I'm not sure who will be interested in the lines I type but I hope it will encourage and inspire others & I think it might be therapeutic for me as well. I will begin with how we got on our journey of traumatic brain injury. Hopefully our story will help others just starting on this new life path. On August 26, 2010 I had surgery to remove my gallbladder. What a relief that was. The very next day while I was resting in bed, Mike (best friend, wonderful hubby & great dad) got very dizzy in the kitchen. He tried to get to his recliner in the front room but hit the dining room hardwood floor HARD. He does not remember getting up off the floor but he staggered up and tried to get to the front room again and fell a second time hitting the slate hearth of our fireplace. I was awakened by our daughter, Mikaela, coming upstairs looking for ibuprofen because her dad had a "headache". She did not want to worry me since I had just had surgery. Mike came upstairs with an ice pack on his head and told me he passed out twice. I insisted he call the doctor. We had my girlfriend's son staying with us and he drove us to the doctor's office. They did an EKG and discovered that Mike had not only suffered a massive silent heart attack but somewhere in the previous 11 to 12 months he had his first massive silent heart attack. We had no clue and he never showed signs of the first heart attack.
We were told to go to the ER and quickly. In the ER they did an echo cardiogram which showed the entire front part of his heart was not working at all. When they did a CT scan of his head it showed he was bleeding into his brain. The fall broke all the bones in his right eye socket, his nose and his sinus cavity on that side. He was taken by ambulance to University hospital in Columbia, Missouri. They found out he had one main artery in his heart that is completely blocked and cannot be fixed along with an aneurysm in his heart. They also found out he had something called an AVM (abnormal vessel malformation) on the right side of his brain. He had a pacemaker/defibrillator put in on August 31, 2010. After the brain bleed & massive heart attack Mike started to have seizures. He currently takes several medications to help control seizures and for his severe heart failure.
He became totally disabled and was unable to work or even drive for nearly 2 years. He just got his driving privileges back this year with stipulations. He always has to have someone with him and he cannot drive long distances. He applied for and received disability benefits in February 2012. He still struggles with not being able to work because he has worked since he was 15 years old.
On April 28, 2011 Mike had brain surgery. They operated the first day to coil the AVM. The second day they removed it. He was home from the hospital for five days in early May when he suffered a third mild heart attack.
No one told us what it would mean to live with traumatic brain injury. We were not prepared for the aftermath of all of it. Memory loss, seizures, essential tremors, stability issues, fatigue, crowded places, loud noises, bright light, strong smells, anger issues...there is just so much. We are still dealing with many things. His seizures have gotten worse over this past summer. We keep a journal and are working with his neurologist to find out what his triggers are and maybe found out what is causing them. We don't have many answers but we do know that our new "normal" is that nothing is "normal".
We joined a Brain Injury Support group and that has been life saving for both of us. We are learning so much and the utter relief to find others who GET it is unbelievable. I am trying to read and educate myself and Mike on his condition. We are trying to find ways to cope that make life easier for both of us. He isn't as severely brain injured as some but it has changed our lives. I hope that in blogging about this it will in some small way help someone else who is on a similar journey.
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