Part Twenty Twenty Eight -Lori tells us about her book Am I Brain Damaged?
Am I Brain Damaged?
By LoriPurdy Faitel
One month before I turned 25 years old, I was in a devastating car accident. I was clinically dead 2 times, and then was kept alive on life support for 7 days, while in a coma.
At the time of the car accident I had recently begun to live the life of the business woman I dreamed to become. I was living in an apartment with Robin, a long time girlfriend; for both of us it was our first time to live away from our parent’s homes.
Robin and I moved into our apartment in January of 1986 with old used furniture and supplies. We were very happy and enjoyed our new found freedom. We were becoming independent women. We hosted parties at our apartment and invited everyone we knew to visit at any time.
Robin and I worked two totally different professions, I was an up and coming business woman at a Board of Realtors and Robin was beginning management for a Busy Pizzeria. I worked the 9-5 shifts and Robin worked mostly evenings. We didn’t see much of each other even though we lived together.
One life-devastating day I was in a car accident on my way to work. I spent 7 days in ICU in a coma, when I became alert following the coma I had amnesia regarding all aspects of life. I spent many months as an inpatient with various therapies. When I became strong enough, I moved back in with my parents as I continued to require 24-hour supervision.
With the help of outpatient therapy and the support of loved ones I developed so I could return to my previous apartment. From there I returned to work where I found I had changed.
Or, the world had changed as I was out of circulation. I remembered local sites, I remembered my friends, and I remembered my normal life. But, nothing was the same. I suddenly needed to learn to adapt to people, socialization, self-care, and dignity as I re-learned absolutely everything.
In this book, my memoirs of recuperation from the car accident. I am sure you will find a new compassion for the pain, confusion, anger and hatefulness I went through. When I finally learned how the normal world lived, I began to appreciate any abilities I had that even resembled normal.
I returned to work and realized I was unable or uninterested in what previously interested me. I attempted many different avenues, then went back to college. I was blessed with the opportunity to develop again.
In my re-development and return to the adult world I had many choices to make, some choices could have lead me to a lifestyle I don’t care to think about.
I want to share with you my heart, my insights, feelings, triumphs and losses. I pray in reading what I have gone through; the hearts and minds of all people will be opened to the very scary situation of head injury.
In my story AM I BRAIN DAMAGED?; you will read my most secret thoughts and actions, please respect me and share with my joy in that today I am a fully functioning mentally and physically normal woman. I missed at least 6 years of what was to be my regular life but; with a new outlook I have found my passion in life, to enlighten the public and bring comfort to my fellow brain injured.
My website is:
Lori
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