Two years of recovery after traumatic brain injury, is that all?

Posted by Anne Moessner @amoessner, Mar 10, 2020

I’ve noticed comments scattered here and there stating you've heard or perhaps read that 2 years is the maximum time for recovery from TBI. That how things are at the 2-year mark is how they will remain. As someone who has worked with hundreds, make that thousands, of injured individuals and their families, I can tell you recovery can and does continue beyond 2 years.

We know that:
- TBI recovery takes time.
- Recovery is unique to each individual.
- Recovery tends to be speedier and more dramatic in the beginning, but to continue (I sometimes call later recovery the "fine tuning" stage).
- People with TBI report fewer and fewer problems as the years pass.

None-the-less, the myth of the 2 year mark persists. It must be unnerving to have heard this timeline, especially as that very mark approaches for some of your loved ones. What have you been told? How do you see beyond what "they" say? What long ranging improvements have you seen?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Caregivers Support Group.

We were told from the beginning that Brady's recovery would take place within the first 6-9 months....after that, he would be "as good as it gets", for the most part. We heard that continuously at all of his rehab facilities, also. I have researched and watched many videos regarding this, and almost everywhere I read, no one agrees with this, which makes me so happy! In fact, I just recently asked our new TBI doctor his thoughts on this, and he completely disagreed. He feels that he can continually get better throughout his life. Each person is different, and I have found that there is not any "cookie cutter" recovery program for all.

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Some things we've learned are:
1. People seem to report fewer problems over time because they are having fewer problems, perhaps not because their brain is all better (though it has resilience) but because most of their brain is working well for them
2. Most people, with time and loads of practice in the real world doing things with intention over and over again, seem to naturally adapt and adjust and accommodate and as a result, function better
3. Part of the reason people report they are doing better years after injury is they are less distressed by lingering changes, they are coping with what many call their “new normal”
4. That said, depression and challenges with coping can continue to be an issue and if that's the case, seeking out help is a perfectly perfect thing to do

I'd be interested in hearing any reaction to the concepts listed above, do any in participate resonate (or perhaps frustrate) and if so, how?

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Hello,
I've totally lost touch. Partly due to an email change related to getting married (yay!) and partly due to being so busy at work that I wasn't realizing the email threads were not hitting my email box. Will update my email!
I have frequently heard that two year mark as well. I'm sure that there is some truth to that as well as being able to gauge how much someone will recover give the velocity of the injury, degree of brain shift, swelling, bleed, length of time with loss of consciousness, point of earliest recall and performance on cognitive tests. Despite all of that, and truly not having any false hopes at this point as Nella is 28 days past her 2 year mark, I do believe that each injury is different and each person is an individual and that small improvements are possible.
It's funny. Nella is now much more ready for the community integration class at CK that she completed a year ago than when she went through it. She is in a much better place and wants a more independent life, as much as her injury will allow (supportive employment). I just want her to be as happy and content as she can be.
I hope that everyone is doing well!
Collette

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I think there is benefit to taking a break and starting again. Nella has recently started speech again with a wonderful speech therapist virtually through MRFI and she has regained the ability to speak in her pre-accident voice (soft, quiet and understandable vs. louder and more robotic) as the accident affected her ability to both find and form words. It took me some time (6 to 8 months?) to realize that she would never fully recover to the point to be able to complete her degree, and the medical career path that she had planned, then a couple more months to accept that she would never be able to live independently because of multiple memory issues. In addition to TBI and related to it, she carries the diagnosis of "dementia", not that she will bet worse, but that's how bad the memory loss is, but I feel blessed. 4th of July weekend we lost our 16 year old great-nephew in a car accident ejection just like Nella's :(. Even if I need to remind her of things over and over, answer the same questions again and again, I get to see her sweet smiling face every day <3

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