Traumatic Brain Injury is often described as the silent epidemic. I am part of that silent epidemic. I am a traumatic brain injury sufferer.
'Silent epidemic'
Experts call it “the silent epidemic,” in part because the official numbers most likely underestimate the size of the problem. A TBI can do significant damage without leaving any visible signs, so the initial injury is often dismissed as just a bump on the head.
“There are countless ‘walking wounded’ who look just fine on the outside, but who aren’t the same on the inside,” says Jonathan Lifshitz, an assistant professor at the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center.
The aspect of this silent disease is that an injured individual can show no outward signs of the illness but inside the brain, the injury rages on. Family and friends also view the brain injured person with misunderstanding which can create more challenges for the brain injured sufferer. In all reality, the brain injury sufferer wants nothing more than everyone around him or her to understand without judgment.
I suffered a traumatic brain injury three and a half years ago after my body was crushed in a trash compactor in a freak accident. Little did I know just how much this injury was to change my life physically and emotionally. Compounding this tragic accident was the unfortunate fact that I had and still have no health insurance to deal with the injuries and challenges I am facing.
Due to my traumatic brain injury where I suffered a severe concussion and also a head laceration, I also lost hearing in my left ear. I lost consciousness several times and have gaps in the memory of what transpired that unfortunate day.
Click here for a picture of my head laceration. WARNING: It is graphic
Due to the lack of health insurance, I was treated minimally at the hospital. I sustained 3 broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and my right leg was crushed. This
An hour later I was back inside my apartment. I lost consciousness again and was taken by ambulance back to SH hospital, where I was pushed by two EMTs into the emergency waiting room. For the next two hours, I lay unconscious in a wheelchair with three of my friends by my side. Another doctor finally examined me after I was going in and out of consciousness for the next three hours and said I was okay and could go home. As I was moved into the wheelchair, I began vomiting up blood again. But they sent me home.
For the next two months, I lay in my bed. For the first two weeks, I needed assistance to get out of bed and go to the bathroom. I was unable to do anything on my own. I was in severe pain from my broken bones and suffering horrible dizziness.
I had to wait 6 weeks to get an appointment at the local community clinic. Without health insurance or financial means, I had no way of getting proper treatment.
Here it is over three years later and I still have not been able to see specialists. My broken bones have healed but I still have a hematoma in my right leg and my back muscles cramp up from being crushed. I still suffer from dizziness and have problems with my sense of smell and taste. I also have cognitive problems with memory. I desperately need to see a neurologist and get proper testing done. Treatment is available for dizziness and cognitive problems that I currently suffer from, but without financial support, I am unable to get the treatment I need to get well and get back to work.
This is the American nightmare. There are many people out there suffering just as I am because they do not have the financial capability to get the help they need in order to get well and get back to a normal life. There is no safety net for us. We have fallen through the cracks.
I am asking for donations to help me get the specialist care I need for my traumatic brain injury. Tests will need to be done to determine the type of brain injury that I have and the proper treatment for the specific type.
When you make a donation, 10% of the donation will go to the Brain Injury Association of America.
If you want to donate to my fund, I would greatly appreciate it.I want nothing more than to be well and get back to work and get on with my life.
Thanks for listening!
If you have any questions, please email me at:
traumaticbraininjuryhelp at gmail dot com
Wow, what a story. And what a shame. I have to tell you, though, as someone who does have insurance and is able to afford help, just having the money to do it, is only part of the battle. Neurologists do NOT all know about brain injury, despite what one might expect. And even the ones who do know about it, are not always "on our side" -- many of them are either skeptical of the brain's ability to heal, or they think that issues resolve on their own, or they work with (or indirectly for) insurance companies to prove that we don't have real problems.
ReplyDeleteBe careful.
You may also find -- as I did -- that even if you do see a neurologist, they may refer you to a neuropsychologist, who is the one who does the testing and evaluating. If you're three years past your TBI (and what a TBI it was!), there may not be much a neurologist, per se, can do for you. But a neuropsychologist could help you find out where your strengths and weaknesses are, and point you towards a rehab therapist of some kind.
Also, even if you do find someone who can help you identify your issues and come up with a treatment plan, it can be very slow going, and sometimes they do not detect the same problems you do, or they don't share your concerns. It's a tricky business, getting neurological/neuropsychological help, so do your homework up front and come prepared to tell them what you are experiencing.
I would really recommend you find a support group -- you can sometimes get some good tips from other people who have had rehab help.
There are also things you can do yourself, independent of insurance. There are lots of resources online that can be helpful. You just have to keep looking.
I don't want to be discouraging at all. But you should know up front that brain injury assessment and rehab can be a very tricky business, so adjust your expectations accordingly.
Good luck!
BB
Thank you so much for the information and your input! You said a lot of things that I didn't know and I appreciate you giving me this valuable info! - M
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