by Amy Davis

Created on: April 05, 2009   Last Updated: April 06, 2009

I am just over 14 years out from my brain injury, and I still struggle every day. I had just turned 23 when I was in a car accident in February of 1995, and I left the hospital 3 months later. A year and a half after that I finally put away the wheelchair for good. My legs work as long as I take it slow and the weather cooperates - no rain and it is not too cold out. My brain, however, has never returned to its previous state.

Prior to the car accident I was a member of Mensa. I was never an athlete or very active in any remarkable way, so the loss of motor functioning is only an annoyance to me. The loss of cognitive function, however, is so very difficult to deal with. I would not even try beating someone in any physical challenge, but put me in an Odyssey of the Mind and I will emerge victorious. I never opened a book in school yet I could ace any test I was given and could repeat any lecture verbatim, then explain the core concepts and oftentimes accurately predict what would be on the test and what the instructor would want to hear. Suddenly I found myself unable to recall simple vocabulary. I could not remember what I did the day before. Driving home from the grocery store I had gone to for 6 years, I would take a wrong turn and get lost. Spelling, something that had previously come without thought, was a struggle and even when I tried several different options, anyway I spelled a word it looked wrong.

My life has been drastically altered. Along with my mental functioning, my personality has changed (and in many ways for the better). I have gained patience. I am more accepting and forgiving of others. My standards have lowered to a more realistic level. I am happy with new personality traits I have, even though they are not all good. Most of the friends I had for many years prior to the accident I have lost. Usually when that is written in regards to a traumatic brain injury (TBI) the reader is given an inaccurate impression that the friends have dismissed the injured person or that the friends can not handle the added stress of dealing with a TBI survivor. That is oftentimes not a correct assessment of the situation.

It is hard for those who have known you for a great portion of your life (both family and friends) to understand that suddenly you are a completely different person. Your core beliefs may be totally different. Also, most friendships are based on a history of events between people and in the space of a few seconds I lost that entire history.

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