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Member
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 242
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 242
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hockey
If you don't mind me asking, what's your subject area? I'm married to a professor.
When your whole life in based on your cognitive abilities and, driven by your intellectual curiosity, I am sure that it is exceptionally difficult to come to terms with a TBI. A brain injury is a challenge to every patient's sense of self,but that must be doubly true when your identity is so inextricably entwined with your intellect.
I feel for you.
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Hockey-
I totally feel for you. I was working full time and going to grad school full time prior to my accident. Straight A student all my life, over acheiever, etc. That's what's hard for me to reconcile. If I wanted to do well before, I just worked even harder, (although I now realize this wasn't emotionally healthy all the time). Now if I do that, I pay for it for days, even weeks. The end of my fall semester & a term paper resulted in 3 seizures over Christmas break.
I've been able to recover a lot of my academic skills through cognitive therapy with a speech therapist and accommodations via the university's disability resource office. But it's annoying because people in my master's program, (in SPECIAL ED), think there is nothing wrong with me and think I'm "cheating" or getting special help that I don't deserve, because I have extensions for some of my work or take exams in a private area to deter distractions. I HATE that I can't perform at the intellectual level I used to.
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What Happened: On 3/8/11 I was stopped waiting to merge into traffic when I was rear ended by someone doing 45 mph. I walked away from the accident, to fall into the pit of PCS 5 days later... (I have had 2 previous concussions, but neither developed into PCS.)
Symptoms 3 Years Post: Physical: migraines, infrequent vertigo, neck and back pain (from accident), tinnitus, visual field deficits in left eye, problematic light sensitivity, (including visual seizure activity), noise sensitivity, EXTREME fatigue, semi-frequent disrupted sleep cycles,
Cognitive: semi-frequent Brain fog after cognitive strain, limited bouts of impulsivity, unable to concentrate for more than short periods of time without fatigue, word finding problems, slowed processing speeds, impaired visual memory;
Emotional: easily overstimulated, depression, anxiety;
Treatment so far: Vestibular therapy; Physical Therapy; Vision Therapy; Vitamin Schedule; Limited caffeine; Medications; attempting to limit stress and overstimulation; Yoga; Cognitive Therapy
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