Shelley - what Mark has said above has made me think - I am now a very calming influence with my grandchildren - 4 toddlers. The old me would have been very noisy kind of like the ra ra bossy person. Now I just sit quielty on the floor and we play and talk - they just love it - I love it and you know what - it is better than pre injury times - of course not with those same children.

One of the things that I have/had identified doing is volunteering at the local High School and taking remedial reading - just one on one or maximum two.

It also helps if you have something to look forward to and forward plan as much as possible - hard when you don't know how tired you are going to be one day to the next or if you get woken during the night!

Spontaneity is a thing of the past for me. Write a list of what you want to do the next day and halve it and halve it again - that was the advice of the one good psychologist I saw and if you are being hard on yourself think of what you would say to your friend if she was injured in the same way.

When you do feel like you have energy don't go rushing around like a crazed person or put it this way - it is best not to rush around as the crash afterwards is not worth it. Just enjoy the moment and there will eventually be more.

Lynlee