Heat Stroke Brain Injury

Many times when someone suffers a brain injury, it results from something out of their control. For instance, a vehicle accident that was not their fault, or a surgery gone wrong, can cause various types of brain injury.

Recently, I read an article about heat stroke. I guess I never realized that heat stroke could cause brain injury. The article stated that without prompt medical attention after a heat stroke, it could cause permanent brain damage in addition to damaging other internal organs.

Those of us who live in a hot, humid state should take special care. Some of the things to pay particular attention to are:

Staying Hydrated – Drink plenty of water – don’t wait until you are thirsty.

Dressing Appropriately – Wear lightweight, light-colored clothes and a hat when outside.

Monitoring those at High Risk – In the article I read, they mentioned two age groups that are most susceptible to heat stroke – the very young and the elderly. I would add another group – those who already have a brain injury. If you are a caregiver to someone who is currently living with a brain injury, you will probably need to encourage them to adhere to these preventive measures so as not to cause additional damage to the brain. Because - depending on the type and extent of the current brain injury, that person may need assistance making decisions.

None of us should try to live in a bubble - afraid of everything in life, but we all should use common sense as we go about our lives. Someone who has suffered a brain injury usually needs help making decisions, at least until they have a set of compensatory strategies in place to assist them with their independence.

Brain Injury Independence

Who wants brain independence? That would be those that feel they don’t have it – which definitely includes anyone who has experienced some type of acquired brain injury.

The 4th of July (Independence Day) is just around the corner. Since my mind is continually looking for ways to live with brain injury, it reminds me of how happy I am that I experience brain independence every day now. That’s not to say I don’t ever depend on others for information and help. It just means that, thanks to various compensatory strategies, I have learned over the years, that I can now be a more independent person and, therefore, depend less on others.

It’s a good feeling to be an independent person. Because I remember how I felt before I learned how to help myself, I want to continually share everything I know about brain injury and how it leads to independence. That is really the only reason Larry and I wrote Brain Injury Survivor’s Guide. We’ve gotten so much more for our efforts than we ever expected. In fact, it was recently included in the top ten books sold: Check out this article. Not to mention all the rewarding comments we get from those who write us.

Have a safe 4th of July celebration and always strive for more brain injury independence. Knowledge is Power to a brain injured person.

Brain Injured Fathers

Today is Fathers Day – a day we set aside to honor our fathers for all they have done for us in the past and continue to do no matter how old we get. I had the pleasure of being able to spend time with my wonderful father yesterday and today we will spend the evening with both of our sons to celebrate their love and appreciation for their dad.

But, this day makes me wonder how many fathers are struggling with a brain injury every day – especially in light of the current war situations that require fathers of all ages to be away from their families in harms way. There have been, and continue to be, alarming statistics about our soldiers returning home with some type of brain injury.

While I realize there are many more fathers who have experienced brain injury in some form, I found this ariticle to share which gives me some hope that our government is finally starting to recognize the need to address this invisible injury and start to provide appropriate treatment and support to our soldiers.

The last sentence in the article expresses my concern -- which is that because most people are not sufficiently educated about brain injury, the stigma remains. I just hope the miliary tries really hard to emphasize that getting treatment for brain injury is just as honorable as getting treatment for a lost limb. I don't want them to hesitate to take advantage of whatever treatment is available. And, I hope their families get educated too so they can support them.

Returning soldiers treated for traumatic brain injury and post ... - "Post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, they're invisible. You can't see them and yet an awful lot of people are struggling with them and we know that now," said clinical psychologist Heidi Kraft, PhD. ...

My Caged Brain

A series of MRI’s (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) were required after my anoxic brain injury for diagnosis and monitoring purposes. If you’ve ever had one of these expensive tests for the purpose of viewing your brain, most likely your head was placed inside a cage. The reason for doing that is to keep the head from moving during the test.

They literally place you head (brain) inside a cage. It’s a temporary thing, of course. Unfortunately, the cage my brain lived in after my acquired brain injury was literal even though you could not see it. My cage has gotten much larger over the years and continues to push outward from year to year. On occasion, I visit some of the older sized cages, but for the most part, I feel almost like a free bird.

This article describes how some of us feel as we continue to live with brain injury. I think it shows light at the end of the tunnel. The name of the article is Brain Injury and a Caged Bird.

