I am a retired scientist/writer, so I live in my brain. It sounds like yours was a pretty severe TBI. I have a friend that had a skiing accident a few years ago and lost a lot of pieces of herself; she is still her, but some abilities and memories are missing. Mine was a moderate TBI 33 years ago, and my rehab was pretty intensive, so other than emotional changes (some for the better), some lost memories, and anomalous left temporal lobe EKG (missing words/numbers), everything rewired. I spend a lot of time learning, new hobbies, crossword puzzles, and such, Having a brain injury is a bit like going in reverse; starting with dementia and working your way back. You don't realize that part of you is missing until it is found. Emotionally this slaps you around, and it is important to have a good support system. I went back to work a few weeks after (in hospital 6 days) and got a lot of jokes and nicknames from coworkers about being "drame bamaged"; I suspect they wouldn't have been cruel if they knew what I was going through. Head injuries also remove emotional filters. I did learn a lot about how the brain works.