Through the intervention of a high school counselor, I was provisionally accepted at University (but not to study science; so much for my plans to be a marine microbiologist). My cognitive abilities slowly improved, and over twelve years I got a BA in psychology and religion, MA in ancient near eastern studies and linguistics, and a PhD in ancient and biblical studies (Old Testament). I can read Hebrew and hieroglyphics. I was the first woman and tied for the youngest person to get a PhD in this field at the University of Michigan. I was also the first person to prepare their dissertation on a personal computer. I never worked in my field. Instead I made good money as a computer systems analyst and technical writer.

In 1984 I met my husband, Gary. We got married and had a daughter in 1988 and a son in 1991. We live in the country not far from the university where we both went to school, we have a big garden, horses and various other animals. I canned and froze food from the garden, taught Sunday school, published the church newsletter, and volunteered in the children's schools. I was feeling very lucky and blessed, that life, while never what it might have been without The Accident, was still good, and I had accomplished a lot. Still, it was always in the back of my mind wondering how different or better things would have been if not for The Accident. But I had learned to compensate very well for my shortcomings, and by ten years post trauma most people would be surprised to learn that I was recovered from a closed-head injury with brain damage.

In October 1999 I had a CAT scan to check a sinus condition. The scan revealed an aneurysm on the right middle cerebral artery. We were told that it was unusually good luck to have found the aneurysm this way. (Why did I not feel lucky?) My neurosurgeon advised that I enjoy Thanksgiving with my family (my children were 8 and 11) and schedule surgery for the first week of December and hopefully be home for Christmas. I don't remember being afraid, but Gary says I was terrified when he took me to the hospital on December 1. I do know that I did not want to have another brain injury (been there, done that, don't need to do it again.) That morning I had a right CVA (= cranial-vascular accident = stroke) at craniotomy for aneurysm clipping. The neurosurgeon said he could see residue from the previous brain injury. Brain injuries are cumulative. The brain doesn't bounce back as quickly the second time. With the CVA, I had brain swelling which nearly killed me and did blind me. To control the swelling I was put in a chemically induced coma for ten days with an intercranial monitor. My husband told the children that the doctors had to put me to sleep so I could get better. I was on a respirator in the ICU with tubes everywhere possible.

When they could finally bring me out of the coma, I found I was paralyzed on the left, had a third nerve palsy (causing double vision, which lasted nearly three months) and had completely and permanently lost my left visual field (can't see anything left of my nose). At this point I was scared. I was inpatient for two full months. But this time I had a physical med and rehab doc, therapy six hours a day, and great support from Gary, my sister, and my church. I had people praying for me all over town and in several other states. This time I had physical handicaps along with the brain injury. The doc told me I would leave the hospital in a wheelchair-but I walked out. In a way the physical handicaps were good because I could actively work on them and see improvement almost every day. With mental handicaps you just have to wait and see if the brain can heal itself and the improvements are not as dramatic as moving your fingers for the first time. In testing I seemed to have no memory or cognitive deficits. I was very thankful for that. But being “within thte normal range” does not mean there are no deficits. It does not mean my brain works the way it used to. I can't keep a schedule without messing it up. I am spacially impaired ( don't know where I am half the time), and my math skills are not what they were since regaining them after The Accident. Physically, My left hand has not regained fine motor skills (I can't button my shirt or tie my shoes), my left foot drags when I walk (so I wear an AFO = ankle-foot orthosis). I am permanently blind on the left (but improved slightly with prismatic lenses). But this means I can never drive again (a severe blow to the kids' lifestyle and my independence). I am tired and have low energy all the time.

My recovery has been very rapid and I am doing remarkably well. I am working really hard to recover, maintain a positive attitude, and move forward. I give a lot of credit to the immediate and intense rehab therapy I received. I am doing speech therapy to try to get back to work (I used to run Gary's business), I lift weights at a physical therapy gym, I go to therapeutic riding, and I practice visual scanning and typing on tbichat. I can't help thinking how different my life might have been if I had had a resource like tbi.org after The Accident. O f course, personal computers and the internet didn't even exist yet back then. Yes, I'm VERY old. Thank you all for sharing and caring.

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