Smile And the World Will Smile With you

[Tonderai]

7th of June 2009 is the day my old self died, and the new me was born. From what I have been told, I blacked out and fell down a flight of stairs at my cousin’s house. Somewhere in my brain, a blood clot had formed, cutting off precious oxygen which led to me losing consciousness. What I can remember before the accident was sitting for the final exam for my degree on Saturday (the day before) and I had gone to work on that day. What happened over the next 2 or so years is a blur, though I can remember being in the rehabilitation centre because I had had brain damage.

From what I have been told I was knocking on death’s door by the time I got to the hospital. My family was told there was a chance they would have to decide on my life if my condition did not improve, but thank God I made it through the night. Nevertheless, my family was then told that I might either be in a coma for the rest of my life or be brain dead-because my brain had been deprived of oxygen for a long time. People have said to me that Someone Above must have intervened.

The person who had the right to decide to take me off life support was neither my brother or sister nor my aunts. Legally, that choice lay with my ex wife alone. She believed in me and thought that I would make a full recovery.The reason I was in a coma was the swelling of my brain. My wife and family were given the choice of a new type of medication which could reduce the swelling.This is why you see the big hole in my head in the picture at the end of the book. The doctors had a large section of my skull removed to try and reduce the pressure caused by the swollen area of my brain pressing against the bone. The fragment of my skull was stored safely so that it could be put back in place once the swelling had gone down. However the time-limit for keeping that portion of the skull outside of my body lapsed, and the only option left was to make a plate to replace the skull fragment that had been taken out.

After having been in an induced coma for such a long time, I needed time in a rehabilitation centre in order to learn to manage some newly acquired disabilities which I may have until the day
I die.

This is my story , i may have knocked on heavens door but i am still here. My life ever since my TBI i have had to deal with my problems but i have leanrt to deal with limintaions. But on top of that i count my blessing ever day……

[judy]

Hi

Sorry to hear of your injury. Brain injury has such a devastating effect on the whole family but I’m glad to hear that you’ve made a promising recovery even though you’ve had to make significant changes and adaptions.

I wish you well for the future.

[Hev]

Hi so sorry to hear of your accident,glad to hear your doing well now .my son who is 33 had very similar to you,but his was caused by one punch , just over a year ago,he is still waiting to have op to put plate in skull ,but he is living independently now with his support dog . He says he feels lost because of hidden disability it is harder to fit in really. I wonder if you have a lot of support around you ? Or what sort of support you get ?

[Tonderai]

Hi

It is good that you have got in touch with me. It has been almost 14yrs since my injury. If your son feels lost tell him I still feel lost also sometimes , but that should not pull him down. I had my injury the day after I wrote my final university exam for my third degree and I lost it all because of my TBI .I have the degrees but they are just pieces of paper. Tell him this one door closes another one will open. If you are interested you or him should read my book ‘ smile and the world will smile with you’. You can find it for free on amazon or if you send me your email address I will send it to you.

If your son wants to talk do not hesitate to contact me and I will talk with him.

To be honest, I did not get any support at all. My brother and family helped me. My recovery would have been a lot quicker and better if my disability where not hidden disability and my hospital,local authority had taken me more seriously.

Please feel free to contact me if you want to talk.

[Hev]

Aw bless you,thank you so much for your reply it made me cry . This is a very long lonely journey for the person with tbi but also the family of that person that gets dropped in the middle of a night mare , your story gives me hope and I will definitely read your book , wish my son could read it but he can’t really read anymore but I can tell him about it and I’m sure it will help him . I will get in touch again after I have read it ,if that’s ok with you? Hev

[Tonderai]

I look forward to hearing from you.

[AndrewMitchell]

Could someone please share the most crucial rules for mla format? I want to ensure my essays are properly formatted and cited. Thanks in advance!

[Author]

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