Amanda Hara wrote:
The result was a feeling I can only describe as “thinking through molasses.”
That’s a great description Amanda.
I’ve come back to this thread after a couple of years, and would like to drop encouragement to any readers that, it’s really true, the healing will continue! Brains heal slowly, no, really. Really. Slowly. And five and a half years from my accident, I’m excited to share that it has gotten so much better.
One way I found it helpful to measure my healing process was with a self-assessment number. I would estimate the “percentage” of my capacity - daily energy, mental clarity, and ability to complete tasks and meet my needs. 100% would be pre-injury stamina (28 years old, high-achieving person with high grades throughout school and in my third year of graduate school.) So, if before my injury I could go 10 hours a day of mental, attentional, and physical tasks with a few breaks, meals, and a full night’s rest, then after my injury, a 20% day would be two hours of mental, attentional and/or physical tasks before experiencing increased migraine symptoms. Often, extending oneself beyond the capacity score (going 30% when you’ve only got 20%) would result in a bad migraine the following day(s). It was a learning process just to balance my energy levels and sense my daily capacity.
At year one, I went from about 30-40% average capacity immediately post-accident, to an average of 50-60% daily capacity.
During my third year, I saw the neuro-optometrist, Dr. Lisa Harvey in Fort Bragg, CA. And rocketed from 50% to a 70-80% daily average.
This improvement (along with the ending of the pandemic) helped move me back into the workforce at a satisfactory level of employment for my standards. This looked like 15-20 hours/week “worky” jobs with an average of 10-15 hours/week of vocational and gig work related to being an entertainer/ professional theatre artist.
The past two years have brought me a steady upward improvement of “percentage points.”
Some of the things which helped through these two years: continued rest, continued management of stress, continued careful monitoring of my daily capacity for work or tasks, meditation, yoga, walking, exercise, leaning on supportive people who care about me, creative projects that make my heart sing, psychotherapy (CBT and EMDR,) and acupuncture (especially five elements acupuncture from a certified practitioner.)
This summer (2023) I did end up getting a prescription for rizatriptan for acute migraine symptoms. However, I stopped needing it. Four months of five elements acupuncture and I can’t remember when I last took the rizatriptan.
These days, I am happy to share that I’m hovering pretty darn near 100%. I’m working as the executive director at a small nonprofit theatre company, and I celebrate how far I’ve come.
I also wish to share that I did have a couple of stubborn people in my life who insisted I follow through with my case with a personal injury attorney. It took four years, and really sucked. I had what they call a “open and shut case”, but brain injury is still hard to prove. The insurance company “expert witness” doctors are people that would give you the willies - immoral, deceptive people. But it did settle, finally. This hugely impacted my life (impact. no pun intended, hehe, concussion jokes.) It is what allowed me to pay for many of the alternative treatments I described in my posts. I know not everyone is so lucky, and I am very grateful.
I’ve always been grateful for the “wake up” that the car accident provided. It’s so amazing to know that I have extra bonus time, when if something went differently I might not have walked away from the wreck that day. Even still, the head injury was a HUGE difficulty to overcome. I imagine I may still suffer from occasional migraines for the rest of my life. All the more reason to keep exploring this beautiful world for what brings joy and excitement for myself and others. Permies know all about that. Thanks for providing a community where we can encourage each other to make that happen!
