Traumatic Brain Injury

[livingwith]

October 8 2003 scaffolding broke and I fell 20 feet. fractured skull. Helicoptered to trauma hospital, spent 1o weeks in a induced coma. I had three visual and spiritual dreams I will never forget. Loss sense of smell and 20% of my left frontal lobe. I have high artist ability in metal and wood. Through my injuries I know how precious life is and how grateful I should be.
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[spicer08]

first of all I would like to congratulate you on your fight and recovery! My 19 yr old son was involved in an mva on July 9 2008. He sustained a devastating head injury and wasn't expected to live 3 days. He's still with us, however, at this time he doesn't seem to move frequently or talk. He requires constant care. I only recently brought him home after being tossed from one medical facility to another. I have to say, I'm appalled at the treatment that TBI patients receive from the hospitals. Eric has had one set back after another. His injuries were sub & epidural hematoma, DAI, and interventricular herniation. His left temporal lobe took the blow. He had to have a craniotomy and a ventricular shunt placed in November to drain the excess spinal fluid. We are still awaiting the surgery to replace the bone flap they removed from the left temporal side. Since we've gotten him home, he's really showed signs of improvement. He now looks to whomever is speaking to him. He works by pushing and (sometimes) pulling his arms and legs on command. He will track, but only for a short sec. It appears at times as though he's trying to speak, but can't quite get it out. His nurse said that he's whispered a few times, but I didn't visually see it to confirm it. We are currently trying to "ween" him from his trache and he's doing great. He actually stats better with the cap on his trache. I'm really upset that the doc's didn't make any attempts at getting Eric any type of therapy. I've since met so many people with TBI's. It seems to be a repetative story here...they don't expect them to return as "who they once were" so why bother?

I'm writing to see exactly what kind of injuries you sustained and how long it was before you started to rebound from your injury? Thank you for sharing your story....Karla