[Brain patch]

I had it out with my little brother last night. He finally listened to me and I was able to explain to him what has and is happening to me. He has taken my behaviors as rude instead of realizing that I act this way to avoid stress, seizures, symptoms. I am so glad that I finally have a family member that "gets it". He has agreed to become an advocate for me and to help me get disability. He looked it up and found out the only requirement to obtaining disability from social security with the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury is that the person must no longer be independent. I am not. I need help from my family to survive. He is going to write a letter and have the whole family sign it. He has also agreed to come to the neuropsychological testing results meeting. I am so relieved to finally have a family member understand and care. That being said it was a very stressful confrontation. I had a seizure last night from the stress. I am wiped out today but grateful. He is very smart and would be the only person in my family that would be able to help me. He now understands that I wear sunglasses all the time due to light sensitivity and vision disturbance, migraine reduction etc. and that I take time outs during family parties not because I am rude but because my brain gets overloaded and I start having symptoms.
I just feel so relieved. That has been the worst thing for me is not having my family understand and think badly of me. I think this neuropsychologist can set the story right and am glad I have someone who will come and listen and try to help me. Thank god. I so need their support and understanding.
Brain

[Lightrail11]

That is great news. Hopefully he will be a force in the larger effort to educate others on this underreported and misunderstood condition. Hell, I didn't know what it was until my accident. I woke up in the hospital, the whiteboard said: "TBI with multiple trauma". I went a week or more before I thought to ask what "TBI" meant.

Congratulations on having a new advocate.

[DFayesMom]

My family has been very supportive, except my one brother, who thought it was all in my head and that I was just depressed. In his defense, he's tried to be supportive, even driven me to doctor's appointments, and held his tongue for the most part, but it hurts to know he doesn't believe me. I wanted to have it out with him, but I wasn't physically capable for so long. Any stress would trigger terrible migraines. Just thinking about my brother made me feel terrible, so I avoided seeing him as much too. I stopped asking for his help because it wasn't worth feeling like I was being judged. I regret all of this now. I'm about to go on vacation with my whole family and I hope we get the chance to talk things out. We've always been close and so it's weird to feel this strain between us. I think the hardest thing for me is not being able to answer honestly when he asks me how I am. When I was sick at first, I would actually tell him how I was feeling, but he came back saying that I complained too much and that he knew a lot of people who had it worse than me. So I learned that he didn't actually want to know how I was, he just wanted me to say, fine. Meanwhile, when I would ask how he was, he would tell me about his problems, how he was feeling emotionally, so our interactions became very one-sided. Anyway, it's wonderful that you have someone on your side now to advocate for you. I don't think I could have made it through the hardest part of my recovery without help!

[MsRriO]

Originally Posted by DFayesMom

I think the hardest thing for me is not being able to answer honestly when he asks me how I am. When I was sick at first, I would actually tell him how I was feeling, but he came back saying that I complained too much and that he knew a lot of people who had it worse than me. So I learned that he didn't actually want to know how I was, he just wanted me to say, fine.

That describes everyone I know outside of this forum.

Brain patch I'm so glad you braved that confrontation with your brother and some issues were resolved. How courageous of you!!!

[MiaVita2012]

I am SOOOO happy you got threw!This is a very positive step for the whole family.

When people outside ask how am I?I answer maintaing lol