Another Recovery

A TBI caregiver's story, from the online support group TBI Together -

She starts her letter:
It's been a very, very, very long 20 months since my husband's fall off his ladder (and subsequent coma for about a month). He was hospitalized for over 5 months. And when I first brought him home in October 2006 ... he couldn't walk. He was in diapers, he needed to be fed most of the time, he couldn't talk very well. He had horrible behavioral problems and my arms and upper trunk were usually covered in black and blue marks.

This caregiver continues,
here we are, all this time later, and I have to tell you all, life DOES get BETTER. Dean is walking with a cane now, he speaks very well and even wrote a long letter to his sister in a birthday card. (He remembered her birthday without any help from me.) .... He's just finished reading his first FULL LENGTH book since the accident!

He rides his tractor to plow out the driveway .... He participated fully in our Christmas celebrations (even getting our son and daughter-in-law to take him shopping for presents for ME!) And his behavior is under control. .... He tells me he loves me often! Truly, my cup runneth over. And life IS getting better, better everyday. And to think he hasn't even reached his 2-year anniversary yet.

And she concluded her email saying,
I keep"talking" with people who have either survived TBI or have cared for loved ones with TBI and the message is ALWAYS the same. Two years is nothing. Improvements continue and continue and continue. ... I wanted to provide our story and to give hope to those just starting. Of course, there are times when life continues to be difficult, but there are so many more times when life is delightful. Who could ask for more?

Let's play a game

For your viewing pleasure, a video of dh playing ping pong using his affected left side.
This was filmed during a occupational therapy session, January 2007. Occupational therapy focuses on the upper body and skills for daily life.

Christmas presents

Dh walked the dog with me today using his new tricycle. This season has been nothing short of amazing, with this only one example. Friends have blessed us with good wishes and with many unexpected gifts for me and the children. Dh's sister, brother-in-law and mother gave me the gift of a break. Dh did wonderfully well at his sister's house, while the kids and I spent some restful days out of state with my sister. Dh has come so far and the improvements have even sped up recently. With some of our Christmas money (thanks friends and neighbors!), I bought a Nintendo DS with brain training software, and Mindfit and Brain Fitness for the PC. And dh's doing these with minimal assistance from me (mainly just keeping him on task). I've experienced many things to give me hope: dh's behavior, the amazing stories others have shared, convictions in my prayers and prayers of others, and the stories in a fantastic book, The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science.