Did You Know This?

I asked people in brain injury support groups I am a part of to give me suggestions about the things they did not understand in the beginning and even now, of their recovery. There is a wide variety I will cover here to help educate others. When I thought of writing this blog, I was thinking of all the words used that I didn’t understand. But what people really had to say about what they didn’t understand in the beginning and during their journey is about life itself. That is so much larger and more important to me than words someone can look up the meaning of. Although I was in no way in any condition to do that at the time.

I may have a moderate brain injury, yet I don’t think many of my deficits/weaknesses or lack of capability of understanding is many times any different than that of a severely brain injured person. When I read posts and comments on brain injury support groups, I am right there with you.

There are things people forget in the beginning that have unfortunately never come back to them. One person told me she has her surname tattooed on her wrist because this is even something she often forgets. This made me think I need a medical bracelet with my information on it. However, I had a medical bracelet on when I was admitted to the hospital after our car accident when I sustained my brain injury, and to my knowledge it was not looked at. I believe this because my bracelet said I have bipolar disorder and it was my husband that informed the doctor of this so I could be given my medication. Moving on. A brain injured friend of mine will at times wake up in the morning, look around, only to realize she doesn’t recognize her surroundings and she too doesn’t know who she is. I can’t even imagine how terrifying that must be!  I suggested she hang a posterboard or whiteboard on the wall in front of her bed with her name and the words, “I am home and safe,” on it. The part of the brain responsible for memory loss is the hippocampus and other related structures in the temporal lobe. The hippocampus has a major role in learning and memory. It is located deep in the brain. Resource: Hippocampus: What is it, location, function, and more/ osmosis osmosis.org

A problem many others have, and I do, too at times, is understanding simple sentences. It is not always that someone has spoken too quickly for me, the words literally don’t register. They sometimes sound foreign. The part of the brain responsible for understanding language is Wernicke’s area. I never heard of that until now. It too is part of the temporal lobe. It is primarily involved in comprehension. This area has been associated with language processing whether it is written or spoken. Resource: Memory and Aging. Speech and Language-UCSF Memory and Aging Center

I didn’t even know my temporal lobe was damaged and so many others may not either. I hit the back of my head which required staples. I can see how my frontal lobe was damaged by my brain being bounced in my skull, but my temporal lobe damage is a complete surprise to me. I had bipolar 2 disorder before my injury, which is the least severe of the two. I now have bipolar 1 disorder.  I was re-diagnosed after my injury when my mental illness became worse, which is common. I don’t know if you know this and I only found out after my neuropsychological testing, speaking to my neuropsychologist, and researching on my own. I am on antipsychotic medication. Although these meds can help many patients to have negative bipolar symptoms, it can cause cognitive impairments and progressive brain tissue loss. Resource: Long term Antipsychotic Treatment and Brain Volume- PMC-MCBI It is suggested that antipsychotic medication may contribute to the progressive loss of grey and white matter. Resource: Are Structural brain changes in schizophrenia related to…journals.sagepub.com And that is a brain injury in itself. Honestly, I don’t know which of my many deficits are caused by the brain injury I sustained in our car accident, and which are caused by my long term need for psychotropic medications.

One person that had a grade 5 brain bleed did not understand what in the world that even meant. I will explain it. Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), simply said, is bleeding in the space that surrounds the brain. It occurs when a weak area in a blood vessel (aneurysm) on the surface of the brain bursts and leaks. The blood then builds up around the brain and inside the skull, increasing pressure on the brain. Resource: Johns Hopkins Medicine Subarachnoid Hemorrhage/ Johns Hopkins Medicine. Trauma is the most common cause of SAH. Primary symptoms is a sudden severe headache and may also include the following: nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, problems with vision, and brief loss of consciousness. It can also be caused by tangle of blood vessels on the brain (AVM) or other blood vessel or health problems. Resource: subarachnoid hemorrhage mayo.clinic

Another mention was, “pushing the limits. What does that mean? So often after a brain injury doctors give the worst-case scenario as far as healing goes. I don’t think doctors get to see patients long after they leave the hospital, so they don’t have a lot of experience about how far a patient is capable of recovering. That is just my opinion. Some people highly depend on whatever the doctors prognosis is, and that can be lifechanging in a negative way. For example, a doctor once said, “You have a 20% chance of walking again.”   I had the chance of communicating with the man that heard that low percentage and decided not to even try to learn how to walk again. To me, that is very sad because we are so often more capable than is originally thought by doctors. I think 20% is a good chance and very worth fighting for. I would fight if I was given 0% chance. Pushing the limits means to push oneself in order to test their own capabilities, gain a sense of accomplishment, or prove something to themselves or others. Motivation and pushing oneself to extreme limits can vary greatly from person to person. Resource: Apr 29, 2021. https://www.what-makes-people-push-themselves-to-extreme-limits

For me, the things I didn’t understand were words spoken by medical professionals. I would like to share these and their definitions in a blog next week as a continuation of this week’s blog.

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In case you don’t know, my daughter Veronica has a severe tbi and I have a moderate tbi. The reason I write these blogs is to help other survivors, caregivers, and their families and friends to feel validated and understood. You are not alone.

If you are interested in brain injury education, our journey, and our trials and triumphs through the first 12 years of our recovery, please read my book titled,

A Miracle a Day, One Day at a Time: Hope After Traumatic Brain Injury

My book is available many places online. Here is one of them.

Just press this following link and it will take you to my book. https://store.bookbaby.com/book/a-miracle-a-day-one-day-at-a-time

I wish for you all to have a blessed week.