Thoughts on Brain Injury Recovery: Final Thoughts

Thoughts on Brain Injury Recovery: TJ Part Twenty Four

Most of my interviews end with asking for words of connection to others who are new to brain injury community. So I asked Michelle and TJ their thoughts on brain injury recovery.

I asked TJ:

Now do you go to the TBI support groups?

Yes.

So you’ll be going tonight? 

Right.

What are your thoughts on brain injury recovery with this group. Has going to the support group made your life better?

I made more friends.

Has it taught you anything about your injuries?

I don’t know, yeah, a little bit here and there at the group.  A little here, a little there.

If you were going to give some advice to someone who was just beginning to become aware again, coming home from the hospital and starting to deal with the changes in their life, what would your  thoughts on brain injury recovery be and what would you say to them?

Tell them it’s going to be a lot of work. A long road, a lot of work.

What has been the most work for you?

The balance issue, the speech issue. That’s basically it.

Do you feel like being interviewed can make a difference in terms of preventing other people from having the injury? 

Maybe.

Have you done anything for brain injury prevention? 

No.  It wouldn’t be bad to but I don’t know where to go for that.

I asked Michelle:

If you were going to do that first 60 days over what would you do different to try to protect your well being and to protect the well being of the rest of your family over that waiting period?  Would you do it the same?

I’d probably do it the same.  The only thing I wish was different is that we had moved him right to Connecticut.

What are your  thoughts on brain injury recovery for new people that come to your support group?

There’s hope, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.  Life is different but it doesn’t mean that you can’t fulfill, you know, have a fulfilled life.

While brain injury begins in an instant, so many can be prevented. Brain injured survivors do not have a monopoly on failures of planning, failures to see the consequences of a misstep. In TJ’s case, his life might be different had he paid the speeding tickets.  When we learn about what goes wrong when a brain is injured, perhaps we can apply it to understanding how everyone must use his or her executive functioning to live more trouble free lives.

Attorney Gordon Johnson

TBI Voices will continue on Monday, January 23rd, with Kelly’s story.