Coping with TBI to improve quality of life

Owen:

I'd say the biggest thing I had, that I had to deal with was frustration because I'm normally very in control of myself, and with my brain injury I just couldn't speak right, I couldn't act right, and it was something I couldn't control.

John:

I was having trouble seeing, everything was just blurry, couldn't get measurements, I was confused all the time. The headaches were nonstop and all those were symptoms of a brain injury, but we just didn't know it.

Bryan:

I started to notice that I'm not able to focus on anything. Once I recognized that I couldn't pay attention at any time for any, any longer than 10 seconds I was scared.

Derek:

Slowly, but surely the migraine headaches and insomnia, and changes in mood and pleasure and things that you know, I used to enjoy, I didn't enjoy nearly as much as I used to. When that started to happen was when I realized, okay there's a bigger problem and I need to get some help.

Josh:

I knew there was something not, wasn't right, but I didn't want to say anything. There was a lady that came from the VA to talk to us and I guess I broke down to her and just told her, I don't know if I can handle this anymore, and then she immediately got me into the VA system.

Owen:

When I got to the VA, you know got assigned a general physician and explained to them what I was going through and then they just started lining me up with the right clinics. They gave me the right meds to deal with the problems. You know, I started speaking more clearly. I became less frustrated and less angry.

Bobby:

When I was going through individual therapy my wife was kind of getting educated on what to expect. While she was getting educated, she would educate my son and my daughter and you know they had certain things that they would expect, okay this is why dad's doing this or this is why dad's doing that, even though I couldn't still get the concept of the whole thing.

Josh:

A lot of it was, how could we, how could the VA help me in adjusting to get at least back to sort of normal.

Owen:

Talking the problems out probably helped more than anything else. Well, it took a lot of swallowing of my pride to go talk to somebody and I did and I'm better for it.