sapphoq healing tbi
I have a traumatic brain injury. This is the lens I wish I had access to when I was first diagnosed. In here I will share some resources, links, and healing.
WHAT IS A TBI?
questions, questions, questions
What is a TBI?
A TBI is a traumatic brain injury. A tbi is caused by falls, accidents, or injuries where the brain is shaken or stirred against the skull.
A TBI is considered to be mild, moderate, or severe. A mild tbi, or mTBI, means that the injury is not life-threatening. Moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries are. A concussion is one example of a mild traumatic brain injury. People who have repeated concussions run the risk of increasing disability.
IS A STROKE A TBI?
No, a stroke is an ABI. An ABI, or acquired brain injury, means a stroke or illness caused the brain injury.
Resources for strokes can be found on squidoo and other places.
WHERE CAN I GO FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE WEB?
Please check out my links below. Or leave a question in my guestbook and I will try to find the answer for you. Your state Brain Injury Association also has live people who will talk to you and answer your questions. You can goto http://www.biausa.org/ for a list of state brain injury associations. Don't give up on yourself EVER!
A TBI is a traumatic brain injury. A tbi is caused by falls, accidents, or injuries where the brain is shaken or stirred against the skull.
A TBI is considered to be mild, moderate, or severe. A mild tbi, or mTBI, means that the injury is not life-threatening. Moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries are. A concussion is one example of a mild traumatic brain injury. People who have repeated concussions run the risk of increasing disability.
IS A STROKE A TBI?
No, a stroke is an ABI. An ABI, or acquired brain injury, means a stroke or illness caused the brain injury.
Resources for strokes can be found on squidoo and other places.
WHERE CAN I GO FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE WEB?
Please check out my links below. Or leave a question in my guestbook and I will try to find the answer for you. Your state Brain Injury Association also has live people who will talk to you and answer your questions. You can goto http://www.biausa.org/ for a list of state brain injury associations. Don't give up on yourself EVER!
Amazon loot!
Brainy products
Amazon products relating to traumatic brain injury, the brain, neurology, brain-teasers, and more!
Coping with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 10/11/2008)
The Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Workbook: Your Program for Regaining Cognitive Function & Overcoming Emotional Pain (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)
Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 10/11/2008)
Children With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Parent's Guide (The Special Needs Collection)
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 10/11/2008)
Textbook of Traumatic Brain Injury
Amazon Price: $95.20 (as of 10/11/2008)
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Postconcussion Syndrome: The New Evidence Base for Diagnosis and Treatment (Aacn Workshop Series)
Amazon Price: $35.95 (as of 10/11/2008)
TIPS FOR HEALING TBI
helpful hints when confronted with a changed brain
I love making lists! This list of tips are things that I found helpful during my healing. Traumatic Brain Injury is forever. There are some of the things that we and the people around us can do that help:
- GET ALL THE HELP THAT IS AVAILABLE. This includes some form of cognitive rehabilitation, a vision check by a behavioral or developmental optomotrist, a complete audiology examination, services of a competent psychiatrist who understands traumatic brain injury, physical therapy, massage, vocational- rehabilitation assistance, job coaching, counseling, cognitive testing, brain injury specific support groups, tbi-specific chatrooms and e-groups...
I went to the local RCIL [Resource Center for Independent Living] to talk to a disability advocate. I also have permanent brain injury related vision difficulties. I was able to get specialized vision therapy and prism lenses. Proper medication helped me with a worsening mental condition. Therapy in a heated pool helped with my flexibility and my back pain. My mild expressive aphasia [expressive aphasia: I can't always find the words I want to say] and my central nervous system tremor [tremor: shaking without meaning to] are two of the other things that I just put up with. - REMEMBER THAT HEALING TAKES TIME. Learn to recognize small increments of progress. Be prepared for setbacks, mood swings, tantrums. Having a routine and structure helps with healing. So does exercise, nutrition, and rest.
I thought I would be able to pick up my old life and return to work within a matter of weeks. Instead, I found myself having to keep working at things that used to be automatic. I also lost any ability to multi-task [multi-task: do more than one thing at once: like look for a word in a book and have my husband ask me a question]. I had to learn how to do things in new ways. - FATIGUE IS THE ENEMY. Fatigue interferes with healing. 50% of all TBI survivors have a sleeping disorder. Advocate for referral to an ENT doc who will be able to screen for sleep apnea and narcolepsy.
