Quote:
Originally Posted by vini
hi suzy sorry your friend is going through this, take it easy, it is still very early days ,I had missing time for three months and its real important that he dose not tax his injured brain, because this can cause more damage, often friends and family with the best intention, hope for and expect quick results . some times they keep people in a coma for this exact reason, trying to use a damaged part of the brain can cause it to destroy adjacent areas, so baby steps is the best way forward , so the docs statements of wait and see is correct, your friend will not benefit from knowing to much about possible out comes at this stage , please remember its a scary place he is in just now, but that will change calm support is the order of the day
keep us posted and if your friend needs support when he is up to it, he can always log on, I am a kiwi there is little support in the community there, I am overseas at the mo but check if there is a head injury support association in NZ they will help with his and your concerns, also check he gets follow up treatment from the hospital, ask his family to start the process with ACC it is a battle that he will need help with
my best wishes one day at a time  |
Hi Suzy,
Vini's information is SOOOO correct. My husband had a very serious TBI last May, 4 days before our son's wedding. Thank goodness for the wedding, because my in-laws were staying with us and found him, otherwise he probably would've died.
The problems came after he was home. Everyone wanted so badly for him to be better that they were pushing. They wanted him up and moving, they'd expect him to stay up and talk and even wanted him to go for what would've been a 2 hour drive to visit his brother! I was constantly having to jump on them and tell them that what his brain needed was rest and quiet.
His whole focus was on going to the wedding, which amazingly, he did do (doesn't remember it now, but we have a video for him). And I was able to use that to get them all to back off - telling them he had to rest so he would have even a slight chance of attending. I really didn't think he would be able to or should go, but as I said, that was his single focus in life at that time.
The wedding visibly set him back on recovery, but once he got that "goal" behind him, I had a much easier time getting him to relax and rest. It's been a year and he still gets fatigued more easily and his remaining symptoms get worse when he does too much. So please be your friends advocate and understand that the best thing for him is rest, rest, rest! Minimal thinking, talking, no loud noises, - nothing but positive statements that he can come out of this ok, but IT TAKES TIME AND PATIENCE on his part and everyone around him. I wish you all the best of luck!
Becky