new and confused

[Tony]

hi my name is tony....i had a car accident in March of 2010.....before then i never even heard of TBI

 

having a hard time accepting where i am ....my life has changed completely and i'm no to sure how to learn to accept this.....seems to me I should fight ....does not make any sense

[Michael Buckner]

Tony, I unfortunately didn't have the problem of my life changing because I don't remember what my life was like before my accident.  What has helped me though is each day I wake up in the morning and I look at it as a new beginning because I don't fully remember yesterday.  Most people are jealous of me because I can honestly go to bed and wake up everyday without any regrets or discouragement for what I did or didn't do because I don't remember them.  So I'm basically guilt free.  You really need to look at what you can still do, be appreciative of that and move on trying to improve or find ways around what you're having difficulties with.  I'm 14 years post tbi injury,craniotomy, and I'm still discovering techniques around my difficulties.  By the way, one useful thing that I found was a little digital voice recorder at like an OfficeMax to record reminders, appointments, and useful things I want to remember.

[Scott P. Cole]

Tony -- I second Angela's sentiment.  I am 22 years post-trauma (auto accident/10-day coma/6 week period of post-traumatic amnesia) and *accepting the change* -- fully -- is so difficult.  You will move through the sense of 'I should fight' and toward living within the trauma.  Be easy with yourself, and find people who will stand with you and understand (even though true understanding without our experience is impossible).  And return to this site often;  it is excellent in its support. 

[Angela Betancourt]

Hi Tony, welcome to the club.  We are a elite group and I've been a member of this family since a car crash on July 31st 2008 that killed my husband and put me into a 6-week coma.  Most of us had not heard of TBI but there are several enlightening discoveries being made all the time.  In terms of learning how to accept this, read a blog I just posted.  It does not make sense to fight yourself.  You will only set yourself back or set yourself up for failure.  You've got to lower your expectations of yourself and be kind to my new friend Tony.

[Tiffany Schmitz]

hi think it starts out the way the new and confused but if we embrace it we become the new and improved at least I would like to think I am a much better person because of my injury and you can too if you let yourself

[DENISE ALDRICH]

Hi tony I was in a car accident 2/2/10 and like u I never heard of such a thing either. Isn't it weird how something can change who u are so fast. I too have problems accepting what has happen but the more u fight the worst it gets. I too have hard days and those days make things worst. What are your ailments

I have a tbi, brain stem damage and vestibular disorder, kinda like vertigo on crack.....it sucks. My damage to my brain is mostly frontal and right side , hard to be a mom when you can't figure out what to do in your house all day.....I require attendant care 16 hours a day due to fll risk and safety issues, I don't make the best decisions with the kids anymore, I'm kinda one of them again. Oh yeah and bladder disorder, hard to be 40 and have to wear a diaper but that's a whole other story

Life can be hard but the more you embrace the n u and work on your strategies everyday and being consistent in what u do with everything u will find it easier. Please feel free to write anytime, I do understand

Take care and keep believing u r stil the same just better now!

Denise......

Hang in there talking to people that understand helps,

[Richard J]

Don't fight your new life, learn from it. It's a very, very long strange trip but it does get better.

[Geo Gosling]

Tony,

I guess it gets easier, in the sense that you get used to having to live with an injured brain. I was 25 when I suffered my TBI - bicycle (me) vs pick-up truck (not me) collision...the truck won. Now I'm 41 and life is easier mainly because I'm so used to being like this. The "me" that was born in 1970, had B.S. degree from the University of California at Davis, was a cellar master/ asst. winemaker, raced mtn. and road bicycles, and climbed rocks on the weekends is dead. The "me" who was born on Sept. 15, 1995 is finding life a little easier with each passing year. I'm not sure what you mean when you say "...I should fight", but whatever you do, don't just give-up and quit. No, it doesn't make any sense, but neither does cancer. If you're in some type of therapy, bite the bullet and do everything the therapist tells you to do. Keep trying things on your own. What have you got to lose?

[Brandy]

it gets easier tony as time goes on, and yes everything changes in an instant after brain injury we get lost in the time continuum of tbi and never really does make sense even after it slows down but we much move on