Never Giving Up: Betty Part Twelve
Dealing with the grief for what is lost and finding a way to see the hope. Never giving up is perhaps the biggest challenge for any brain injury survivor. Says Betty:
If I couldn’t remember any of (who I was before) and just came out of being in a coma and having to start all over again that wouldn’t be a problem but since I can remember, you know, who I was before I was hurt and the obstacles I’ve had to overcome that’s been difficult.
But Betty’s one of the miracles, a person with a coma that last into the second month, with amnesia that stretched into the third month. She needed brain surgery, overcame paralysis and got great care that last for years. She honestly discussed her difficult times, sharing personal details that others might be unwilling to do. She volunteered to be part of TBI Voices because “I think traumatic brain injury plays a very important part in society today and because people are living. There’s a lot that needs to be done.”
Betty’s voice on TBI Voices is a strong message for hope, and we hope her last words will ring true for all of those who deal with this disability, especially those who are new to the struggles:
I’d like to tell brain injury survivors that first thing is don’t ever give up, just don’t ever give up. In therapy I, there were three people that gave up and it was very difficult. Work as hard as you can and just know that the therapists and the people, the professionals that you’re working with are not trying to take away from you, they’re trying to build up what you already have to make you a contributing member of society and just always keep working and just always hold in your memory that you’re the best that you can be and that tomorrow you’re gonna find something else that you’re gonna be better at and just continue to improve and always try to keep a positive mental attitude, that’s a big thing too.
For the further voices of traumatic brain injury, come back daily to this blog or go to http://tbivoices.com/
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I spent thirty days at a Healthsouth of 22 days in ICU, 16 of those in a coma. The therapies were tough in the beginning because of headaches. I learned how to manage them better and kept going. Six months after waking up from my coma, I ran a 5k race in 30:05. It’s a gradual, slow process but each day adds another brick to the wall.
In 1981, I was struck by a car in Tucson, and suffered severe head trauma. Was in a coma for 4 weeks or better. To hear my parents tell it I was a twisted up mess, thrashing about. I was only in the 4th grade. I had to re learn everything, from talking to walking going to the bathroom to eating solids again. The doctors told my parents that I was going to be in a vegetative state for the rest of my life and to not expect me to live past the age of 25. If you ask me to tell you about who I was before the accident, I can honestly tell you that I have no recollection.
I have created a group on Facebook called American Disabled Sound off…. It is a group designed for the disabled to come and share their woes, and together we can learn what the ADA says, and how and if it can protect us. ( as I have just requested copies of it from the department of justice) I would like for you to come and join, and maybe feel free to answer some questions for us. Please???