Getting Back on the Bike

David Grant and his wife smiling into the camera

David A. Grant blogs about life after brain injury

My name is David A. Grant. I am a husband, a father, and a son. On November 11, 2010, I was unceremoniously forced to start closing the book on my old life and begin life anew as someone with a traumatic brain injury. My brain injury is singularly the most life-changing event of my life.

In this space, I will offer you the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a survivor. I'll share my victories, my defeats, my pains, and my joys. My hope for other people with brain injury is that they will see reflections of their own lives in my words and know they are not alone. Learn more about David >

The Latest from David

Finding Purpose After Trauma

David Grant blog, loss, grief, brain injury, parents, growth, time

As it turns out that pivotal day — when I was hit by a car on my bicycle and sustained a brain injury — opened the door to the purpose-driven life that I now live.

Redefining Brain Injury Recovery

David Grant and his wife smiling at the camera

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.

Surviving Suicide

David Grant and his wife smiling while on a boat.

"I’ve seen both sides of the suicide coin, both as a surviving family member as well as an actual survivor. I have a deep empathy for those who think life would be better off without them, but I know that they are wrong. When you feel that way, you have no perspective; you are unable to understand that there are people who love you unconditionally and who would be shattered had you succeeded."

Navigating the Long Road: My Ongoing Recovery Through Brain Injury and PTSD

David Grant blog, recovery, medication, PTSD

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.

Taking a Victory Lap After Brain Injury

David Grant blog, Brain Injury Hope Network, loss, grief, brain injury, growth, time, non-profit,

Looking back over the years, I never expected to live a life defined largely by being a brain injury survivor. Early on, I was completely unable to see that there might be a silver lining to all that has come to pass ...

Navigating Life with Brain Injury and PTSD

David Grant blog, PTSD, treatment, frustration, lifelong issues

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?

The Weight of Loss After Brain Injury

Time seems to pass faster every year. It feels like just yesterday that I first presented at a brain injury conference. It was 2013, and I was asked to offer the keynote address at the Brain Injury Association of Maine’s annual conference. No one was more surprised than me to receive the invitation.

Navigating Life as a Long-Term Brain Injury Survivor

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.

Mindfulness Revisited

David and his wife smiling in front of a palm tree

Mindfulness has taught me that true and lasting peace only comes in the moment. Right here, right now. In the moment, my past carries no weight, and the future does not exist. Life is truly a succession of moments.

Surviving the Holidays with Grace and Sanity: A Look Back

David and his wife smiling in front of a Christmas tree wearing holiday sweaters

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!

Staying Between the Bumpers after Brain Injury

David and his wife smiling in festive holiday sweaters

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.

Long Brain Injury?

David and his wife smiling in bright pink Hawaiian shirts

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?

My External Brain

David and his wife smiling in front of tall pine trees

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.

My Relationship with Depression

My life will forever be marked by that day in November of 2010 when I sustained a brain injury after being hit by a car while riding my bicycle. It was a true "before and after" scenario. However, an unexpected consequence followed: my decades-long depression disappeared. I was as stunned as anyone …

What’s Gone… and What Remains

David and his wife smiling, her hair whipping in the wind in front of her face

A perfect example would be the day — about a year after my injury — when I decided to go out for a bike ride … in a snowstorm. My plan made perfect sense to me...

Life After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Journey of Resilience and Caregiving

David and his wife smiling by a stone arch

I feel ready to move through whatever comes next. After all, I really only need to worry about making today a well-lived day. Tomorrow is none of my business.

Lost Memories and Living in the Present: Reflections of a Brain Injury Survivor

David and his wife smiling in front of trees on a sunny day

Over the last couple of years, I’ve discovered mindfulness and have learned the value of living life “in the moment.” It’s a learned skill that has enabled me to find peace in my life. In what amounts to almost an irony, I no longer have much of my past to recall. The future never really comes. By circumstance, rather than any virtue, I am now forced to live in the moment.

Living With PTSD – Taking A Victory Lap

David and his wife in front of graffiti art

Now, well into my thirteenth year since my accident, I have a very good working relationship with both TBI and PTSD.

Ignoring the Inner Narrative

David and his wife smiling by a sunny pier

Living with a brain injury is, by far, the most complicated thing I have ever done. There have been great joys, stunning victories, and, somehow against all odds, I’ve carved out this amazing life. Sometimes, I just need to remind myself that just because I think something, doesn’t mean that it’s true.

Good News Disguised as Bad News

David and his wife smiling surrounded by foliage

Last month, I found out that I qualified for a Cornell University research study about brain injury.... I ruefully admit that I was nervous going into the testing. What brokenness in me would they find? I do pretty well these days, well enough that most people might not notice my challenges. But I still have an ego and can be more sensitive that I care to admit.

The Inherent Uncertainty of Life After Brain Injury

David and his wife, wearing "Wild African Trek" vests, smile in front of a hippopotamus

If there’s one thing that is all but guaranteed after a brain injury, it’s uncertainty. So much of what we face as survivors is unique to the brain injury community. Brain injury is often — but not always — invisible to others and no two brain injuries are alike. The challenges I face are often different from those other survivors face. Often invisible, and always unpredictable, brain injury is a unique confluence of challenges.

Brain Injury Recovery – An Evolving Definition

David and his wife in front of a brightly light Christmas tree

Early on after my 2010 brain injury, "old-timers" in the brain injury survivor community told me that “it” would get better, but they never really told me what “it” was.

The Importance of Self-Care During Difficult Times

David and his wife smiling in a restaurant, in front of red drapes

It is with profound sadness that I share that someone very dear to me is nearing death. In fact, he may not still be with us by the time this is published. As one of the most cherished relationships in my life, his imminent death is kicking the legs out from underneath me.

Surviving My Flood of 2022

David and his wife smiling from a simulated space station

This is the month that I mark 12 years as a brain injury survivor. These “crash anniversaries” have pushed me to reflect; it’s hard not to look back at the “before and after” chapters of my life — sifting, shuffling, and reinterpreting the contents of each.

Staying in the Middle Lane

David and his wife smiling by a cabin in the woods

Almost 12 years ago my life changed forever as I joined the brain injury club, a club that no one ever expects — or wants — to be part of. And early on, the phrase “recovery is lifelong” completely and totally annoyed me. I had always been and remain a classic Type A personality. So, it comes as no surprise that I wanted no part of the “recovery is lifelong” model of living out the rest of my life. My plan was to get over my brain injury and move on.