Due to issues related to my ongoing attempts to get disability coverage, I am making a list of my continuing symptoms 17 months after the incident in which a car hit me.
Most bothersome on a day-to-day basis is extreme narcolepsy, feeling tired most of the time, with incidents of sudden unconsciousness, incidents of confusion and amnesia, and continuing incidents of lost gaps of time. Some of the initial symptoms, such as extreme vertigo have been replaced by lessor symptoms such as a "blank" sense of confusion when getting up suddenly or when seeing complex traffic motion on the road.
Because of incidents of confusion, I have lost some of my independence. My daughter has full power of attorney and therefore must be involved when I make decisions that she could have to follow up. My kids have "threatened" that if I try bicycling for exercise my bicycle will "disappear." While I have found work-arounds for discalculia, and can often function nearly as well as I did before the accident, those periods of clarity are interrupted with disturbing periods of confusion. I still cannot organize work as I once did. I don't understand why, but a simple attempt to plan a job by outlining steps confuses me, and I invariably end up wandering from one unfinished project to another, accomplishing nothing until someone rescues me from my confusion by interrupting my cycles of jumping from one topic to another. This problem is difficult to communicate with others because the act of discussing the problem seems to hide the problem. Possibly some aspect of discussion provides just enough structure to prevent my mind from wandering so much. Sometimes I can write a useful essay (or blog post) in a single sitting, but usually I have to go over an essay many times before it is meaningful for others to read.
On a good day, I sometimes feel as if I could try retaking the last class of my Master's program that was interrupted by my accident, but usually those times pass within a few hours, and they always pass when I try organizing notes to take action....
I'm really not offering any constructive suggestions in this post; I'm just reporting my experiences. Possibly I'll come up with some useful suggestions in the future, or at least have ideas for topics to be covered as I post resources.
I can always use suggestions from my readers. (hint)
I can always use suggestions from my readers. (hint)
Traumatic brain injury. (2012). [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from
http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/data/Books/silv2/silv2_c020f002.gif
