Brain Sick*

In May of 2009, I had brain surgery. It was both a blessing and a curse. On the positive end, it was used to diagnose the cancer I had. This procedure provided an aggressive chemotherapy treatment plan that has kept me in remission to this day.

On the negative side, many of the traumatic brain injury (TBI) symptoms you will read below are a result of the above brain surgery. Below is an extensive description of what TBI sufferers (including myself) can deal with on a regular basis. How can you bless (and understand) someone that has this challenge?

“We have memory problems. We have concentration difficulties. We have sensory deficits like blurred vision, 
ringing in the ears or a bad taste in our mouths. We have loss of sensation and feeling. We have headaches. 
Many of us have loss of balance. We have light sensitivity. We also have noise sensitivity.

We tend to have mood changes. We tend to become depressed or anxious. We have chronic fatigue. We have sleep disorders. We can be easily confused. We have speech and hearing deficits. We lose judgment and reasoning abilities. We can stay angry a very long time. We are usually not sure who or what we are angry about.

The truth is we do not know ourselves anymore! We are usually the last to know or realize the extent of our injuries. Many of us also have [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder] (PTSD). Others of us have seizures. We need support, encouragement and hope. We need faith that we can overcome our many deficits. We need immense understanding as we lost “ourselves.”

It is difficult to again find our way. Our futures are full of unknowns and extremely hard work. We are like a brand new person, starting all over again. None of us wanted to start all over again. We may be resistant and we may deny, deny and deny. We need nurturing and we need guidance to again find our way.

We are unique in every way. What the brain is able to re-master will astound even those who do not believe in miracles. We are survivors in a special league.
We are brothers and sisters as a result of the uniqueness of our loss.

We believe we are the only ones who can truly understand the magnitude of our loss. Together we are stronger, and we learn tips that help us move forward.
Please be kind and patient with us.

If you have not experienced loss of self, it is very difficult to comprehend. Please just sympathize and empathize with our loss. Many of us had experienced loss of family and loved ones prior to brain injury. These losses were heartbreaking and very hard to accept.

They did not prepare us for the total and complete loss we have felt as a result of our “loss of self!” We are a group that has a tendency to far surpass anyone’s expectations or dreams. We are the “ultimate survivors” in every sense of our existence! We were chosen and are all an honor and a blessing to know!”**

Whether you are normal, or have become mentally impaired (through some event), it is imperative to remember the vocabulary of Psalm 139:14 (NLT) in your belief about yourself: “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it.”

*Guided by insanity, crazy.

**Adapted from the article, “All in a Brain Injury” by Debbie Wilson.