Hello everyone.
I had an MVA in Jan 2016. There were many injuries. SOme healed , some did not. Lots of facial trauma from airbag which has me really sad....Lung and leg and foot and knee and mouth.

All this has caused me great stress. HOWEVER, the one that has blindsided me and one I was not expecting was TBI. I thought airbags were preventing brain damage. Not so. They are reducing severity but not number of brain injuries. So instead of widespread brian damage I "only" have TBI.

But it is not "only" at all. I first noticed it when people would come up to me and say HI (my name)! And I did not know who they were. One lady even related that we had just, two days before, had a full conversation about our names!!

This happens a lot now. I can tell people I knew REALLY well before the accident. I can also tell people who have something which distingusihes them. Sometimes once they start to talk, it kicks in.

I also get lost all the time, seriously lost, like blowing out half a tank of gas over three hours in a TEN MILE RADIUS trying to find a way out. I also cannot read like I used to and forget what I was in the middle of.

My parents say I am nicer than before, which is funny to me. I want to be nice. I guess they are saying I was a bit of a prickly one before? Haha. So I am glad there is some benefit. But I am so depressed that I tried to end my life in July. I dont feel like me. I was an academic and now I am not able to do that anymore.

Has anyone else had this weird symptom?

All of it together, the other injuries, the brain, the face, etc....has me really down. Hope to connect with others here.

okrad,

I understand your frustration. You want to understand what has happened to your brain but it is just not making sense. It probably never will.

I'll try to address each of your complaints.

First, a minor correction for your clarification. It sounds like you suffered an mTBI, minor Traumatic Brain Injury. The airbag did prevent some injuries but still left you with the mTBI. Nobody can truly say what injuries you would have had it not been for the airbag. I can tell you this. It would have been much different.

My daughter was in a car wreck without an airbag, just a shoulder strap and waist seat belt. Her head did not hit anything but she got busted up pretty bad. It took over 3 months for her to heal enough to be able to start work again. She also suffered horrible depression. She hurt her neck. Cracked some ribs and fractured her sternum (OUCH). And, she was determined to be at fault when there should have been a combined fault ruling. The people in the other car had airbags and walked away without a scratch from a near head-on crash and in facts, ran over to her car and berated her as she tried to breath.

But, life goes on. She was slowly able to return to work as a river guide and ski instructor and ski program manager. It took almost 8 months for her to get back to a normal work effort. We wonder what would have happened with airbags.

I don't think you have face blindness since you recognize those who you knew from before. This is good. What you have is a weakening of the face to name connecting system. I know that well. I have lived with it for most of my life. For me, I see a face and think, "I should know who this is." but I struggle to put a name to the face. The challenge for you is that prior to your injury, this face to name connection was strong and did not require effort. Now, you need to learn some new skills.

First, you need to learn how to learn. You brain does not remember things the way it used to. This does not mean it can't learn new information or faces. It just means it will take more effort. Yes, it sucks but we can get through it. There are tricks that can be used to help us learn these names.

It can help to be up front. "I'm really bad at connecting names to faces and I really want to remember your name. I'm going to try by repeating your name as we talk." or something like this. Then, try to repeat their name as you talk with them. Most people are very understanding. They often say, " I'm lousy at names, too." You might respond, "I used to be good at it until I suffered a brain injury." Some will get it. Some will not.

But, If you try to repeat their name at each pause in your talking "Your name is ..... Uhh, Help me please. It's on the tip of my tongue...."

People usually appreciate when somebody makes an extra effort to remember their name. The fact you recognize their voice suggests your visual memory is struggling but your auditory memory is working well. With some acceptance of this, you can learn how to do it again. It will just take a bit more effort whereas before, it was effortless.

I lost both memory functions. My auditory memory function is in the bottom 5% of the population. My visual memory is in the bottom 12% of the population. But, my intelligence is mostly intact so I use it to find ways to overcome the other deficits.

The getting lost is familiar, too. I had just moved to Idaho 6 months prior. I had already memorize most of the main streets of a 30 by 10 mile area. It was easy because it is an agriculture grid with a road every mile. I just memorized the order. But Jan 16, 2001, it was all gone. I've regain some of my directional skills back but not all of them. I used to have a mental map that I could use to visualize where I was going but no more.

