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

hi all.i had a car crash in aug 2008, i walked away without a scarch and worked for a week fell and hit the side of the door then went to my GP who gave me a sick note for two weeks,i payed for a mri scan and was told i had all the signs of post concussion sydrome and left to get on with it.i felt my head was to heavy,poor balance,did not feel hungry,was confused,couldent stand noise,have short term memory,feel tired all the time,have problems when there is more then a few people around me. i was sacked from my Job that i loved,and my family could not understand my behaviour

I was really grateful for this article. I've been trying to explain some of these things to my family and aides, but I feel like I am being dismissed and then nothing changes. It is soooo great to have something in writing to give my words some authority (though, in a perfect world, I wouldn't need an article to validate my experiences).

It's good too feel that other survivors feel like this, too. Everyone thinks I'm nearly back to normal. It's good to know that other people have the same oddities, it is not just me.

I am 23, I got into a car accedent when I was 10 years old.... I get so frustrate with my feelings and emotions that I can never seem to describe how I feel.... My girlfriend is very negative and is always getting mad at me for forgetting things, and having to remind me of stuff... I really hope that when she reads this things will get better. I am going to get my dad to read it too.

I had brain surgery almost 3 years ago, and these are my thoughts exactly. Now I won't have difficulty in explaining what I'm going through. Thank you!

Thank Jesus for this page, this has answered some questions about myself who is also a TBI survivor, my stress has been high because I've been asking for two years now why I'm so emotional now, why my head has little pains where my scar is,

I was working on demiling rocket as a government contractor when a piece of it blew up on shot an object into my brain. Took a piece of skull with it... I do well most days I have a great family for support so I am very blessed. I do find comfort in reading about others. It helps me understand where I stand and my weird actions and words that I do! Thanks for the site!!

what a wonderful list. I'm 4 yrs post op for a frontal lobe tumor. Have lost all my friends, my parents and brothers no longer speak to me, and my career is ruined. Actually people have said I am selfish now and use the brain injury as an excuse. Feeling rather hopeless at this point. So I'm ready for a change. I've fought so hard but its time to move away and start over. I know these problems will persist, though, just glad I'm not alone

Thanks to put all these helpful tips for the brain injury family.

This is absolutely amazing. Honestly i never thought this could be put any better understandable way whatsoever even better its just one of those things i thought would never come out. It makes life a lot more appreciateable for TBIs when you find it hard and think that noone will ever understand you or anything unless they have experienced it for themselves (touch wood nothing happens..ok as im on the laptop touch metal/plastic/glass and cant be bothered to put laptop down and touch the floor hehe). I greatly appreciate this site and give many thanks who got up and did this...much loved. Peace Out n Spread the Love. Also i have come across these sites that i find useful "http://www.tbiguide.com/index.html", "http://secondchancetolive.wordpress.com/tag/coming-out-of-isolation-as-brain-injury-survivors/", "http://main.uab.edu/tbi/show.asp?durki=50770",

Thank you for this web-site. I suffered a frontal lobe seizure in Nov of 2013 and have suffered from everything you have posted on this web-site. I have been told I am crazy and there is no reason for me to be having these problems. Thank Goodness I am finally getting an appointment to see a TBI specialist. I want to be the person I was not who I am now. I am glad to know I am not crazy. This web-site is so supportive as no one else understands the after effects of a brain injury unless they have been through it.

This site is now bookmarked, I found it said exactly how I feel. I cannot remember my accident but just to say I suffered 3 areas of damage on my brain. My partner is struggling to cope with my moods, a 3 year old and studying to be a nurse. My job is lost and I feel so helpless that I have healed the broken bones but cannot seem to do anything about the TBI. But reading this site lets me know I am not alone even though I live in scotland. God bless

Hello all, my husband suffered from tbi on 1/1/08 and we nearly lost him. He was in the hospital for approx 45 days, surgery, therapy and readmission due to another bleed. My questions to you are. 1. do you or your loved ones seem to wander around around the house and being restless. Also sleep habits are nerve racking, making all kinds of noises in his sleep making no sense at all. Has this happened to any of you. Your reply is greatly appreciated.

All of these statements are so true. Even two years after my brain injury, I still have some of the same issues mentioned above. Add in being more emotional and being overwhelmed and shutting down when someone does something or makes a critical decision without your knowledge or advice. It is as if they think you do not have a brain to make your decisions....it is just that you cannot process things as rapidly as you did before. Life changes. The fatigue..the narcolepsy...the total overload of the system so you just have to STOP. Retraining takes time and some things may never come back. Patience and understanding is the best medicine!

