In the 1st Carnival of Hope for TBI Survivors, we brought you stories of people who have managed to put together new lives following a brain injury. For our 2nd Carnival of Hope, we’ve found more people who describe their struggles and successes in recovery.
These stories of hope are for those who have been recently injured and for their friends and caregivers. Though the stories are different, they are in some ways the same. Reading them may help prepare you for the challenges ahead in adapting to the side effects of TBI.
The majority of traumatic brain injuries occur in motor vehicle accidents, but not Jean Anderson’s. She was at a parade when a stampeding horse crashed into her from behind and sent her flying into the air to land on her head. Jean talks candidly about her problems with emotions and cognition and the impact of her injury on her family in My Day at the Parade.
After motor vehicle accidents, falls are another common cause of head injury. Joan describes how slipping on a pebble on a sidewalk sent her into a long and lonely recovery. She speaks eloquently of her heart-wrenching emotions during this time in My Life Has Changed.
Continuing our theme of bucking the odds, Josh Schafer was injured as a teenager when fooling around with a friend who swung a door with great force, accidently hitting Josh in the head. Josh didn’t lose consciousness and was never diagnosed with an injury, but has nevertheless struggled with many of the common deficits associated with brain injury ever since. Josh talks about what it’s like to not be “normal” while simultaneously feeling that he doesn’t belong in the TBI community because his injury is mild compared to what many others have suffered. He describes being in a virtual “no-man’s land” in his Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Blog.
Kitty Kavey doesn’t dwell on the physical recovery from her motorcycle accident. Instead, her story begins with being abandoned as a child, continues to drugs and homelessness as a teenager, and ultimately ends with her adapting to her injuries and becoming a successful screenwriter, actress and model. Her’s is a fascinating story on her official web site KittyStar.com.
Finally, there is Tracey Phillips. Tracie also suffered a head injury in a fall, in her case slipping on an icy walkway. Tracey describes well the sensory problems associated with her injury and how hard it was to remain positive during her initial recovery. She ends her story reporting that four and a half years following her accident, she has landed a full time job at a legal firm. Read all about it at Homepage for Tracey.
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