If you speak to a doctor, he or she will tell you the most progress a brain injury patient will make is between the first 3 to 12 months post injury. An article titled, Traumatic brain injuries: the long road to recovery munley.com states that brain injury recovery time can take from a few weeks to ten years. I am going to say that is not completely accurate in our lives. Here we are, almost 15 years after Veronica’s severe traumatic brain injury, and she is still changing, growing, and learning. Words cannot express how grateful I am for this.
Adynamia, which follows a brain injury, is related to the difficulties of initiating or starting an activity, and the ability to keep going to finish an activity or task. It causes lack of motivation as well. This makes it difficult for survivors to go to school or work. It has been near impossible in past years for Veronica to find a passion because she would like something and quickly lose interest in it. She would start things and wouldn’t finish them. She would have all these grand ideas that she was so passionate about, for a day. She truly wanted to accomplish whatever it was but would soon give up. I have an earlier blog that explains it in depth. It seems Veronica’s adynamia is getting so much better lately. She takes initiative to complete household tasks more regularly and is motivated to help around the house without being asked. She has started cooking with supervision. She loads and unloads the dishwasher. She is becoming more efficient. She used to pay little attention to detail, cleaning the dishes, but leaving out wiping down the counters and stove. It may not sound like much to someone that does not have the experience of knowing a severe brain injury survivor, but it is a HUGE accomplishment! She has had a physical trainer at the gym for a month and a half now and has not once gotten up and said, “I’m done. I don’t want to do this anymore.” She is actually sticking with something!
And her impulsivity is becoming more controlled. Some things she would have just acted on in the past, she is now seeking an opinion about before indulging in these, many times, inappropriate behaviors.
Brain injury recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. Anyone that says recovery ends after a certain number of years is mistaken. First of all, doctors know little about the human spirit and even less about God’s plan for us. Secondly, I am seeing recovery after 15 years of Veronica having a brain injury. She is experiencing it in her life, now, right before her eyes…and mine.
NEVER GIVE UP HOPE!!!!
Dawn Corbelli 