Part Six of Angela’s story is at http://tbivoices.com/blog/uncategorized/amnesia-and-what-angela-cant-remember/
Actual amnesia after brain injury is much different than the way it is portrayed in the movies. Rarely, does brain damage cause the injury person to forget who they were or life’s events. Almost all brain injury amnesia relates to a loss of memory of events a short time (if at all) before the accident (retrograde amnesia) and loss of memory of events after the accident (post-traumatic amnesia or anterograde amnesia). Periods of amnesia aren’t always a complete loss, but can include periods when memory isn’t complete or accurate. While Angela has the classic complete loss for periods 20 minutes before her accident and days after, the full extent of her amnesia was never appreciated, as it wasn’t assessed after she left the hospital.
Next in Part Seven of Angela’s story she discusses how she uses an iPad after her brain injury
Print Friendly Version
Save Page as PDF
my husband and i were involved in a serious car accident seven months ago. i have no memory of the accident or for about an hour before. i cant remember anything. i went to my doctor and told him that i have no memory and he said, “that is really no big deal. a lot of people lose their memories after a car accident. he wouldnt tell me why i have had a constant headache since the accident. i have even gone to another doctor and he told me that it is too muh trouble to get and mri or cat scan set up. what should i do now?
You did not mention what type of health insurance you have, if any. Unfortunately, the uninsured or “underinsured” patients will fall thru the cracks. Asumming that you have adequate health coverage (and even if you don’t), you must insist that your GP refer you to a neurologist as soon as possible. A competent neurologist should order all of the diagnostic tests required to diagnose you with what I assume is a post-concussion disorder. Were you treated at the accident scene by EMTs? Were you treated in an emergency room after the accident? If so, you should have had several diagnostic tests performed at that time. I sincerely hope that you are not one of the many people who do not receive adequate health care due to lack of health insurance (or a carrier of inferior health insurance). Also, you need to notify your auto insurance company that you have medical damages due to the accident and also the driver’s auto insurance must be informed. You did not mention who was at fault for the accident but please don’t sign any settlement agreement with any auto insurance company without first employing the assistance of a well qualified Personal Injury Attorney. Once you have settled, you can never go back and claim damages for this event, and your damages appear to be ongoing and not yet even diagnosed.