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For a long time after my brain injury, I was focused on the conventional definition of recovery. I wanted to get back to the place where I started. I wanted to be me again. But the passage of time, and lots of fighting my fate, have proven to me that there is no going back. I will never “get over” my brain injury. Like my shadow that follows me on a sunny day, I am forever bound to my brain injury. And today, I am okay with that.

The day after I was hit on my bike, a local neurologist literally high-fived me, telling me that I had no discernible neurological issues and sending me on my way. But it became painfully clear almost from the beginning that something was not right. 

When I started treatment again for my PTSD, I said that I'd give it 90 days. No sudden or irrational decisions, just a three-month treatment test drive. Ninety days have come and gone, but here I am, still not seeing any relief. What do I do?

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.

Last night, for the first time in a very long time, I had what I would call a deployment nightmare. I awoke to a cold sweat and heart palpitations.

Creating boundaries can feel awkward or wrong when you first start setting them. You might even get pushback if you haven’t done it before. But don’t stop.

I recently heard the holiday trifecta of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's called the Bermuda Triangle of exhaustion. No one knows this better than brain injury survivors!

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? 

Many years ago, I was introduced to a phrase that, before my brain injury, had not been part of my vocabulary: “compensatory strategies.” Why? Because prior to my injury, there had been nothing to compensate for. I was a fully formed and completely functional adult. Strategies were for board games.