Articles

“Acceptance is the first step to recovery”

Category: TBI Survivor's Stories Written by Survivor

Summary - the cause - the injury - today's quality of life?

Stroke/Brain Aneurysm Rupture - Quality of life today is quit different than before though I'm trying to deal with it. I have no short term memory, unable to work, vision is poor, and on many medications.

 Please share your experience at the time you became aware of the injury?

I went to the emergency room 3 times complained of a awful headache, my hand went numb, my face, my eye was drooping, always to be hooked up to an IV in a dark room over a 6 week period always sent home diagnoses- A women turning 40 with only migraines. The 4th time arriving at the hospital ER I passed out had seizures, was transferred to a larger hospital where the aneurysm clipping took place. 3 years later I have come to accept my defaults in which before I couldn't accept any of it. I was never sent to rehab, my staples were removed by my family Dr. and the Neuo Sergon said I would live a happy healthy life, nothing was ever the same again. Yes I could read the white board in front of me, walk,talk, but no further testing was done, it took a lot of convincing for me to realize I had defaults, I look fine on the outside it's the inside that's not right.

Tell about the experience immediately after the injury. Surgery? Coma?

After surgery I was sent home to live a happy healthy life, no follow ups

Tell us about the hospital stay after the survivor was no longer in a coma

I can't remember much about the hospital stay.

Tell us about the time in rehabilitation?

No rehabilitation

Tell us about coming home!

I thought I was the same person I was before the surgery. Very depressing not knowing what was going on inside my brain.

"Please type some single words that describe how TBI has touched your life. For example: Frightened, confused, sad, etc. Enter as many or as few words as you like. Separate each word with a comma"

Sad, depressed, no self confidence.

Tell us about life today?

Today life is very different, I have accepted what happened to me and that I will never be that person I was before.

What do you want to tell others going through the same process? Treatments, understandings and actions that made a difference?

If you have the worst headache of your life don't accept it's only a migraine, don't accept a neuo PA. If you are young all of these things can still happen to you, push until you get an answers. Acceptance if the first step to recovery.