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

One exceptional life
Oh my goodness God’s grace is so good
Never give up
Every thought captive

Everything to Jesus
Xtra special
Cast your cares
Every thought captive
Pray and praise
Trust and obey
Increasingly loved
Only way
No other way
Always
Look at what God’s doing

Love ya
I’m not gonna give up
Focus on Jesus
Everyday

at 49 I suffered a tbi as a result of a heart attack my heart stopped beating for about 25 minutes. the damage was global. I lost all memory of everything including family friends and everything else. I could not read or write feed myself dress. I lost everything. But what hurt more than anything was the change in how friends family and even my wife. Friends became distant and eventually disappeared my wife became a caregiver and angry from time to time. But stayed with me an still keeps me out of trouble lol. I found that music, like singing in a chorus of playing and instrument help with memory, cognitive thinking and an overall feeling of well being. Old friends are gone by new ones have taken their place.

My sibling had an accident and is suffering from TBI. Before and during their ER visit on the day of the accident they kept on asking for me and kept on calling my name. We have other siblings who were there but they did not recognize anyone but kept calling for me. I wasn't there. I was wondering why that was the case? I am praying for their speedy recovery.

Can you provide helpful information on helping someone with a TBI and in non verbal and non motor. Thank you Jacqui

at the age of 11 in 1983 I took a 9 iron golf club to my left hemisphere shattering my skull into 15 pieces and destroyed my left temporal lobe and amygdala on my last visit with the doctor that saved me he said was going to have a interesting life and handed mother a copy if nejm which I was in

I'm a TBI Survivor after my motorcycle tether balled me into the pavement on the back left side of my skull! My helmet saved me some damage however, I suffered a Diffuse Axonal Injury and since have NO short term memory... My daughter was 8 and now, just turned 21. I've miss a lot since 2008 but I'm STILL ALIVE, & that's enough for me! Stay Strong TBI Warriors!

Had a moose run in front of our car and gave me a TBI in 2017. Was out of it for a month, kept in hospital care for 3 and 1/2 months and was slowly able to walk again. I have lost half my vision, have various memory issues, some various body pain and such.
Life does change, many things about mine did, and I’m still trying to get used to how things are now, even basic things. I liked the encouragement that this article gives though, that though we may be broken, and need more help to do basic things, that we forget things more often, we are still here :) That we could have gone to be with God but we were able to stay with those that love us is a good thing.
Thank you for your article :)

I have an acquired brain injury...an anaplastic grade 3 oligodendroglioma.Right temporal lobe.This articles descriptions are amazing! Thank you so much for writing it! The more folks that read it the better the understanding of it for others.Practically the entire article applies to me....nice to see it out there in print rather than trying to explain over and over what applies to me and knowing I haven’t or can’t help you understand what I’m feeling. Thank you so much for sharing it Barbara!

A concussion robs a part of you. Something that can never be gotten back. You feel like a different person. Everyone says you look fine, but they truly don't realize the struggles. Sound, chatter, speaking with someone,reading, sitting on a bus, being in a crowd, mental fatigue, doing simple tasks, all these literally take all the energy out of you. That energy you USED to have is no longer, it's GONE. Waking up is a struggle, making food is a struggle. This is what people without a brain injury will never understand. They just look at you, see what you look on the outside and say "wow you look way better than before", "you look really good today, it's good to see you're doing well" . All this is simply just another way of saying they don't understand. They're not educated about it, and have never had a concussion themselves. Every day is so different with a concussion. It's not understood until you have one. At that point you understand others that have had it.

So to everyone who reads this, who DOESN'T have a concussion, RESPECT AND DON'T COMPARE anyone who does have a concussion. Don't ever say "You look really good, you must be doing better" , "You should be better by now", "I hit my head too and I am ok!" , "I know exactly what you feel like", "I have some suggestions for you".

The inner struggles of a concussion are NEVER seen. Every concussion experience is different for each person.

I had a 6m fall onto concrete about a year ago. I was 18. In a coma for a month.

I don't no if im the only one who has to work on not playing the disability card. often i do not correct people when they assume stuff is because of the injury. I am getting better at it. I know i need to stop as its unhealthy rewiring of my brain.

It becomes an excuse to yourself and you let your self get angry and stuff.

The best description of what,”we” go thru. Was a 4 year veteran of the nyc fire patrol and a 29 year veteran of the fdny. My career ended after failing a medicos due to etc lung disease. I continued to work d Cade’s after 911. Retired under the trade center bill and moved to a nice healthier area in no. I was doing work in my 2 story garage and fell at 56 yrs old. Woke up from a coma and ventilator a month later and was transported to Kessler still on life support. Spent another three months learning to eat, walk, and talk. Was paralyzed on left side. The doctors were shocked, I walked out of Kessler. The struggles I have and have had she describes so well. Would love to speak with her and others. Thanks, Don

Wow!!
Thank you, thank you, for creating this article of hope and instruction for Care givers. I am caring for my beloved wife and all that I can but this is one of the most valuable articles I read and will further help me in guidelines for her care. I am forwarding it to all me family and friends!!