[mamadelbosque]

Hey there, my DH was in a motorcycle accident last saturday and sustained a traumatic brain injury. As a result, he is having problems with language (apaxia) and short-term memory. We're trying to get him into a rehab facility but its just not working out. Our medical plan is refusing to deal with the best place in the area, and the other one around his full... so its looking like he's heading all the way to freaking cleveland, where I know absolutely no-one...

Anyhow, has anyone dealt with this sort of thing before? What are the chances for a full-recovery... of him being his old self again? Its sort of just hitting me now what happend and that he might very well never really be OK again. And I just dont' know what to do exactly.

 

[***Heather***]

I honestly don't know anyone who's gone through this, but I would imagine that if the trauma was fairly recent, he should get better in time once swelling goes down and he has time to heal. Hugs to you. Sounds really frightening!

 

[sbgrace]

I'm so sorry this is happening. I'm glad your husband survived.

My experience is that this is entirely unpredictable. I've had students who were never the same exactly (though did ok) after TBI as a teacher. My other brother in law had a TBI and recovered over time--you couldn't tell now at all--it was three years ago. The brain is really an amazing thing so of course it depends on the extent of damage and location but I still think it isn't ever predictable. (my sister's husband (different BIL, different accident) did not survive his TBI though he lived for one week yet never regained consciousness--and up until 3 days before his passing they were telling us he still could possibly recover completely. I just think it is sometimes a long process. No matter how bad I would not lose hope of a full recovery and it really sounds like given that this was a week ago your husband is doing well. Try to focus on each day rather than the future if you can. http://www.tbirecovery.org/Overview.html I wonder if this site might be helpful.

 

[**guest**]

just wanted to offer

 

[scsigrl]

Just want to offer hugs and someone in Cleveland that may be able to help you find your way around.

Hugs to you and your family!

 

[Crisstiana]

I'm so sorry about your husband. I've worked with patients with TBI, although that is not my primary focus as its not an area I enjoy.

It is very hard to predict the prognosis of most TBI. So much of it depends on exactly what was damaged, the degree of damage, the plasticity of the remaining brain, and factors that - quite frankly - I think we don't really understand.

I do hope you get him in a good rehab facility. And then get to know the rehab staff, from MDs to nurses to nurses' aids to janitors. They can tell you so much about how your husband is doing day-to-day. Ask for regular case conference sessions in which you can attend and hear from every member of his care team (this is common in rehab). Take notes. Ask questions. Do research. Be his advocate as much as you can. Attend his therapy sessions, if possible so you can see what areas he is working on and how he is progressing.

And take care of yourself. Your husband's personality may change, even on a day-to-day basis. Or it may be altered permanently in a negative way. If you feel you husband is becoming depressed, make sure he is evaluated by a psychiatrist with experience with TBI patients. And talk to someone yourself if you start to feel overwhelmed. You need to be aware that the two of you have be shoved into a foggy area where very little is clear - timelines for progress, chances of full recovery of function, etc.

Lastly, don't hesitate to grab the person in charge of your husband's care and say, "I really need to talk to you" if you feel lost. Set up a time when you can talk about your concerns and what to expect. The treatment team should be considering you as it cares for your husband, but the focus is on him and things like proper explanations to you and time to discuss your concerns may be overlooked.

The very best for you and your husband.

HTH.

 

[hibana]

Coudn't read and not

Hope everything works out.

 

[UmmBnB]

My assistant has been living with a traumatic brain injury for about 10 years now. She held a PhD in communications and a masters in Physical Therapy....one of the things she lost was her ability to read peoples non-verbal cues, body language. Ironically, her research and dissertation was on this topic.

She didn't realize she had the injury until a few weeks after her accident, which left no visible injuries. She had been having trouble reading things, and had been getting confused, but assumed it was because of the emotional trauma of the accident. She just wasn't that concerned about it - a direct result of the injury was her lack of recognition that suddenly not being able to read was an indication of a serious issue.

She's been through sooo much over the last several years. Lots of medications, lots of doctors, lots of other associated health issues. Her personality completely changed.

From what I understand from her and from what I've read, tbi have a very diverse list of symptoms and its really hard to say what will happen. Good doctors/practitioners are essential. Good luck to you all!

 

[katheek77]

My husband has TBI from an IED that exploded literally 2 feet from his up-armored vehicle.

He was hit in Jan '05. He had REALLY bad memory loss and word recall. He'd start a sentence, and then look to me to fill in the word (I usually knew where he was going with his thought). He knew he knew the word, but couldn't bring it up. It was like watching a stroke victim try to find the right word. He lost a LOT of memories, especially from his youth, but also had short-term memory problems (I'll ask him three times about something, and he won't remember me asking).

Bad news is he didn't really do rehab. He started in rehab in the summer of '05, but we ended up being stationed away from Bragg after two sessions (and the first was the "getting to know you" session, so, no therapy), and are now no where near a military post (recruiting duty). He was prescribed Celexa to help with the memory loss, which did help. He also makes an effort to read and "exercise his mind", so to speak.

Good news is, it's slowly improved. He will randomly get memories back every once in a while (seriously, like, out of the blue). His word recall is getting better; I suppose just from using the words and re-solidifying them in his mind. His short term memory is still sketchy, but, ah well, what can you do? It just takes a LOT of time, and it happens so gradually that you don't really notice (well, except for when he says, "Oh wow...I just remembered blah blah blah").

Good luck.