Hi everyone,

This is the first that I've posted a story here although I've been stopping in to chat now and then for some time now.

I was in a car accident in 1979 here in my home town. I was in the hospital for 5 days, in a coma for one day of that. The two guys that were driving the car walked away without a scratch (or ticket of any kind) and I have paid dearly throughout my life. But it could have been much worse so I count my blessings.

Brain injuries weren't understood much. The medical field has come a long way since then. Society needs to work on catching up a bit more though. None of the problems that I had were ever addressed as the result of my head injury. In fact my tbi was never mentioned much at all. So there I was wondering why I couldn't keep up with the rest of my classmates, why I felt so different, why I never felt like I fit in anywhere. I would fly off the handle very easily so people just found it easier to avoid me, I guess. There wasn't any rehab back then, they just sent me home to sleep for 2 months. I guess if there is a good side to all of this it would be that I can't remember what I was like before the accident. I was only 15 and at that age kids are trying to establish their identity anyway, mine just took a different turn. I do remember that before the accident I had friends and would spend nights at their houses. After my accident I became a loner so to speak. I found it hard to relate to others and of course didn't know why. I couldn't understand alot of things that were happening. My parents were uninformed about head injuries so they were as confused about my behaviors as I was. It has been tough but I feel that I have come out of it all a very strong person, and as I said, it could have been so much worse. I have always been able to walk, run, drive a car, and so on, but it was just never written in the stars for me to ever be a fast learner, or to retain information. So finding a job that is suitable, and a supervisor that is understanding was a miracle for me.

I was married, had three children, my youngest girl died of congenital heart disease. Divorced after 13 years of marriage. I'm living very happily in the country on 3 acres in southern Minnesota. We have 4 horses and a dog. My son is 18 and my daughter is 14 and are so understanding and helpful. I couldn't ask for more. Being a mom is the most important job in my life, it comes before anything else. I guess thats about all I have to write, you all can wake up now! Its the end of the story..lol