So, I use a real map. I put a full size map on the wall in the laundry room. The more I looked at it before I left to go somewhere, the better I got. I use google maps all the time, too. A GPS system in the car can be great, too, as long as it does not distract your from driving safely.

It will likely take many repetitions for you to learn and remember information. Fighting this fact will only make things worse. The anxious mind does not remember well.

So please. Give yourself a break and allow yourself time to learn new faces and directions, etc. Things will get better.

I hope you are getting some counseling and therapy. A speech therapist can help you learn new ways to remember. A mental health counselor who has experience with brain injuries can be very helpful, too.

A Neuro Psychologist can be a big help as they can help you define your memory and cognitive struggles so you can learn work-arounds and accommodations.

Be glad your personality changed the way it did. Most people have negative change in their personality. I have had that negative change with every serious concussion. My mother lost her 'sweet little boy' when I was ten. My wife lost part of her husband when I was assaulted in 1999. But, with help, I have learned how to make up for most of my personality changes so I can get on with my life.

One of the biggest struggles people with PCS induced memory difficulties have is simple. We used to be able to do so many things without any effort. It just came naturally. It does not now. So, we need to learn how to make that effort without getting frustrated. Frustration and anxiety only serves to work against us.

You can and will get much better, especially with appropriate help and support. We're here for support.

Keep trying.

My best to you.

Wow! I am amazed at your response. You really get it. I am sad that you had so many concussions and that is the reason why you get it, but you are kind to try to help me understand this.
Yes, it is probably mTBI. All the other injuries hid it and I never got it looked at. Not once! No Dr even asked me. It was not till my sister in law was all upset and showed me the animated brain thing that shows the airbag hitting a person. Hits to the front, then the back and sometimes to the front again!

I would like to think it would have been worse without that monstrous thing. If I had had your daughter's injuries, I feel I could have recovered. I am about to lose many teeth which cannot be replaced easily and that is disfiguring. My brain is not the same. I used to memorize a very long poem in another language and was up to 250 lines. I cannot do that now. I was going back to school. Sure, if my head was about to slam into the steering wheel, I am glad for the airbag, but I am afraid I would prefer a broken sternum to the long term injuries I am looking at.

How fast was your daughter going? I was doing 55 on the highway and a lady pulled right into traffic (she was on her phone) creating a wall, so it was 55 to 0 in 1 second.

I love your idea of the map on the wall! That is very creative. I may try that.

I am really glad you pointed out these particulars because I am going to a neuro. Can you believe the first appt is in APRIL?! I think that is too far because they never did any imaging on me and for all I know there could be a bruise or something, but maybe not.

I hope you have a good night. I will be thinking about these things and will keep trying . I thought by 7 months it would be OK (it was Jan).

First, do not let people show you things like the airbag animation. These animations can make symptoms much worse by adding to anxiety. They exaggerate the movements. There would be little coupe contra-coupe action against an airbag compared to hitting a solid object. Attorneys use those animations to try to get larger settlements but they are not as scientific as often presented.

But, if you exhibit excessive anxiety symptoms, defense attorneys try to use that anxiety to minimize your brain injury symptoms.

Steering wheels often take out teeth and shatter jaws or smash faces. I would not trade an airbag injury for a steering wheel injury. Can you get dental implants ? Dental implants make take time but they work very well. I suffered tooth death from my concussion when I was 10 but the dentist was able to save enough tooth to do a crown after doing a root canal.

Did you mean to say April for the neuro appt ? That does not make sense unless you are in Canada. I would think you have a solid claim against the other driver. You should have access to a doctor sooner based on your claim. If you have no-fault insurance, you should still have access to a neuro sooner with your own insurance as the payer.

I suggest you try to get a referral to a Neuro Psychologist for an Assessment that checks your memory functions. I think a NeuroPsych will be more help. You can find them at Neuro Rehab Hospitals and Clinics who understand and work with brain injuries.

The time from 55 to 0 is hard to determine off hand. The crushing of both cars and the distance you pushed the other car can be measured and calculated to determine the duration of the impact. Your car has a digital record of G forces and other data during the last 10 seconds to the moment of impact stored in the cars computer. There are companies that have the software to download the data and give you the timeline. Every car since 1996 has this system.

