It’s kind of funny. I never heard of Brain Injury Awareness Month before my own injury.
Though it is common knowledge to those within the brain injury community, once we step out of the confines of those familiar with brain injury, it’s still not that well-known.
I watched the local news today, and not a mention of Brain Injury Awareness Month. I then tuned in to the national news for a while. Not a single mention of Brain Injury Awareness Month.
Being a bit of a news junkie, I read today’s headlines from my USA Today App. If you guessed that there was no reference to Brain Injury Awareness Month, you are correct.
Those of us who are active in advocating for those with brain injuries see a lot of references to Brain Injury Awareness Month. It’s in my social feed, and inbox. There are tweets and posts, all taking about Brain Injury Awareness Month.
But don’t let this fool you.
Consider this: Outside of those places that you expect to see brain injury information, have you heard or seen anything else about Brain Injury Awareness Month? I am guessing not.
We have a long way to go to end the silence in a meaningful way.
It’s been 3,033 days since the day I was run down by a teenage driver. Eight years, three months, and nineteen days ago, my brain was damaged when a newly-minted teenage driver struck me while I was cycling.
I never signed up for any of this. Over the last 3,033 days, there have been good days, bad days, and in-between days. Contemplated suicide was a chart-topper for a couple of years.
Kids, you can’t get off the TBI bus.
Thankfully, time has made life tolerable. It’s never easy. I work twice as hard as most people and get less done. But what are my options? To sit and wither on the vine, lamenting the loss of a life I once knew? A life that did not require SO MUCH WORK? No thanks. I only get one life. I’m living it the best I can with what I’ve got.
There is a very personal irony to the fact that today is the first day of a month devoted to raising awareness.
Known by some, Sarah’s mom passed away completely unexpectedly last week. It has been back-to-back-to-back days of the biggest life stressors imaginable.
Sarah, the one without the brain injury, is understandably still not even close to coming back from the events of this past week. She lost her mom. Does it get more stressful than that?
In my realm as a survivor, this is as tough as it gets. Days of stress have left me effectively useless. Overwhelming cranial pressure makes the very act of “being” quite uncomfortable. My processing speed is slower than a three-year-old. From the neck up, I am quite literally numb. The unpredictability of it all is that I may stay this way for days – or longer.
My compensatory strategy at times like this is to make no major decisions. I pull back from life. I withdraw. I canceled all my work-related appointments for today, moving them out to next week. Hopefully, next week finds me functional again.
Looking, however, through a different prism, this may indeed be the best way to start Brain Injury Awareness Month. Nothing like the stark reminder that I am still broken. It keeps me humble.
While everyone seems to be celebrating this month with happy, uplifting thoughts, let’s not forget the millions who are waking up today wondering how they are just going to make it through another day.
That is the true reality of life after brain injury.
~David
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Though it is common knowledge to those within the brain injury community, once we step out of the confines of those familiar with brain injury, it’s still not that well-known.
I watched the local news today, and not a mention of Brain Injury Awareness Month. I then tuned in to the national news for a while. Not a single mention of Brain Injury Awareness Month.
Being a bit of a news junkie, I read today’s headlines from my USA Today App. If you guessed that there was no reference to Brain Injury Awareness Month, you are correct.
Those of us who are active in advocating for those with brain injuries see a lot of references to Brain Injury Awareness Month. It’s in my social feed, and inbox. There are tweets and posts, all taking about Brain Injury Awareness Month.
But don’t let this fool you.
Consider this: Outside of those places that you expect to see brain injury information, have you heard or seen anything else about Brain Injury Awareness Month? I am guessing not.
We have a long way to go to end the silence in a meaningful way.
It’s been 3,033 days since the day I was run down by a teenage driver. Eight years, three months, and nineteen days ago, my brain was damaged when a newly-minted teenage driver struck me while I was cycling.
I never signed up for any of this. Over the last 3,033 days, there have been good days, bad days, and in-between days. Contemplated suicide was a chart-topper for a couple of years.
Kids, you can’t get off the TBI bus.
Thankfully, time has made life tolerable. It’s never easy. I work twice as hard as most people and get less done. But what are my options? To sit and wither on the vine, lamenting the loss of a life I once knew? A life that did not require SO MUCH WORK? No thanks. I only get one life. I’m living it the best I can with what I’ve got.
There is a very personal irony to the fact that today is the first day of a month devoted to raising awareness.
Known by some, Sarah’s mom passed away completely unexpectedly last week. It has been back-to-back-to-back days of the biggest life stressors imaginable.
Sarah, the one without the brain injury, is understandably still not even close to coming back from the events of this past week. She lost her mom. Does it get more stressful than that?
In my realm as a survivor, this is as tough as it gets. Days of stress have left me effectively useless. Overwhelming cranial pressure makes the very act of “being” quite uncomfortable. My processing speed is slower than a three-year-old. From the neck up, I am quite literally numb. The unpredictability of it all is that I may stay this way for days – or longer.
My compensatory strategy at times like this is to make no major decisions. I pull back from life. I withdraw. I canceled all my work-related appointments for today, moving them out to next week. Hopefully, next week finds me functional again.
Looking, however, through a different prism, this may indeed be the best way to start Brain Injury Awareness Month. Nothing like the stark reminder that I am still broken. It keeps me humble.
While everyone seems to be celebrating this month with happy, uplifting thoughts, let’s not forget the millions who are waking up today wondering how they are just going to make it through another day.
That is the true reality of life after brain injury.
~David