Cody,

Your Neurologist sounds better than most but not as good as the best. His three year recovery prognosis is not based on any valid research or such. He was right in suspending your license. Six months may be a bit long but it is better to be safe than sorry.

I speak from experience. I have restricted my driving many times over the past 10 years.

Every time I need to go somewhere, I need to stop and seriously consider my condition. Many times, I have to wait 'til my wife can drive me. I have had too many close calls. I went almost 2 years without any driving at one point. It can be miserable to not have the mobility driving affords but I'd rather pout up with that than have to live with the memory of hurting or killing someone because my brain failed me.

We have had two deaths locally over the past few years due to brain impairments that were not drug or alcohol related. I think one did prison time, the other was banished from ever driving again with a very long probation.

One thing your Neurologist alluded to is important. The 3 years to full recovery should instead be a concern for how much recovery you can attain. Most of your recovery from here on will be based on you input. You need to understand your symptoms so you can properly relate them to doctors and treatment specialists. The TBI Survival Guide at www.tbiguide.com is a good place to start.

Understanding the ins and out of how you are functioning and feeling is important. Your family and girlfriend also need to understand these things so they can contribute their observations.

Have you kept any kind of journal? It is a good idea to do so. Jot down the hows and whens of different symptoms and also anything you did before that symptoms, including the day before. You will eventually start to recognize patterns and common triggers.

Getting a good recovery and proper Work Comp settlement will depend a lot on how well you understand your condition. Understanding your symptoms will also be the first step toward learning work-arounds and other accommodations and coping strategies so you can get back to a full life.

Let us know what common road blocks you run up against in your daily life. Somebody here has likely run up against the same and learned a way around that road block.

My best to you.