In 1990, I was in an accident with a truck. I apparently jumped out of the truck on a very steep hill. I have no idea what happened. I was told I was doing about 80 miles an hour when I jumped. Three lobes of my brain were damaged. I cannot smell anything, nor taste anything. I have short term memory problems, and I am a college graduate who needs a dictionary to spell the simplest of words.
Some things don’t change, like asking for help with something I just had a discussion about. I can’t function without the notes I have to write out every night for the next day’s activities. Asking my wife what we had for dinner an hour later–and I’m the one who cooks the meals. Learning to do things on my own, like when I write my notes [for errands] for the next day, it has to be in order. Start from the farthest place from my apartment to making the last stop close to home. If I lose the list, I’m confused, and cannot finish my errands.
If you could go back to when you first acquired your brain injury and tell yourself one thing, what would that be?
Pay attention to the people trying to help you.
What would you like people who don’t have a brain injury to know?
It is difficult to keep a part-time job. I worked for a fast food restaurant for 19 hours. They called me to fire me, but would not say why. I was just part-time, I just served the person who ordered the meal. Things are confusing, memory problems are the worst, and at times, I forget what you were talking about in the minute of the conversation. The looks I get when trying to explain this condition, because of what it does long-term. It is difficult for the average person to know what this really means.
