Hi, I crochet to help me deal with life. I find it very therapeutic to attempt to make things for people in need. I started out with loom knitting and as my dexterity got better in my hands, I moved onto crocheting. I crochet before my accident and it was not easy to get started again but, I try to crochet simple things like scarves for the homeless. I have never actually completed any of my projects but, I will keep trying until I do.
And that’s the sort of determination that will get you there. A TBI can be REALLY soul destroying, especially for those of us who can remember before and after. I had a goal I was aiming for and then POOF and it’s all gone, Now what? It took me a LONG time to move on from that ‘Now what?’. I kept trying to do as before, never wanting to accept that I couldn’t. The reality is I have no choice, I have to accept and that was difficult. Don’t get me wrong here, I still try, but I do so in the knowledge that my skills, abilities and tolerances have all changed. Trying to do as before only leads me down a dark hole of disappointment. I have to adjust to achieve.
Merl
Please remember, you are a survivor. A TBI gives us a chance that most people don’t get, we can reinvent ourselves to be almost anything we want to be. I recommend stop focusing on who you used to be before your TBI, and focus on who you want to be.
(sorry, but I have gone through lots of therapy). It truly helped me, it’s not easy in any way and your goals may have to change a bit. Just know, that because you have to work twice as hard and sometimes harder to do something, you have done the impossible. Don’t listen to your doctors about what you can or will not ever be able to do. Use that anger, frustration, sadness, ect to empower yourself to do the impossible.
I acquired my TBI in late January 2008. I have gone through many ups and downs and will go though them the rest of my life. This is OK because, We are strong enough to cope with toughs times.
Now Crystal, I have to add a word of warning/caution here. “Don’t listen to your doctors…” I think it would be more appropriate to say take the advice of your dr’s into account. I tried to ignore dr’s advice and pushed beyond my limits and did myself more harm than good. I ended up requiring further surgery due to it. This was a BAD idea. I do agree that sometimes using ‘that anger, frustration, sadness, ect to empower yourself’ can be a great motivator but we must do so within our body’s limits. We must listen to our own body.
Merl
I agree with you, my doctors told me I would die from my injury’s and when I proved them wrong, they said I would never walk again and I would be wheel chair bound and I proved them wrong. I surpassed most of the physical limitations my doctors put on me. I did the things that I was doing in physical therapy, in my bedroom so I would get better quicker. I did not mean be reckless and I apologize if that how I sounded. You said it a lot better then I did, listen to your body. I was only 16 years old when I got out of the hospital so I kind of felt I would “show” the doctors just what I was “made of”. I looked at every limitation like a challenge. I turn 28 at the end of January, so its been over ten years since I first obtained my TBI. Its been tough but time flew by for me.
Good luck, Cryastal