thinking. That made everything click into place. He also cannot manage money which I have found to be true of other TBI'ers. Later he found a TBI support group of which he is a member. The support he receives from that was, I think, a lifesaver for him.

Thank you so much for this article. I have a son currently in high school with a brain injury. He is able to participate in college prep classes with accommodations. I have forwarded a copy of this article to all of his teachers. They are grateful to have a way to understand him and his efforts.

Reading this made me cry.. you found the words I've been searching for so long. Thank you~

Surviving a brain injury has been a slow process. The list provided here gives me thanks to those who have researched this issue. I have live alone, so when I presented my MRI to my father..no response. I have lost communication with others but not with the TBI team here in Colorado Springs, very good organizations out there for those who need it!

yes i wish that when i got my tbi 12-25-1972 while serving in in the us navy i was in a severe hellicopter crash instead of getting help i gotPUNNISHED abused medical neglect right here in the good USA as of today still no help been told iam costing the VA a lot of money

tears...this is what i have wanted to scream at my family for three years, i am glad i can share it in a more constructive way. I was discharged with no follow-up, and absolutely no provider anywhere along hospital recovery even mentioned tbi to me or my family. i thought i was alone. i understand now. thx maybe my loved ones will too.