Thread: Brain Injury

The sad news of Niteguy's recent stroke got me to thinking about how little is publicly known about injury to the brain & how "In the news" it is these days with TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) being the signature injury of both the Iraq & Afghanistan wars.

I figured I'd start a topic to explain what little I know as a TBI survivor & maybe get some more information from others as well.(keep in mind.....,this is very amateurish explanation from a non-medically trained person, but as a survivor...I'll do my best)
From my understanding, both Stroke & TBI cause injury to the brain, but in different ways: A TBI is the result of trauma...a sudden "Insult" to the brain caused usually by accident, while stroke causes injury by cutting off the blood flow to a portion of the brain.

TBI:
Most TBI's in this country are the result of motor vehicle accidents & most Iraq/AF TBI's have been caused by explosion of IED's near the victim...What happens is this: The head is accelerated quickly & slams into something, like a car windshield (which I went straight through), door frame or some other solid object. The skull's movement is abruptly stopped, but the brain (floating within the skull) keeps going until it slams into the inner bone of the skull itself. This "collision" is what causes that actual injury & is often instantly fatal. In my case, like many others who survive, the impact was survivable but caused damage to areas of the brain (frontal lobe in my case) & the brain is not capable of repairing itself after an injury.

Stroke:
Stroke causes similar "Insult" to that portion of the brain that was cut off from blood flow & is often fatal as well. Those who survive are in roughly the same exact position as TBI survivors in term of recovery.


Thus, while the causes of the injury to the brain are different, recovery is quite similar.
In my case, I was in a coma for a number of days, which is evidently the brain's way of shutting down for survival. I had very little swelling, which is lucky for me because swelling can kill.
Even though the brain can't fix damaged areas, it can make new connections...find different paths for the electrical signals to follow & restore much of it's pre-injury capabilities.
Depending on the location & severity of the brain injury, many recoveries run a similar course & I'll highlight a few from mine as examples:

You don't wake up suddenly (like in the movies) & know what's going on! You're kinda in a twilight world where you don't really understand what happened to you, where you are or really much of anything!
Over time, I had to be taught how to eat, walk, brush my hair, tie my shoes......Everything that you learned as a baby must be re-learned!
Speaking for me was a major obstacle,.... & I had a tough time getting rid of a speech impediment for almost 2 years after the injury.
About six months after injury, when I was home....I tried swimming in our backyard pool & couldn't remember not to breath when I was underwater! (I've been a scuba diver since college, but couldn't figure out how not to breath when my face was submerged)
I also used to play the guitar (not well) but still cannot get the strumming coordination down right.
I also used to be an avid reader but find that my short-term memory problems make it a chore to read long articles or books.

Some common problems for both TBI & Stroke survivors are:
Poor short-term memory
Impulsiveness
Inappropriate behavior
Fatigue
Loss of sense of smell & taste (mild in my case)
prone to seizures (I have had none, luckily)


I'll stop now but here's hoping that Niteguy has a full recovery & he should know it's a very long process that requires much effort from both him & his family.

Good Luck Niteguy!

Originally Posted by ShawneeMoon

I'm glad you survived. Is there counseling to help patients learn how to deal with it?

Thanks....Me too! (There are many support groups, both nationally & locally) here's a few:
Brain Injury Resource Center
http://www.waiting.com/waitingsupport.html

Originally Posted by ShawneeMoon

I'm glad you survived. Is there counseling to help patients learn how to deal with it?

I'm not sure what's it like in the US, but my closest friend was in a catastrophic car accident a year ago, air lifted to a trauma centre, in the ICU for a week, the whole thing. A year later, she is still having 2x week visits from an occupational therapist, physio regularly, a social worker comes 2x month and she can't be left alone for more than an hour or two at a time. Unfortunately, she got knocked up a few days before the accident, (crazy) and now has a child on top of that. She's been offered all sorts of support programs for TBI survivors but simply doesn't have the time. Everything comes to her house, though, and she qualifies for disability for the rest of her life. She's had a live-in caregiver since, as well.

