The Mass General program is the best in Massachusetts. You local care is light years behind.

Sam,

There is an old saying.... "one step at a time." Try to not let your mind wander into the worries of what can go wrong tomorrow or even an hour from now. It does take practice.

I sort of adopted this idea of not allowing tomorrow to ruin today and it has helped. I try to limit thoughts of tomorrow and the future only to what is necessary for proper planning.

Do your parents ever read this site,maybe they can read this and see if it helps them understand you any? I have owned my own business for 20 years so I have plenty of experience at my job. I missed 4/12/14 through 1/20/15 from my injury. It has been difficult this year....I have had a hard time making decisions and what was normal and easy for me prior to my injury became very uncertain, I had to ask my sons who work with me lots of times if I was making the right decision.

That is the bad side. I AM GETTING BETTER and you will too. In fact, I believe I will actually come out of this better for the things I have been forced to learn and I think the same can happen for you.

I imagine that this is very difficult at 15...it has been for me and I have much more life experience to draw from. Be patient, be courageous and stay real close to your parents, talk to them and ask questions.

I don't know if this will help any, I hope it does...your going to be ok again. I will be praying for you.

Bud

Thank you mark and bud,


Bud, I just don't know about patience anymore at this point. People keep telling me that you'll feel better soon, you'll feel better in a couple weeks, weeks go by then they tell me a couple months, etc.


And with school..


I'm so scared. I'm actually going into Freshman year and I BARELY made it past last year.

And the reason I'm so scared is that freshman year is a huge adjust alone..

But for me I'm going into this year with the same feeling I had last year. (My dreamy symptoms that make life miserable )

They make everything extremely worse. and I'm just speechless cause I don't know how I'm going to do work, find my classes, pay attention, be in conversations for so long, and do everything all the "normal" kids do with my symptoms.

I thought I would be better before school starts...
It starts in a couple weeks.

Sam,

Have you and your parents spoke with a school counselor or the principal about your situation?

I remember starting freshman year 3 days after I broke a collar bone, dislocated my right shoulder and concussed from a motorcycle wreck. It was intimidating.

I have found that when something out of the norm pops up I get really worried now. I have been able to alleviate a great deal of the worry if I remind myself to gather information and plan before I decide only bad will happen and I won be able to handle the situation.

The more information you can gather the more of a comprehensive plan you can develope so contact a school official asap, always with your parents.

Find a simple motto you can remind yourself of to stay calm when you start to worry...like "plan, not worry". I have used one for me when I feel out of control coming on to remind me to settle down and ask for help or plan. Mine has been a bible verse.

Bud

Sam,

Back to the patience thing. I am 16 months out now and things are finally changing.

1 month ago I did not think that I would ever change, that I was doomed to be a helpless child. Sleep is returning and many other symptoms are easing. My head isn't done with me yet but I am becoming less scared and more hopeful finally. I even got up on water skis this weekend for a couple of minutes...I was sure that would never happen a month ago.

I know patience is hard but it is your best ally now...in life really. You are learning hard lessons for a young age but by no means is success out of your reach.

Bud

Sam,

My daughter also has symptoms like you. Today she totally zoned out. She said it was like being in a bubble watching everything / feeling robotic on auto pilot /not plugged in / something messed up in body-brain and nothing makes sense.

She is starting high school and the thought of school works scare us both. We do have a team of professionals working with her. You should consult with a neuropsych, they usually work with the school to put together a remedial academic plan.

We went from "hope" to "cope" mode now. Just living in the moment, because there will be good days and bad days....

Hang in there!

Thank you so much bud and mystical.



Bud,

Last year I talked with my guidance counseler and school nurse a lot.. After a month they completely forgot about it.

They thought it was short term. I remember visiting the nurse when things got bad and she was like "YOU STILL HAVE THE CONCUSSION? WOW YOUVE HAD THIS FOR A WHILE!"

And my teachers and staff really did not think much of it. Like I said I feel like they all forgot about it.

Sam,

You would be eligible for temporary accommodations and/or modifications depending on your individual situation and individual needs. You should ask your parents to look into that before your return. Any school staff who have contact with you should be informed about your condition and educated about that condition AND your specific symptoms/needs.

This is a PDF file and outlines steps that need to be done. It also outlines formal support services such as IEP which is an Individualized Education Plan, or a Section 504 if temporary accommodations are not enough and your symptoms take longer to resolve than at first expected.

http://www.cdc.gov/headsup/pdfs/scho...o_school-a.pdf

Returning to school after a concussion: A Fact Sheet for School Professionals

Hi Sam,

I have read your thread and my heart goes out to you.

I, too, have had dissociative types of episodes since head injuries. Not fun.

Members are giving you excellent advice!

Possibly a consult/care at MGH.
Possibly an Individualized Educational Plan.
Possible therapy/support for you.

I'd like to add: Sometimes family therapy is also helpful, even short-term.
As Lara has pointed out, it's very important that everyone around you understands your needs.

I was very sad (and a bit angry) to read that the school guidance counselor and school nurse had "forgotten" about your concussion.

Both understanding and support are critically important for your healing.

I am so glad you are reaching out here.
There is hope, it's just hard to see it, to feel it, at times.

Warmly,
DejaVu

Sam,

I have to admit that I would not have been able to do high school when I was at 10 months. Heck, I'm at 22 months and I still can't do it. However, things overall are better than they were in the first year.

Take Bud's advice and try to not let your imagination and impulsivity get away from you. When this starts happening, find a non-taxing distraction that gets your mind off things. Lastly, I think you really need to limit your acitivities... too much activity will make everything worse, and will hamper your recovery.

Take a look at Lara's suggestion to see if it can help you out.

Also, show your parent's this forum. We all understand the stress and worry you are experiencing. And we all want to see you get better.

Hang in there Sam!