Brain Injury Loneliness

I made a quick note the other day to write my next blog article about brain injury loneliness. Since I didn’t write down what triggered me to want to write about the subject of brain injury loneliness, I don’t have a clue why. However, I do remember how alone I felt in the early stages of my anoxic brain injury.

I was surrounded by all sorts of people who loved and cared about me, and yet I still felt very alone. At that stage of my injury, none of us knew how to cope with it moment to moment - much less live with it day after day.

Once my immediate family and I came to terms with the fact that I did have a brain injury, I began to feel less alone and more a part of the outside world. That is until I left the security of my home.

One day during my recovery period after the surgery that resulted in my anoxic brain injury, my boss and co-workers invited Larry and me to come by the office for lunch with them. Larry thought it would be good for me to see them again and it would be an opportunity for me to communicate with people outside the comfort zone of our home.

Good plan – not so good outcome. You see, I was still in the “zombie” phase. That is, I had a flat personality. I didn’t enjoy being around people. I was trying to learn to cope with my lack of peripheral vision and, at that point, I was in serious need of some cognitive rehabilitation. I didn’t get jokes or know how to respond to people, not to mention the fact that I had difficulty responding to questions. Everybody seemed to be having a great time, but all I remember feeling alone. I was in constant fear of knocking something over since I couldn’t see except directly in front of me. I was really glad when it was time to leave.

Although it has been many years since my brain injury occurred, I remember my feelings of loneliness as if it was yesterday; and, I empathize with those who are experiencing it. Understanding acquired brain injury is the first step in taking the necessary steps to find out how to take advantage of anything and everything available that works toward making life better.

Larry and I want to help in any way we can. That’s why we wrote Brain Injury Survivor’s Guide, Welcome to Our World, and why we continue to work on our various websites and blogs to get the word out that there is help available for those who have suffered a brain injury. We don’t want victims of brain injury to feel they are alone.

Brain Injury Independence

Last weekend Larry and I celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary, 19+ of which we have been living with my brain injury. Oops, I just sort of told my age.

Although we have become one in a lot of ways, we each claim a certain degree of independence. As many of us living with brain injury are aware, independence is vital to surviving in this world with a brain injury – but, we also know it can get you into trouble or cause unnecessary arguments.

Case in point – Our central air, though still working, is not cooling properly. Since we spent several hundred dollars on it last year for the same reason, we discussed taking our time in deciding whether to have the unit replaced. In the meantime, since Larry’s office is at home, he bought a portable air conditioner as a temporary solution. It was not cheap; but, the key phrase in that sentence is “he bought it” and I was none too happy about it at first.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him to make the decision – I just wanted to be included in the decision-making process. As it turns out, I was involved, and there was a misunderstanding. You see, one of the areas of my brain affected as a result of my anoxic brain injury, is no short-term memory. I remembered having the discussion about the air conditioner problem, but did not recall (at first), telling Larry to “do what he thought was best”, since he was the one at home all day in the heat.

Since I didn’t remember that part of our conversation, I was none too happy when I found out he had made a decision to order the temporary solution without my input (I thought). I have to trust him on this, since I “sort of” remember the conversation. He could use my lack of memory to save himself some grief, ya know. However, he has proven to be loyal and trustworthy over many years of our marriage. Brain injury survivors need at least one person they can trust to be honest and straight forward with them.

This story has a happy ending because my husband took the time and effort to learn all he could about brain injury years ago. He recognizes when the damaged areas of my brain are being tested, causing me to react inappropriately to situations. He’s extremely patient and understanding – and for that, I am so grateful.

Being able to exercise independence after a traumatic brain injury, anoxic brain injury, or any other type of acquired brain injury, is so important, especially since brain injury victims start out partially or totally dependent on others.

You can find numerous tips on brain injury independence in Brain Injury Survivor’s Guide, Welcome to Our World (hard copy or eBook) and Brain Injury Online.

Living with Brain Injury

I wanted to share this blog article I found today. It speaks of some of the various symptoms those of us living with brain injury deal with every day. It also includes a little humor which I think we all need as we learn to live with our limitations and find various compensatory strategies to replace abilities we've lost.

It just helps to know we're not in this alone and sometimes it's possible to turn lemons into lemonade.

The Fight Of My Life: Living with Traumatic Brain Injury ... - I am surprised by new symptoms in regards to this newest Brain Injury. When I lie down there is a noise in my head that's not quite a buzzing or beeping, it's more of a steady high pitch sound. If I move too fast lying down, ...