newbie, kind of happy
 

I feel a bit bad after reading all the struggles everyone's going through...
Since my accident, despite all the symptoms, I feel really grateful because i instinctively knew; it could have been so much worse...:(

Not that I am minimising, It's been 3 weeks since i was rear-ended, innocuously enough, (or I thought.:D:grin:....)

I feel I am getting better, but my voice has changed and i sound a bit drunk; slurred most of the time, whoch i don't like...(could be worse)

My spelling/typing is filled with mistakes and consequently takes much longer. I'll leave them today so you can see. (could be worse spell check)

I have regained the ability to lift my knees from lying down and can now do a bicep curl. I forgot a week afer the accident.

My personality change is a more pleasnt, more passive laughing version of myself. In stage 3 (there are 4 altogether) I sound/act and talk like a 6 year old.
I'm me, but i feel like i'm me at 6. my demeanour, speech everything changes... It's challenging for my kids... I try very hard not to swear. In some ways i feel like a more innocent, purer, nicer version of myself. i seem to be less preoccupied with myself and more concened with the well-being of my family.
to some extent i feel like i am losing myself, because I was much more confident before....(could be worse, my family Llike my other personality)

My ex is a LOT more helpful thanever before, when i sound like a little kid, people talk to me as though i were one. They are very patronizing, but they don't mean it, they're just reacting...The doctor even made a sexual innuendo about which he repeated twice to his colleague, right in front of me:eek: because he was assuming that because i sounded like a child, I thought like one....

It's all weird, but again, i am grateful it's not worse...
thanks for listening..:):Thank you:

Also, ADHD on Ritalin for the last cuple years

I am sorry about everyone's troubles here... Mine feel small by comparison...

I'm am ever so slightly jealous of the happiness, because I have just become angry and irritable...the ones I love the most feel like they have to walk on egg shells around me. It is hard to fight it when you are in constant pain. Thanks for the story and good luck. I hope that you heal soon. While it might be nice to be six for a little while, after a short time it will make life so much more difficult.

God Bless!
Margarite

Thanks for your reply Margarite, I do thank God I am not angry or miserable, or in constant severe pain.. My headaches are dull if somewhat constant and very deep inside my head...
the thing about sounding/acting young is: it feels like I've lost my ability to parent, no, that's not right, I've lost my authority...They just laugh at me now, not in a nasty way, it's just so funny, me trying to lay down the law and sounding younger than them. Everyone just starts laughing and i mix up my words and it's just a joke...

the other driver has accepted liability, I am wondering about compensation. I have to go see a doctor GP to be looked at so he can report to the court, but as my symptoms are mainly of a neurological nature, do the courts take that into consideration? My MRIs are clear, but I've changed...

How do they investigate that forensically and then decide the level of comp?
I emailed the firm yesterday about this issue. I am loathe to speak to anyone with my voice...:(
I would love to hear from anyone with similar experiences....

I like your attitude about being happy it wasnt worse. I am starting to feel that way, and as an ICU nurse, I've seen so many debilitating brain injuries that i know i am incredibly lucky to have no major cognitive deficits, just physical symptoms. Mine include daily headaches (but well controlled with nortriptyline, fiorinal and occasionally percocet if the fiorinal doesnt work), dizziness, fatigue, occasional ringing in my ears, some visual changes, stimulation sensitivity, and a tremor in my extremities. I am 11 weeks out and although i have had some setbacks, i feel like this site has prepared me to expect them and understand that its the nature of the illness. So i dont get mad about it, i easily accept it and have gotten use to my limitations and work arounds in my life to make things easier. I go back to work in 3 weeks and know i will have a tough time initially, but i am happy that i will be able to give it a try and hope for the best. Im a big believer in trying to stay hopeful and positive but also realistic. Hopefully everyone here sees their symptoms improve over time and get back to feeling like themselves again.

Compensation etc.
 

Hi Cheer Girl,
I am glad that you are able to look on the bright side and that you are cheerful about the troubles that you are going through. That is a very good attitude but it does not mean that you shouldn't get compensation for what has happened.
You definitely are entitled to compensation and just because your injuries are neurological that does not mean that you won't be compensated or that it will be impossible for someone to adequately assess this. This is a specialist area and you need a specialist lawyer to deal with it.

I also suffered neurological damage due to a rear-end collision and I fully intend to be compensated for it, although so far it has been a long process. Nevertheless, you absolutely must get what you are due, so make sure that someone is dealing with it who knows what they are doing. Most solicitors rely on medical evidence and most doctors do not know this specialist field. You have to find someone who does, or you will have a hard time.

Incidentally, a change of voice is not an unknown neurological condition. My aunt knows someone whose voice developed a foreign accent. Just because it is strange does not mean that it will be impossible to obtain compensation.

Feel free to drop me an email if you want to discuss anything further.


Good luck.
Concussed Scientist

Cheergirl...Never have negative feeling about coming out of the other side appreciating and celebrating that you still have your life and that includes feeling happy about it.

At the time of the accident I was in, I was aware that something really bad had happened, I had a flash in my mind of an oncoming car crossing into my lane. What I was most aware, even being out of it, was that I had been injured seriously and there was a possiblity I could die. In the ER as I started to become aware of what had happened to me, I felt an almost spiritual sense of joy that I was still here. My body and head were in agony, but I was here, alive and joyful with every painful breath.

I think when we're faced with the cold, dark numbness of death staring at us and we don't cross over into that place, we find a different kind of joy and appreciation for the simple, seemingly mudane things in life.

And like you, "I seem to be less preoccupied with myself" and more aware of simple joys of living and really enjoying little things I never noticed before.

Stay with the healthy attitude and spirit you have and keep steadfast on the path you're on without apologies. :hug:

thank so much..:)