Regarding my daughter. She also got a serious concussion and major whiplash. She made a left turn in front of a car that had just entered the road just a short distance down the road so their headlights were were not aiming toward the intersection. She does not think they were even on until just before they were to the intersection. But the car making a left turn is always in the wrong. The other car was doing about 45. She was doing about 15. It hit her in the front corner and totaled her Toyota pickup including bending the main frame so the cab and bed were smashed together.

What were your other injuries ?

Try to hold strong while you wait to be assessed by somebody who can help you understand your struggles. Please try to avoid anything that can add to your anxiety.

My best to you.

That is for sure. I don't even want to see anymore of those animations. Yes, the neuro is April. No, not Canada! Haha. It is here in the good ol usa. I saw a therapist today who said neuro always that way, but he is trying to get me to the psychologist who may be able to get it faster.

I did not know about the data. The car was totalled and towed away. The other injuries were leg, foot, knee, lung( seat belt contusion AND airbag chemicals. COuld hardly breathe for a month. Still hurts, but better most of the time) and all the face stuff. Eyes were messed up (airbag chemicals) and the teeth.

The trouble with teeth is that they are dying at intervals and two lawyers I talked to (my own and another) both said that they can't take "futures" into consideration. My lawyer wants me to get all the implants now which is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. He gets more money the more I do.

Because my insruance has no dental, it is all out of pocket and I cannot afford that. It would be thousands.

Not sure what I am going to do. In July I almost ended it from all these troubles. Plus, they found a lump on my breast and it has to be biopsiedand my stress level is so catastrphic that I cannot even think of it.

So you can say I am one very unfortunate woman. Not sure how or even if I am going to get though all this, but I am going to see a shrink to see if meds can help me .

THanks for getting back to me.

There is a problem waiting so long to see a neuro. He may be lousy at concussions. Most are. Then, you need to start over. I suggest you look a bit out of your area.

What state are you in or even municipality ? I can research neuros.

Also, Neuro Psychologist is different than a generic psychologist.

Is there a neuro rehab hospital anywhere within your area ?

Root canals and crowns are much less trouble than implants. $1500 vs $3500 to $4000.

Regarding your breathing struggles. The seat belt trauma causes a lot of inflammation that can reduce lung capacity. My daughter was in the same situation for 2 months. Plus, the muscles just do not want to work against the soreness.

I don't want to increase your stress but it would be worthwhile for you to understand some of the concussion legal issues. Check out TBILaw.com and SubtleBrainInjury.com If your attorney is not addressing the issues presented, you should direct him to these web site.

My heart goes out to you as you wait for your biopsy. I've dealt with cancer in the family and understand the stresses.

My best to you.

Okrad,

January wasn't that long ago as far as some healings need to be complete.

The left side of my head was smashed like a broken egg by an anchor (really dumb accident) 2.5 years ago.

There are things different about me now but mostly I am living a good life again.

By 6 months after my accident I thought that my life was destroyed forever and never to have a good day ever again or even be able to smile.

There are still challenges but I can honestly say I like some of the changes that had to take place in me in order to carry on.

Don't believe that just because you aren't who you were that you won't like who you become...we change throughout life anyways, accident or no accident.

Learn to balance patience and persistence. Accept being quiet and still when necessary and enjoy activity as it returns. Don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask people for a break with your obstacles, such as not remembering a name as quick as in the past. I had to learn to ask my sons to help me make decisions at work I had made routinely before by myself...I finally came to the conclusion of "so what, it's better to do something correct than let pride stand in the way of a correct result."

I don't know if any of this helps but I have been where you are and have climbed back up the ladder so it does happen, I wanted you to know that.

Bud

Thank you Bud. I appreciate that. The trouble is I have no support. I was disabled before and sustained a tremendous amount of abuse over my life and trauma. So I am reduced to living in a room of a man who is quite unsupportive and demands that I am OK and laughs at the concussion. His favourite words are, "Oh come on. You can do better than that" Besides calling me bizarre and too intense and weird and ignorant etc.......He tries but he has what is called a Personality Disorder and pretty bad Aspergers.

So I rent from him and that is all the support I have. I can't move out because i have no money. So life is a hideous thing for me and was before my accident.

Okrad,

I am familiar with Aspergers due to a nephew...it can get a little tiring if not ignored at times.

Any churches close by, maybe an ear there?

Just thinking of suggestions.

Bud