March is Brain Injury Awareness month. It’s sad that traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are an actual thing that people have felt motivated to dedicate a month to it. No one wants to be a part of this club.
Recently I joined an online support group that has a Face Book page for the caregivers of those who have a TBI called Brain Injury Caregiver Support Indiana. There are many sites for TBI survivors, but this one is dedicated to those of us who care for someone with a TBI.
Here we can speak freely about the total life changes we have experienced, taking care of a loved one who has suffered a TBI. While the stories are sad, frustrating and exhausting, the new relationships being formed with those who have common ground, are priceless.
I’m blessed to be a part of this group and if you are also a caregiver to someone with a TBI in Indiana, I encourage you to check out the Face Book page.
My son Dawson is continuing to heal from the TBI he suffered in a car accident on December 29, 2018. Hitting a patch of black ice, the SUV spun out of control, careened down into a ditch, bounced out, spun upside down, sliced through a telephone pole, flipped again and landed upright in a cornfield. The telephone pole flattened the entire roof of the vehicle and smashed into the front left side of Dawson’s head.
He was knocked unconscious and was in a coma for 11 days. His frontal lobe brain damage has left him with short term memory loss and a slower processing speed.
Two years and a few months out, he is continuing on his journey of healing and doing very well.
Many people have experiences that make Dawson’s look like a walk in the park, truly!
Being a caregiver to someone with a TBI can turn your life upside down. In addition to helping your loved one with their recovery, your own life can flip out of balance. Your schedule changes, along with perhaps your career, lifestyle and dreams. Your person must come first and sometimes that can be a really tough challenge.
With support groups to lean on, a caregiver finds that inner strength, more empathy for others and positive relationships develop.
So here’s to all of those individuals suffering with traumatic brain injury. May your road to healing be blessed with progress. And to all those caregivers, may God bring you the strength to keep going, keep smiling and keep the faith.