–Brain Journal of Nuerosurgery
When walking through downtown Petaluma with my friend Ray, while he was offering me assistance traversing descents, a nurse approached us knowingly & shared of her occupation. In response, I thanked her profusely for her practice. I do so for each nurse I come in contact with now, as it’s justified & deserved! Furthermore, I shared how much nurses enabled my healing amidst my residencies in the 3 hospitals which I was sent to over 9 months.
In response to her inquiring of my disabilities’ severity, I responded earnestly that I had incurred a critical Traumatic Brain Injury. Her eyes in response articulated her disbelief. I wish I had included my Glasgow Coma Scale score: 4, to offer further validation. Critical Traumatic Brain injuries, again, range from a GCS score of 3-5 out of the Glasgow Coma Scale’s total: 15.
As I’ve relayed previously, 100% of people with the primary score of 3 die. The vast majority of the 20% of us with a GCS score of 4 that survive, are wheel-chair bound, cane dependent or utilize other walking support devices. I don’t blame her for her disbelief in the slightest and I do understand it as a result of the aforementioned statistics.
Now, however, I’m craving recognition of the immensity of work I’ve slogged through & my resulting accomplishments. This directly juxtaposes my dislike within the first 7years-decade (my comfortability arose slowly) of owning my critical Traumatic Brain Injury.