Mark, thanks for the reply. I have had multiple MRIs showing damage to my left gyrus rectus. My original neurologist continued to call the lesion a contusion, even as it did not heal or change from multiple scans, but my new neurologist has told me she is certain it is all scar tissue/shrunken brain at this point.

As far as my recovery, the first month after my injury I was unsure what I was dealing with, and as a result I oscillated between work and rest. After getting my first MRI and seeing the damage, I immediately went on disability from my job and got as much rest as possible. About 5 months post injury, I still felt many cognitive deficits with little improvement above how I felt 1 month post injury. This led me to seek a new neurologist.

That neurologist, who I referenced above, referred me to a neuropsych and physiatrist specializing in brain injury who I now see regularly. Their approach is different from my first neurologist, who emphasized rest. They have had me pushing my boundaries and doing "work-like" activities to build up my mental stamina.

After about 2 months of that, I have had a lot of improvement in my cognitive function. I am now set to go back to work part time in June. I generally feel good, but these jolts throw off my mental state and confidence. I have a history of anxiety, so it's hard to know whether what I'm feeling is psychosomatic or not, but I try to return to the same tasks and take note of how well/poorly I perform as a way of reassuring myself that I haven't re-injured my brain.