Brain Injury Recovery - Beth's Story

by Beth Jameson
(Arkansas, USA)

Brain injury recovery is often a misused term because it makes people think they may be able to return to the way things were before the head trauma.

My anoxic brain injury happened while I was in the hospital for routine surgery. The doctor cut more than he should have and, evidently, didn't know about it. I was bleeding internally.

For about 30 hours the hospital staff gave me blood transfusion after blood transfusion trying to elevate my count. But it was like pouring water into a hula hoop; it was just going right through.

I developed ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) commonly caused by massive blood transfusions. My lungs filled with fluid, leaving no room for air, and I stopped breathing.

No one knows how long I lay in bed in that condition, but I was discovered by a nurse. A Code Blue was sounded and emergency procedures were initiated to save my life.

I was put into a medically-induced coma to allow my body to fight the ARDS. My kidneys quit working, so another specialist joined the team. Then my fingers and toes turned blue due to the lack of oxygen and a specialist was called in to discuss amputations. Larry stopped that nonsense.

I guess it's kind of silly to say I woke up. Otherwise, I wouldn't be writing this. But I woke up to a strange world. I didn't know who Larry was, even though we'd been married 20 years. I didn't even know I was married and had two children.

I couldn't see very well, couldn't read at all and couldn't remember how to put on my makeup. When I finally left the hospital after a month, I discovered a lot more things I could not remember how to do: wash clothes, cook, clean house.

My personality was flat and I had no initiative, so I really didn't care about any of those chores I'd forgotten how to perform. Total confusion ruled my life.

Months later I had an appointment with an opthalmologist who said I had 20-20 vision; I don't think I've ever had 20-20 vision. So I asked a normal question: "Why can't I see?"

He sent me for an MRI and, finally, it was discovered my brain had been injured. Yes, I'd had MRI's in the hospital but I think they were looking at my lungs and kidneys and not my brain.

Fifteen months after my injury I was finally admitted for brain injury rehabilitation at Timber Ridge Ranch in Arkansas. As great as those folks were, the program was only about 4 months in duration.

Problems still came at me everyday. Larry and I had already begun developing strategies that would help me perform without a short term memory and without some of the cognitive skills I'd had previously. For instance, I completely forgot how to multiply. Solution: carry a calculator.

Things coming at me too fast? Panic attack? Use my cell phone to call Larry.

Lists, lists and more lists became a way of life ... and still are.

Like most brain injury victims, I was told I would probably never work again. With the strategies Larry and I developed I was able to return to work and was eventually promoted to an analyst position specializing in Cisco networking equipment.

The problems never went away, but I learned how to live in my new world. Not just live, but to live successfully. If there is any one word of advice I would give, it would be this: Never Give Up! Learn as much as you can, and keep on trying!!!