I am now in the 10th months of my pcs/mtbi since my car accident, and today is my 46th birthday. My three boys (12, 10, and 5) gave me simple, hand drawn cards, and it was the most beautiful present ever.

Your post really accentuated for me how emotionally and spiritually difficult this condition is. We need to isolate ourselves to heal, and while we intellectually know this, emotionally it is so difficult to bear.

Where is our community?

This forum really has been a life-line in understanding how debilitating and invisible this condition can be. There is a lot of collective wisdom and compassion in this forum!

I went to a good friend's memorial last weekend (ear plugs, tramadol, and frequent breaks got me through, and I know I wouldn't have been able to do it 6 months ago).

My friend battled metastasized breast cancer after the birth of her second child. She did the "work" of cancer, but she also lived life. Truly and deeply. I miss her, of course, but I see how she kept on living right up to her last moments.

I also realize that I am different now, and although this is a changed life, it _is_life.

I'm a bit weepy--but we get to decide how to respond to our different, changed lives. Change is slow and deliberate. And very possible!

Day by day, indeed! Be kind to yourself today.