YES!

My Dr. and boyfriend think I was in denial, but I think I wasn't able to really understand what having a brain injury really meant until very recently (like within the past couple of months) and I'm twenty months out from the initial injury I sustained.

I do agree with Mark that it has to do with the ego - but I don't think it has to do with being a man. (I'm a woman.)

I think when there are sudden changes and new vulnerabilities in a person's life, then the ego is doing it's job by puffing itself up and rigidly hanging on to who the ego thinks the person is - a part of the ego's job is to protect the self.

I was convinced I could still do certain things for a loooooong time after the injury and even when I was completely unable to do them and could see with my own eyes what trouble I was having trying to do certain things I was still somehow convinced that I could do them. And I would just keep trying and trying to do them despite it all.

This is a part of where that patience comes in from your part.

He's not thinking rationally or well - his brain was injured! He's just not able to think well or rationally right now. And his ego is trying to help him to cope. And it might be a while before his ego can be worn down enough to let go of who he was before the injury or for his reasoning to improve enough to overcome his ego.

It's a very difficult and weird process.

I'm still going through it myself - I'm still convinced that I'll make a much better recovery than I have so far! I was very attached to the person I was before the injury I sustained. I had a great sense of pride and accomplishment and I don't know who I am now and this has greatly effected my self esteem. I don't feel like I can accomplish much of anything compared to what I could do before the injury I sustained. I feel worthless a lot of the time. I don't know what my skills are now, and I feel like I don't have any, but I do know that they aren't what they used to be - so I'm hopeful that my skills will return but until then I can just hope and wait.

Experts believe that the people who are the most determined to make a recovery do end up making the best recoveries. My boyfriend is amazed at my willpower and motivation levels. I keep on truckin'. I think a lot of people in my position would have given up by now and he and my family agrees that is true. So, it might not be a bad thing if he wants to be the person he was before the injury - because that might help him to achieve a goal of the closest possible to it that he can get.

I hope this all makes sense.