TBI Voices

TBI Coma Survivor: Betty Part Two One of the common denominators of all TBI coma cases is the shock of the phone call to the family.  Our page http://waiting.com written in 1997 begins with these words: “You have a phone call” “From the hospital.” he adds. Everything turns flat and..
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Rehabilitation After Coma Begins: Betty Part Three While Betty was receiving some type of rehabilitation after coma, at each point of her recovery journey, even while still in a coma, her recollection of that begins towards the end of her three months of inpatient stay. After discharge, she went to..
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Brain Injury Physical Disability: Betty Part Four Brain injury physical disability can come from severe brain injury.  Brain injury,  brain damage is thought of as a thinking disorder, a problem which effects memory, concentration. But the brain controls everything that we are, how we move, how we breath, the mechanism..
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Speech Therapy for Brain Injury: Betty Part Five Perhaps because historically the speech therapy for brain injury issues after brain damage were among the most obvious, much of the hardcore cognitive rehabilitation after severe brain injury falls into the gamut of speech pathologists.  Betty received both speech therapy for brain..
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Returning to Work : Betty Part Six: Returning to work for Betty involved reeducating herself. Betty received intensive vocational rehabilitation for nine months, which included more work with a speech pathologist and enrollment in a dental assisting program, even though she was already a license hygienist.   “The problem was..
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Cognitive Challenges: Betty Part Seven Those who don’t know much about brain injury are often surprised at how “normal” someone with a brain injury may be and are not aware of the cognitive challenges of the brain injured.  Only the truly profoundly injured will show the kind of overt dementia..
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Executive Functioning: Betty Part Eight Betty suffered a subdural hematoma in her frontal lobe injury, requiring brain surgery.  It is in her frontal lobe functioning that she shows the most significant ongoing deficits with her executive functioning.   Her frontal lobe deficits include social and emotional issues and executive functioning..
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Frontal Lobe Challenges: Betty Part Nine Impulsivity as one of Frontal Lobe Challenges: Betty, like most severely brain injured survivors has frontal lobe challenges with impulsivity and impolitic speech.  She just doesn’t know quite when not to express exactly what is on her mind.  She gives the example of how,..
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Dating and Relationships: Betty Part Ten Betty’s relative success in regaining her adulthood is verified by the long term marriage she is a part of. But to go from college girl to rehab to the dating scene is a difficult transition, one fraught with peril.  Alcohol, not knowing who to..
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