My son Eric recieved his TBI on August 17, 2004. It was a tuesday evening and I was at work. Eric was to leave the next day to go to North Carolina with his cousins.It was exactly at 6:30 pm that my cell rang. it was my brothers nieghbor calling to tell me that there had been a terible accident.Eric was hurt bad she said. Fortunatly my sister works with me as I was in no condition to drive.What happen was Eric was sitting on the back of a friends car as the kids played basketball. She decided to leave and started the car. Eric was unable to make it off the car in time.She started to drive off and picked up speed, hit a bump and Eric went flying. He landed on his head. He had a fracture of the skull and to bleeds in his brain.The doctors did surgery that night. What a long night it was.He was in the ICU for two and a half weeks. The one time my husband got me to leave he took a turn for the worse. After that I refused to leave.Then he went to the brain rehab for another two weeks.Believe or not the worse moment for me was when the day he went to the brain rehab they helped him with a shower. I was standing at the bathroom door. The aid gave him the soap and he asked him what should he do with it. That was it for me. By the time they got him to tie his shoes I was a mess. Here was my 16 year old son being shown how to tie his shoes!

Now we are at november 2005 and I realize how lucky Eric is. His long term memory is fine. His reading skills are fine. His math skills are horrible. His executive functions and cognitive functions are severly impaired. BUT HE IS ALIVE! Thank God. The one thing I have a hard time with is his outburst of anger. Boy is that difficult to deal with. And the swearing. I did not know that he knew those words. I am sure he cursed around his friends but never around me or his dad.The funny thing is that when this happens it doenst last that long.It it is like he doesnt remember saying it.But I will take it knowing he is alive and well.

Email Lisa