I recently not to long ago maybe like six months ago now suffered a brain injury.i lost my sense of smell almost completely..my left ear is no longer working i\'m deaf from it.and my taste buds have never been exactly the same as before. i am always tired i sleep more because i feel like my body needs it im not lazy i cant play soccer for my college anymore like i wanted too.my balance isnt the same i have slower reflexes im not as good in soccer as i was before.my question now is if my balance will ever be the same as before will it go back to normal one day?i hope soo

Hi there folks. On August 12 I was out training on my bike and got hit by a car. The driver was charged.I don't remember the accident and also have loss of memory for about 3 days post accident. I suffered a subaracnoid hemorrhage (right front lobal area), separated right shoulder and broken right tibia. I was in intensive care for 10 days, then 1 month in a rehab hospital and have now been at home since. I had no clue what awaited me regarding this accident. I had previously been in super physical shape and totally happy and living a productive, relaxed life. I immediately, once I started feeling what I thought was normal, thought I would heal quickly, or normally. I had to learn how to walk because my complete left leg, hip and posterior was "numb" and not responding and I had no balance at all. I seemed pretty accepting about that because as I began rehab, I seemed to slowly get a feel back in the leg. I sort of poo-pooed the fact I had the hemorrhage and that it would just get better. The accident happened Aug 12, it is now December 1. The feeling in the leg is coming back slowly and I can walk about 75 % of normal with balance slowly coming back, and taking its time (so I think). With therapy, my separated shoulder is healing and has almost 85 % range of motion and slowly getting stronger and my tibia is all healed up. My brain healing, however is a different story, and one I have finally learned to accept. I have never had as severe an injury file . These all happened at the same time. I had always been physically active and I coach as well(over 30 years now at the elite level ). This situation is a huge departure from a previous life for me and I am having problems with it from time to time...I am not back to work and likely not for a while yet. I was angry, very angry at first. Then I became very frustrated at how poorly I was feeling with poor concentration, tiredness, emotional upheavals, some confusions, being put on heart pressure medication, and a whole host of unpredictable feeings constantly coming up. I am finally accepting that I have a brain injury which will take quite a long while to settle into what might not be total normalcy. I have had to accept I am dealing with an injury that is very unpredictable and has changed my life substantially. I am trying to be more patient and less hard on myself and understand this injury is not like the broken limb which will heal within a certain time limit and more predictably. This has been my biggest challenge ....to understand the injury and then how best to ACCEPT it and now, deal with it. It is helpful to see there are others out there feeling as confused and frustrated and I am and that I hopefully can relax more with this condition that is affecting me. To live life despite the injury. Allow myself to get better. I'd love to connect with some of you....

I am so glad I found this site. I feel sometimes I am the only one that has these problems. People including or especially family think I am faking it. The ones you think would understand seem to be the ones who critize you. I see seem improvements but it is very slow. It is a fight for daily things that use to be so easy. It is just so great to know your not alone. Also that just because I am tired or withdrawn that does not mean I am depressed. Finding good help with the problem has been hard living in rural northern michigan.

A huge thank you for expressing and publicising what so many of us are going through. This is really helpful.

As a Irac war veteran I was involved in a blast near me. I thought I was not injured until much later. I am not the same, I cannot understand people when there is too much noise. I get overly tired and exhausted. I most of the time have little emotions and do not want to talk. I will get overloaded and become mute in public. Sometimes I think it is just my imagination and that I was not hurt. But I was. Thank goodness for this website

It's been almost four years now and I have discovered that there seems to be a "statute of limitation" on how long friends and family are willing to listen and understand. Whatever the time length of their patience is, I passed it long ago.

I was in a severe car accident in 2002. I was in a coma for 3 months. Diagnosed with brain injury. Since it has been 10 years, I wonder if I am healed. I still have a hard time hearing, especially with background noise, I use a walker and my speech is not very good. My family treat me as normal, but sometimes I just don't get it. Am I semi-normal? if you have any response email me at Kim_Krekel@yahoo.com

My husband has frontal lobe damage from being hit by a car almost 20 years ago. He is still dealing with the seizures, the anger, depression, and other confusing brain functions. I don\\\'t understand any of it. I\\\'ve read the articles and done tons of research. I am trying really hard to relate. He has tendencies of violence that come and go very quickly during an argument. But severe enough for me to \\\"kick him out of the house\\\". I\\\'m trying to be patient and understanding but I think I need help. Any suggestions?

I am a TBI survivor for 5 and a half years now. This is great information exactly how I feel.

hello,my name is Pete and i am new to this,i suffered a TBI july,2010 and im still struggling to walk independantly! sure its only been 2.5 years but man am i frusterated! im looking for other to email or talk with that have had this happen to. petey677@hotmail.com or let me know here