When I was 4 I was in a car accident that bruised my brain resulting in major damage like not being able to talk or walk or anything which I recovered from but it left my arm to be weak and leg to be weak also I’m just wondering does it ever go away? Will I ever get fully better?
Hey Shay,
First off, well done you. To have the determination to regain some of your abilities, that takes a lot of self drive. “Does it ever go away?”“Will I ever get fully better?” are both questions similar to “How long is a piece of string?” There are just so many variables. Trying to compare two injuries is impossible. Two different individuals can have exactly the same accident and yet have vastly differing results, this is, in part, because no two brains are wired in exactly the same way.
Prior to my own brain injury, I taught and supported people with disabilities for 20+yrs. I have seen people whom the dr’s gave no chance, recover to nothing short of an amazing level and by the same accord seen people who the dr’s believe their injuries were minimal end up wheelchair bound. Although the medical fraternity may make out they know everything, when it comes to the human brain, they are still learning. Many years ago they believed the brain was setup in regions, for example a certain region controls certain actions. Now they know that different parts of the brain interact with each other which then results in actions. They used to think that once a particular region of the brain was damaged, skills related to that region were lost forever. They now know this to be false. The brain has a skill, a process called neuroplasticity, where new neural pathways can be developed. Personally I have seen this with stroke patients. In stroke patients part of the brain dies and some people can lose the ability to walk, but the brain can reorganise itself in such away that the skill of walking can be relearnt. But, and this is a BIG BUT, it takes some strong determination too.
When I had my first couple of neurosurgeries I pushed myself to recover and I did, so OK, I wasn’t 100%, but I pushed hard to get to a point that I could manage. Things went well for a while but then I had another neuro issue and thought “I’ll just push myself like I did before. I’ve done it once I can do it again”. So I pushed myself to recover, only this time my body pushed back. Not 3 months later I was back in hospital because I’d pushed myself too much and not listen to my body. It was telling me to stop, I didn’t listen and now I’m paying for it. The dr’s now tell me that this is about as good as I’m going to get. I DO NOT LIKE THIS FACT, but I know my body has limits too, and I have to be aware of my abilities and listen to my body. I make that sound easy, it ain’t. People here talk of acceptance, I still haven’t learnt to accept it yet.
So, yes you may recover those skills BUT you may not recover everything just as it was. You should congratulate yourself for the recovery you have made and listen to your body. It will tell you when enough is enough.
Merl