We’ve begun a new year and it’s getting closer to spring day by day. This time of year people begin to think about starting a new exercise program to prepare for the summer shorts, t-shirts and swimsuits they'll be wearing. Of course it’s important to keep our physical bodies in the best physical shape we can, but it is, at least, equally important to exercise the brain regularly.
Some people might exercise the brain by reading a book or working a challenging cross word puzzle. Someone who has suffered a TBI (traumatic brain injury) or other type of acquired brain injury can use brain-stimulating exercises to develop and maintain various compensatory strategies that make it possible to lead a more productive and fulfilling life after brain injury.
This “retraining” of the brain does not happen overnight. But, I know from personal experience that someone who lives with an anoxic brain injury can, not only survive it, but do quite well when these strategies are used frequently to exercise the brain in various ways.
My anoxic brain injury took away my peripheral vision as well as my short-term memory. I know it must be hard for those who have never done without these wonderful gifts to understand how challenging it is to live day to day without them. I know, too, how frustrating it is for survivors of brain injury to deal with the fact that there are so many who don’t understand what we go through every day just so we can appear “normal”. I’m thankful to have Larry who understands my large and small personal victories and how important they are to me.
Larry and I are looking forward to our vacation on the beach in St. Martin in a few more weeks, so we are very body conscious. However, I will continue to exercise my brain to keep it as fit as possible. After all, the airport in Atlanta is a pretty big challenge for a lot of travelers, but especially if you are living with brain injury.
Some people might exercise the brain by reading a book or working a challenging cross word puzzle. Someone who has suffered a TBI (traumatic brain injury) or other type of acquired brain injury can use brain-stimulating exercises to develop and maintain various compensatory strategies that make it possible to lead a more productive and fulfilling life after brain injury.
This “retraining” of the brain does not happen overnight. But, I know from personal experience that someone who lives with an anoxic brain injury can, not only survive it, but do quite well when these strategies are used frequently to exercise the brain in various ways.
My anoxic brain injury took away my peripheral vision as well as my short-term memory. I know it must be hard for those who have never done without these wonderful gifts to understand how challenging it is to live day to day without them. I know, too, how frustrating it is for survivors of brain injury to deal with the fact that there are so many who don’t understand what we go through every day just so we can appear “normal”. I’m thankful to have Larry who understands my large and small personal victories and how important they are to me.
Larry and I are looking forward to our vacation on the beach in St. Martin in a few more weeks, so we are very body conscious. However, I will continue to exercise my brain to keep it as fit as possible. After all, the airport in Atlanta is a pretty big challenge for a lot of travelers, but especially if you are living with brain injury.
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