Hey Zach,

Glad you found this forum. It has really helped me to know there are others who understand what this is like and has been a wealth of information. I don't think my pain was quite as severe as yours, but all the other symptoms I can relate to. It is really hard to be patient with all this, especially when it is so hard to control emotions. I never would have thought that smacking my head into a beam would lead to this! My injury was just a silly accident when I was working outside my house. I'm at about 7 months and have improved a lot, but still have a ways to go to be back to pre-PCS life. Hopefully, you'll heal a lot quicker because you're young. It may not seem like it, but if you give yourself time to heal, in the long run it won't matter as much if you missed out on a few things or are behind in school. Being better and actually able to handle college matters the most, not when you apply. I know it's hard not to be able to do what you want and what your friends are doing, it still drives me nuts! I've found it isn't worth it to overextend and is better to be conservative in deciding what I can handle. Try to remember that your injury is no less real because it isn't visible and don't be afraid to remind others as needed. Maybe you could get your family to look at some of the resources on brain injury you can find online, it might help them be more understanding, unless they are educated they aren't going to "get it". This is hard for them too. There are previous threads on this, I don't remember the sources but I know they are available and helpful. You'll get good advice on this forum. Treat yourself gently, get good nutrition (good threads on this also), rest a lot, don't try to "push through it" it doesn't work with this type of injury. I wish you a speedy recovery, but in the meantime, just hang in there!

Becca