I Have a Brain Injury
My story is pretty unusual, but I feel like sharing it. I was a keen cyclist before having a traffic accident. I was clipped by a passing van that was speeding down a country road and knocked clean from my bike. I do literally remember tumbling head over heels down a hill and seeing grass then sky, then grass, etc. It sounds ridiculous but it's as clear as day for me in my head right now. I was knocked out and lay undiscovered near a stream for hours apparently. What followed was three weeks in a coma before I woke up to see my worried family.
That's when I first came to realize I had a head injury. It didn't click into place right away but it soon became apparent something was very wrong. I tried to speak when I saw my mum and found the words just would not emerge. I heard them inside my head but I couldn't make my tongue or mouth form them. I just made a grunting noise and continued to grunt. I was shocked and afraid. My immediate reaction was to check my mouth with my hand. I could feel it at my side but nothing happened. I found myself grunting in frustration trying to ask what was going on. Hard as I tried my body wouldn't respond. Then out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement and felt my legs kicking out gently. I wasn't even doing it.
The doctors came to visit within moments of me waking up and sat explaining to me and my family. They were aware I was fully conscious and understanding, but said that due to the damage and current pressure around part of my brain I was blocked off from my motor control. I had no conscious control of my body. My body had regressed to infantile reflexes and would remain so until the swelling went down and the connections were restored. What followed was about 8 months of being an adult with the reflexes and control of an infant.
That's when I first came to realize I had a head injury. It didn't click into place right away but it soon became apparent something was very wrong. I tried to speak when I saw my mum and found the words just would not emerge. I heard them inside my head but I couldn't make my tongue or mouth form them. I just made a grunting noise and continued to grunt. I was shocked and afraid. My immediate reaction was to check my mouth with my hand. I could feel it at my side but nothing happened. I found myself grunting in frustration trying to ask what was going on. Hard as I tried my body wouldn't respond. Then out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement and felt my legs kicking out gently. I wasn't even doing it.
The doctors came to visit within moments of me waking up and sat explaining to me and my family. They were aware I was fully conscious and understanding, but said that due to the damage and current pressure around part of my brain I was blocked off from my motor control. I had no conscious control of my body. My body had regressed to infantile reflexes and would remain so until the swelling went down and the connections were restored. What followed was about 8 months of being an adult with the reflexes and control of an infant.
By:
SamanthaLau
Age:
18-21
,
Female
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