"recovery from a brain injury would seem eternal. Improvement would occur at a snail's pace. If anyone believed this would be a simple healing, like breaking a leg, they needed to think again." In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing, written by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
I was warned that my improvement would slow down tremendously and it has. Its always such a relief to me when someone tells me that they still see improvement because I don't see it anymore. They weren't kidding when they said my rate of improvement would slow down, it has slowed down but it hasn't stopped, so, ha! I still win. Yes, I am still as mature as ever but in this instance, I can happily say that my competitive nature is an asset.
"If I had only known then how wonderful it was, that simplicity of life's everyday routine." In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing, written by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
It amazes me that actually I miss the most basic things. I miss running errands, I miss being able to go over to a friends house whenever the mood strikes, I miss working. I never thought I would miss getting up early, going to work everyday, stressing about impossible deadlines and creating new, interesting dessert menus. I do though, I miss those things and I have a feeling that if I can get back to my life, including a challenging job, I will never take mundane things for granted again.
"characteristics common to traumatic brain injuries. many people with head injuries exhibit actions that are inappropriate: agitation, frustration, and outbursts not unlike an infant's." In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing, written by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
"As much as I loved and respected my therapists, they were not there to give me a break. It was their job to help me put it all back together, to teach me coping skills for my deficits.
it was a matter of building the new neural connections that led to them. Much of it was time. The brain takes longer to heal than any other organ." In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing, written by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
"With most brain injuries, the filter in our heads that we all use to get along in society slips. People lose their inhibitions in ways both shocking and painful for their loved ones." In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing, written by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
From what I have learned from my friends and family I did not say inappropriate things, I simply flashed my girlie bits while in the hospital. Which really, should be embarrassing but I think its funny and I tend to blame the hospital gowns.... There are photos from the hospital that showcase a strategically placed pillow in order to make the photo fit to show anyone. In all reality I should be mortified but I'm just not. If those were the things that needed to happen to bring me to this point of recovery then OK, I accept it and I laugh about it.
"Abnormal behavior might simply become part of what Bob's therapists would teach me to call "the new normal". " In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing, written by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
"Everything has to start somewhere as his brain relearns how to give commands to his body." " In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing, written by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
"Damage to the front of the head, or frontal lobe, often resulted in a loss of executive function. This is the part of the brain that organizes our actions without even thinking about it" In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing, written by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
"Many victims of car accidents whose head slammed into the windshield, or soldiers who had blast injuries, came home "flat" and unemotional. Sometimes the personality came back. More often than not, it didn't." In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing, written by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
I feel lucky when I hear about my attitude in the hospital because from what everyone tells me, I was pleasant patient to be around. I thanked nurses and therapists for their help, I didn't curse at people, I didn't threaten anyone and I wasn't purposefully difficult. There were a few moments that I am not so proud of; I did hit someone who was trying to help me at my hospital bedside. I did stick my middle finger out at one of my first physicians assistants. I had no inhibitions when it came to how I was sitting or which body parts were flashing about. Let's just say that I was nowhere near ladylike, as I explained a little earlier, it should be embarrassing but I think its really kind of funny.
"I have heard it said that when God takes something away he gives something back." In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing, written by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
This quote is a little harder for me to digest, because I have always had a hard time accepting religion and belief systems as being a justifiable "reason" for the way things turn out. I will say that I believe by having so many people in so many different places praying for me and including me on their church prayer lists I did receive some sort of "extra" assistance from a higher power. Just what that means I may never know or understand and I'm OK with that. I have heard that many people who have survived bad accidents go a little crazy by going overboard with religion, I can assure you that will not be happening with me. I believe that I will be more tolerant of people's beliefs now, I won't be rolling my eyes when someone starts in on religious topics of conversation, ultimately I am still the same person I was before the accident, I still hold the same beliefs, I just happen to believe that I am truly one of the lucky ones.
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