Her mom, sisters and I usually take turns caring for baby Vada because she can't be left alone with her own child. It's quite sad.

I never knew some of the stuff about TBI's prior to this. She has permanent short-term memory loss, dyslexia-like word problems, trouble matching words with colours, actions, etc., mini-seizures, trouble co-ordinating her legs to walk properly, and much more. I get stuck watching her a lot because I have medical training and I'm constantly amazed at all of the areas of her life which are affected.

Still has a sense of humor. When I found out she had short-term memory loss she says, "I think you need to buy me the movie, '40 first dates.'" Hahahaha... trooper.

Originally Posted by Zerah

I'm not sure what's it like in the US, but my closest friend was in a catastrophic car accident a year ago, air lifted to a trauma centre, in the ICU for a week, the whole thing. A year later, she is still having 2x week visits from an occupational therapist, physio regularly, a social worker comes 2x month and she can't be left alone for more than an hour or two at a time. Unfortunately, she got knocked up a few days before the accident, (crazy) and now has a child on top of that. She's been offered all sorts of support programs for TBI survivors but simply doesn't have the time. Everything comes to her house, though, and she qualifies for disability for the rest of her life. She's had a live-in caregiver since, as well.

Her mom, sisters and I usually take turns caring for baby Vada because she can't be left alone with her own child. It's quite sad.

I never knew some of the stuff about TBI's prior to this. She has permanent short-term memory loss, dyslexia-like word problems, trouble matching words with colours, actions, etc., mini-seizures, trouble co-ordinating her legs to walk properly, and much more. I get stuck watching her a lot because I have medical training and I'm constantly amazed at all of the areas of her life which are affected.

Still has a sense of humor. When I found out she had short-term memory loss she says, "I think you need to buy me the movie, '40 first dates.'" Hahahaha... trooper.

What a tragic story!
Believe it or not though, one year is nowhere near enough time for the brain to adapt to the "New You." I'll bet your friend will continue to improve as more time passes so don't give up on her. (for me it's been just over 20 years since my TBI & I swear I still see small improvements..... I think it took me about 2 years to start speaking well again )
Some things will simply never return but many others will.
To this day, I can't process a large amount of information very well.
Example: If my wife asks me to goto the bread aisle in supermarket & pick out a certain bread.....All I see is a wall of breads & finding the right one is almost physically painful to attempt! .....I usually just walk away!
I also find it difficult to read complex-multistep directions & follow them. (like setting up electric digital timers, etc)

Every TBI & Stroke is different & how far back someone will eventually come is a guess for even the doctors.
It certainly sounds like your friend has a lot to juggle in her life & that makes it tough!


Edit: I missed this the first time through:

Originally Posted by Zerah

Still has a sense of humor. When I found out she had short-term memory loss she says, "I think you need to buy me the movie, '40 first dates.'" Hahahaha... trooper.

A good sense of humor is extremely important for a TBI/Stroke survivor to have!
I recall many funny stories from when I was in the hospitals recovering......& my family are almost vicious in poking fun at me!<G>
Here's a few recovery stories: (most of which my family have told me as I have no recollection of them)

1. About 6 weeks after my TBI, (I had been transfered to Braintreee Rehab Hospital by then) my sister was wheeling me around the floor in a wheelchair & , as I would pass a nurse with a nice butt......I would reach out & pat her butt! ......My sister was mortified & would grab my arm & tell me to stop....... that i was being "inappropriate".... I'd ask WHY??? ( I evidently didn't understand what the hell the problem was!!......see a nice butt & pat it!...what's the problem?? )

2. This one I remember & is still the cause of family hysterics to relate: My Occupational Therapist was evidently working with numbers with me...... & to show my family (who were there at the time) how I was progressing..asked me how tall I was? ..I remember realizing that she wanted a number & that height is usually given in feet & inches......So I took a stab at answering her: "One foot two" was my answer!~! (sounded pretty good to me....It was a number, right?)




Anyway.....You have to keep your sense of humor or your a dead duck!