My own sleep apnea was diagnosed a couple of years after my traumatic brain injury. I now sleep with a C-PAP machine because the sleep study showed that I stop breathing in my sleep. The C-PAP machine forces me to keep breathing and I feel more rested. I am no longer sleep-walking through life. - WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DO SAFELY EVERYTHING THAT WE THINK WE CAN DO. Our insight into our injuries and our changed personalities depend very much on the sites of our brain injuries. We may insist that we can drive even with severe field cuts [field cuts: what we can see is not wide enough to see to our left or our right when driving; or we may be missing parts of what we are looking at] in our vision. We may want to go to the gym when vertigo makes it unsafe. We may want to pick up with our lives long before it is possible. For some of us, we will have to learn the courage to dream new dreams.
I have to check with the people and professionals around me when I have a great idea about something that I want to do. I also cannot be on the go all day long like I used to. I had a career which I can no longer manage. I am in the process of learning skills for a new line of work. - HUMOR IS HEALING. It is natural to be oversensitive at first to the changes around us. Some of us lose friends who cannot handle the changes they see in us. Sometimes we find that we are making the same mistake over and over. Or we may forget things a lot, complain a lot, or not want to use aids to help us with everyday stuff.
I became a chronic complainer. Nothing was good enough. I no longer understood the people around me. I was too serious and very easily hurt.Reaching out to other survivors helped me to regain my sense of humor. I spent many hours with my on-line friends at tbichat.com trying to remember the names of the seven dwarves. I can laugh and my laughter frees me.
My life is different today. But it is still mine.
TBI ON THE WEB
links to blogs and more
Shameless self-promotion of some of my writing and some other places on the web to find support.
- I had a breakthrough!
- I had a breakthrough. Read about it on my yahoo 360 blog! Then stick around and read the rest of it if you like.
- my traumatic brain injury blog
- Personal reflections about healing my own tbi from a pagan perspective with occasional news items.
- my home domain
- My home domain has a more detailed list of questions and answers about traumatic brain injury and some other stuff. Worth checking out!
- my returning memories
- Three years later, some memories about my life prior to my traumatic brain injury are still returning. I created this blog to store them and to share them with you.
- readable info on traumatic brain injury
- This site was recommended to me by my friends at tbichat. It is very comprehensive and packed with useful information. Written for survivors.
- message board and more
- TBI message boards, links, and a link to the tbi chatroom that really helped me in my early recovery.
- Brain Injury Association
- BIA-USA, Brain Injury Association United States of America site with news, information, a store, and links. Anyone with a brain injury [and family members should consider joining their local BIA. My local BIA also has a support group chapter in my area.
- vision therapy
- Patient area of site describing vision therapy and problems which vision therapy can help including survivors of traumatic brain injury. 80% of tbi survivors have vision related difficulties. Vision begins in the brain. My developmental optometrist is listed on this site.
- Resource Center for Independent Living
- Social action agency that advocates system change. Centers also offer a variety of free services for people with disabilities including but not limited to: benefits advocacy, disability peer support counseling, information, workshops.
- my e-group
- My health support e-group on yahoo includes people with long-term disabilities as well as people without disabilities.
- brain injury e-group
- Yahoo e-group specific to survivors of tbi and abi. Many of the members are somewhat against psychiatric medication, yet a very supportive atmosphere for anyone with a brain injury. I have belonged to this group for several years. Discussions on religion and politics are banned. Good suggestions for coping and working around deficits can be found here as well as encouragement and gentle humor.
- interactive brain facts and research
- An interactive site with information on the brain and its' workings. Not specifically about traumatic brain injury but fun.
- the brain
- History and biology of the brain. Not tbi-specific.
- brain games
- Brain games for kids of all ages. A form of cognitive re-training for those of us with traumatic brain injury.
- free courses
- Free courses on the internet on a variety of topics for those of us who need some form of intellectual stimulation in later recovery.
- Job Accommodation Network
- Information about traumatic brain injury, links, and suggestions for accommodations on the worksite for tbi survivors ready to enter or re-enter the work world. From the worderful folks at JAN.
SAPPHOQ'S TBI GUESTBOOK
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thanks, sapphoq
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Joharon
I have a question. My brother-in-law acquired a TBI when a fork lift fell on his head. I spent last week going to rehab with him. He has difficulty finding words. I thought I would get him a book with pictures with the name. He reads out loud very well and understands the words he reads. I did find the Oxford Picture Dictonary in the language section in the bookstore. Do you have a better idea. What about a workbook of sorts. Posted August 08, 2008 |
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Danny45
Hello! Posted March 29, 2008 |
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netventurer
Good lens. Do you know of any brain injury groups? Posted December 15, 2007 |
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sapphoq
Yes, t.b.i. is certainly life-altering. My hope is that we all keep striving! Posted February 24, 2007 |
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moderndayhermit
Hello :), my husband suffered a TBI almost a year ago due to a car accident. Posted February 22, 2007 |
