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Traumatic Brain Injury: Come introduce yourself
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) | Last Active: May 28, 2021 | Replies (117)Comment receiving replies
Hello, everyone! I’m Mary in St. Paul. I’m a bit late getting here, so I promised Anne the last time I spoke to her I’d join up.
My injury happened on 11/28/18. I live in a condo building with townhomes to our south and apartments to our north. I regularly walk around this area for exercise, using the fire lane between the town homes and us. There are also paths from each building leading to the fire lane.
I had set out for a short walk, and was returning to my building via the fire lane when I suddenly was on the ground and didn’t know why. Turns out it was black ice. I couldn’t get up, so I lay there yelling help until one of my neighbors came by and helped me onto a nearby bench. I’m pretty fuzzy about things after the ambulance arrived.
They gave me the choice of go to the hospital or just go home. I opted to go home, because I know how expensive it is to get an ambulance ride. The next morning I was in so much pain that I called a friend to take me to the ER. I was immediately admitted because I had 2or 3 bleeds, I’d gotten a concussion, and the doctors were wondering where I got my 2 black eyes. Oh, and I’d broken two bones in my ear, which made all the health care professionals say “ You really fell, didn’t you.!” was admitted immediately and had xrays of my brain a couple of times a day. I was also on anticonvulsants and had these things on my legs that were rolling up and down.
I was in the hospital for 3 days, then transferred to a in-between old folks home. I got home about a week after my accident. I hadn’t been eating because I was so dizzy and nauseated. I didn’t get any sort of aftercare suggestions, and felt pretty lost when I got paperwork for MBI and went to a gathering there. They helped me get in touch with Mayo, and here I am.
I’m pretty angry that the hospital and transitionary places left me with no aftercare other than a couple of appointments for follow up.
I’m so glad I’m able to access the members and directors of the study! I’m getting PT and speech therapy plus I was getting acupuncture as well.
I forgot to mention that I was rear-ended pretty hard In February, and I was referred to a concussion doctor who made me realize that I needed to be getting other treatments.
I have no sense of smell, which makes me really sad. Taste is okay. And I discovered later that I’d broken my elbow as well.
I’m glad I’m here, and look forward to discussions with the group!
Replies to "Hello, everyone! I’m Mary in St. Paul. I’m a bit late getting here, so I promised..."
Hi Mary,
It's depressing the state of our health care system. There are many gifted and caring individuals but the overall system is messed up. I was just reading that a CT scan costs $140 in the Netherlands where it can cost $1000 here. I am fortunate to have fairly good health insurance through my employer. Still I get worried when I have a headache - "is my brain bleeding again, should I go and ask for another scan? Am I being a hypochondriac?" My experience was similar to yours in that I fell on ice and fractured my skull. I had some complications and a brain bleed over a month after my fall resulting in surgery to remove the hematoma.
I hope you will continue to improve and it's good to hear that you are getting connected with resources.
Best Regards,
Jim
Welcome to the group Mary, It seems that Ice, cars and stairs are our worst enemies. I've also noticed how many of us have had a second incident after our TBI. Your fall happened just 18 days after my tree incident, so timewise we are close.
You must have hit hard to break bones in your ear. That's a new one for me. Didn't know it was possible.
Sorry you are having so much trouble getting good medical care. I would think the insurance of the person who rear ended you would be responsible too, but then you just have two insurance companies trying to push things off to the other.
I can't imagine what it is like not to be able to smell, Just a cup of coffee would not be the same. My sense of taste has changed, I can no longer drink my coffee black.
Like all of us, we are lucky to be alive, and as long as we are making progress, that is a positive thing. Celebrating our improvements, surrounding ourselves with caring and understanding people and being patient with ourselves and knowing and working with our current limitations are keys to making the most of our life with our new circumstances.
Keep you chin up, thing positive thoughts. We're all in this together.
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Hi @mugglemary, welcome to the group. I, of course, have to ask, Are you a Harry Potter fan?
Your story of poor followup after a head injury is unfortunately not an isolated one. It sounds like you have taken charge and that you are now getting some rehabilitation help with PT, speech therapy and acupuncture. I'd like to invite you to share more about your experience with acupuncture in this discussion:
- Alternative Medicine https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/alternative-medicine-1/
What other treatments have you been encourage to get from the concussion doctor? What TBI effect or effects are you finding the most challenging?