WE ARE BRAIN INJURY THRIVERS

We are more than survivors. Brain injuries do not define us. Brain injury DO impact us.

How does it impact us? Good Question.

It is sometimes difficult to explain.

Living can sometimes feel magical.

It can also feel like a nightmare.

It all depends on where you are and what is going on in your life.

Each brain injury is unique. Each person will experience different effects depending on their personal situation and the type of injury they have suffered. Connections can be broken within the brain through a blow to the head, disease, cancer, stroke, oxygen deprivation, and a number of other things. When connections are broken, the brain repairs itself through neuroplasticity. Neurons in the brain can form new relationships, and find detours through the brain to perform the tasks previously handled by the now damaged neurons.

Broken connections take time to be reestablished.

Depending on the severity and location of the injury, some connections are never replaced. Often, those connections that are reconnected function slowly. Some with brain injuries appear to fully recover. Some recover a large fraction of capabilities.

Some with brain injuries never return to where they were before their injury.

Some with brain injuries are misdiagnosed for months, years, or decades. Some are told that there is nothing wrong. “It is all in your head. You’re just depressed. Walk it off. It is just your imagination. It will just take more time.” Indeed, it is all in our heads. Neuron connections have been broken.

It is not your imagination

This book provides insight into the paths that several artists took on the path toward reconnecting their brains. We hope this collection helps you understand the impact brain injuries had on each of us. We hope others with brain injuries will see they are not alone, they are not crazy, or imagining problems that are not real. We also hope that families, caregivers, and medical professionals might find this information helpful in supporting, treating and communicating with those that are trying to thrive with a brain injury.

In this book you will meet six brain injury thrivers. Matt Harline, who sustained a traumatic brain injury while riding a bicycle. Ava, sustained a traumatic brain injury from a skateboarding accident. Judy, had a brain tumor surgically removed. Celeste had a brain aneurysm that was surgically repaired before it could burst. Matt Davis is another traumatic brain injury thriver from a car accident while he was a junior in high school. Each of these individuals has their own unique voice.

We split this book into several chapters that follow experiences and expressions of people as they navigate their life from the first impact to some level of finding their new self. It is a book of experiences. This book is not intended to be authoritative or medical. We urge you to seek out the best medical doctors and therapists you can find. Let them help you find the right path for YOU. With this book, you can look at what others have experienced and see if it may be of help to you.

We hope this book gives you some insight into us, into brain injuries, and into you and your new life journey.