Hi! My name is Jen. I'm 38 years old. I sustained a TBI in January of 2004. At the time, I was employed as a marketing director and was also a freelance writer and author. I fell on some ice and hit my head pretty hard. I was taken to the ER and diagnosed with a concussion. My PCP referred me to the local Brain Injury Program, where I did 8 months of physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. I also saw a neuro, neuropsychologist and neuro-opthalmologist. My primary issues in the beginning were vestibular (balance, vision) and executive function (memory, organizing, mulit-tasking, concentration, organization, taking in new information, idea generation, creativity, etc). The therapy cleared up the vestibular issues and improved my executive function, though not enough to return to work at full capacity or to write at a professional level.

I was single and lived alone at the time. I know that I fell down the stairs at least twice during that time, but didn't seek medical attention. My employer was fantastic, and I was paid my full salary even though I was completely off work for months at a time. We tried a slow return with partial hours and a lighter load, but I was not able to keep up or represent the company well.

In May of 2006, I sustained a second TBI when I smacked my head against a counter. Shortly thereafter, I lost my job. I also lost my book contract.

I used to be an extremely independent, type-A personality. I had some savings and a healthy 401K, which I cashed out to live on while I slowly accepted my new reality. After my money was gone and I was facing foreclosure, I finally applied for disability in November 2007. (I married in July 2007, so am not eligible for SSI).

I tried working in a church bookstore one day a week, but even that was too much. The cognitive fatigue turned me into a zombie by the end of the shift, and made my headache worse. I have a headache everyday, most days it is manageable, but every few weeks it'll get worse, confine me to home and often my bed for a few days, up to a week at a time.

I joined this forum to hear from others with TBI to hear how they are living out their new normal lives, and also to learn if anyone with TBI has successfully been granted disability (I'm currently waiting for my hearing, which was supposed to be in two weeks, but was just pushed to August).

I didn't want you to think you are being 'ignored' !!

You are dealing with quite a serious issue!
This is a wonderful forum and there should be folks coming along who may have good input and suggestions/support to offer you....,

In the meantime, feel free to 'lurk' around, there are so many places here at NT....sometimes I find it very useful to use the 'search' feature at the top of the page to type in key words of interest....that way, you'll find other posts and discussions, which might get the ball rolling for ya.

There are so many caring folks here!

Best wishes
Rae

Hi embracegrace,
To help you get started, I would go to the Social Security Disability thread and you will see a link that says: Guidelines to SS determination.(at the top) That gives you a heads up on what is required of you to receive benefits. Since you're already waiting for a hearing than you know it's now the waiting game. So good luck and let us know how it goes.

Hi Jen,

I'm sorry you're a member of our brain boo boo club. We all know it's tough.

You will find NT's brain injury forum, http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum92.html , populated with formerly high achieving type A personalities trying to cope with the pain, frustration, financial chaos and emotional turmoil caused by that (speed) bump on the head.

I am pleased to see that you've received a higher level of medical attention than most PCS survivors. Still, it's so inadequate given how little the medical community seems to understand brain injury and its impact.

As a Canadian (my avitar is not a stereotype - it's a self-portrait), I can't speak to your question about TBI and SSI. I suggest you post the question on our tbi forum where more of our number will see it. I might also suggest that you contact the Brain Injury Association of America www.biausa.org for help in that regard. They are an excellent resource for information and support and they have local chapters all over the States.

Again, welcome I look forward to getting to know you.

Cheers

Hi embracegrace, There is another thread by TBI Hubby who talks about the same thing you have. Hope you two can hook up, it helps to talk about your disease with someone who understands. Good Luck.

Legal or Hocky,

Do you remember a recent (within the last week to 10 days) about someone with TBI where someone listed a link to a lawyer's site that deals exclusively with TBI cases ? I've been reviewing threads, but I can't find that link. I looked at the site that night and it was very informative. There might be something there to help embracegrace. I'm kicking myself that I didn't save it in my favorites.

Do either of you remember it ?

Embrace,

Still looking for the link about TBI and disability that I mentioned above, but I did find this one that is not specific to TBI, but has great info about the SSDI process. http://www.jamesdisabilitylaw.com/co...n-syndrome.htm

To rephrase that........I 'found' it in my favorites. Someone here recently posted it. I forget who gave us the link, might have been WDWGranny.....Thanks whoever it was

Hi Finz,

I'm pretty sure it was Mark from Idaho who listed the link for the law firm that does tbi stuff. I'll try and find his post. Otherwise, we could PM him.

Hi Finz,

I think I've got it: www.tbilaw.com

Embrace Grace,

It took me a long time to accept my reality too. My world slowly fell apart, and I fought with all of my might to keep up, but I couldn't do it. My TBI occurred in 3/07, one year after temporal lobe re-section for epilepsy. the TBI exaggerated the effects of surgery.

Less than one year ago, I finally began accepting my disability. My hub and I had split up a year before. I had to stop working as a CNA, because I just couldn't keep up. No matter if I had a light load, shorter hours, less days/week, nothing helped me make it through. It took about 6 months before I realized that I wouldn't be able to go back to being a CNA. It requires more than I can give. Memory, multi-tasking, focus, concentration, and more memory. LOL! It was very hard for me to let go of being in that environment ~ helping others. I've always wanted to help others!

Then, a couple of weeks ago, my assistant mentioned volunteering a couple of hours per week to visit the elderly. Some live in nursing homes, but most don't and they require some attention & care in their lives to keep them motivated to live. It sounded okay, but a little scary. I sure didn't want to have problem after problem again. Last week, I went in to talk with the organizer and was upfront about my brain injury. I briefly explained my difficulty remembering names (people, places, things) and organzination. She accepted it well, and said that I could still be an asset. I went to visit an older woman for an hour. We chatted about things happening in her life, needs, likes and dislikes. It was nice ~ and reminded me of my favorite part of being a CNA a year ago. An hour per week, I can commit to that.

I still have my other responsibilities that can be a bit much for me to handle. Yes, I am disabled. I have shortened limits. But I can still volunteer some of my time and be appreciated by others. That boosts my self-esteem.

Others have given you lots of legal info, so I won't bore you too much. Hope that this experience makes you a little more hopeful for your personal future. Best wishes to you!

Shez