<p>Last week my dad was struck by a car and hit his head on the pavement, causing a traumatic brain injury. He is out of the hospital and in a highly recommended rehab facility.</p>
<p>I am looking for any advice or insight others may have with family who suffered TBI. I know they are highly individual and even the doctors are saying it is too soon to predict how much damage will be permanent. </p>
<p>The most unsettling thing now is at night he becomes very agitated and confused and belligerent. He wants to get “out of this place” and needs to have a one on one aide with him. He isn’t sleeping much because he is up fussing. The first night he called me several times in the middle of the night to come get him. He sounds a little paranoid.</p>
<p>During the day he is more pleasant and has total recall of long term memory. He can attend to all his personal needs and has no other real physical injuries. I am just so scared that these personality changes may end up being permanent, when in reality he is a pretty quiet, introverted, highly intelligent man.</p>
<p>First, I’m so sorry this happened to him. All I can speak of are concussions and I do know at least in my experience the confusion and memory lapses do fade away after a while. I’m not sure of your fathers age, but I would assume this may take longer with those older. I am talking in our instance a couple of weeks of gradual improvement. </p>
<p>I don’t have much expertise in this, but had a relative who suffered some type of TIA / stroke that led to aphasia. If you had seen/heard the aphasia, you would have said that life as we knew it had ended forever. That’s what I thought. Gibberish coming from the person trying to speak. </p>
<p>After a month it…simply went away. It was absolutely astounding. I don’t pretend to predict what might happen in your instance, but be aware that the brain is something that is far from fully understood. </p>
<p>What do the doctors and therapists say?? Since his injury was so recent, I’d assume that his symptoms may fade, but I have no expertise and recommend you ask the folks at the rehab place.</p>
<p>Good luck to you and your father. This must be very upsetting.</p>
<p>I am so, so sorry this happened. Best of luck. </p>
<p>My father experienced a TBI in 2004. It is now 2014 and we’re still dealing with it. He will never fully recover but we’ve gotten bits and pieces back. Immediately after the accident, he had no idea who my mom and I were and thought it was 1986/87. He still has very few memories of my childhood but things still randomly pop up even 10 years later. </p>
<p>When I was younger, I wished that the accident had actually killed my dad because it left him a shell of himself. After several years of intensive therapy, he improved significantly but I still see frustration and anger that was never there before the accident. A lot of it is just him being angry at himself for not being able to do things he remembers being able to do. </p>
<p>There were times where he would look at me and I just knew that he had no idea who I was. That was the hardest especially at 13/14/15 years old- to look at your dad and have him not recognize you. The worst was the violent outbursts. That was just the complete accident of who he was and it scared me. </p>
<p>They gave us the wait and see thing, too. They said some people “bounce back” and some people don’t. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to any of it. I can tell you that even after a few years of the changed personality, medicine and therapy has been able to get back most of my father. </p>
<p>All I can say is that I understand I hope that your dad has a better time than my father did. It just takes time and yes, it’s all very individual, unfortunately. All I can do is send hugs your way. </p>
<p>His nighttime confusion is what is known as ‘sundowning.’ Pretty common occurrence in those with brain injury. Often times, an antipsychotic, such as seroquel, can be used in low doses to help with that. I know that was a godsend for us when we needed it for a family member with TBI. Bug the doctors until they give you something. It’s easy for doctors to say ‘oh hang in there’ but those nights can seem like forever.</p>
<p>Yes, he will get better. More rapidly at first then slowly. Can go on for years. I know it might not feel like it now but he has a fairly mild injury from your description. Think positive.</p>
<p>I just wanted to say that I’m wishing you and your family the best, and I hope your father recovers.</p>
<p>I don’t have any specific advice for a TBI, but if you haven’t done so already, you may want to consider finding a support group for people in your situation when you feel you are ready for it. Not only are support groups a great way to meet others who are in your situation, they are often a wealth of information and local resources.</p>
<p>So sorry this happened to your Dad. A good friend’s ex-husband suffered TBI following a car accident. He went through a long period of rehab and during that time he wrote a book (it’s on Amazon) about dealing with TBI.
If you’re interested, PM me and I’ll sent you his name. Not trying to sell the book, but he’s a very intelligent guy and is committed to learning to live with TBI. </p>
<p>Hugs to you and your family…do not wish TBI’s on anyone…</p>
<p>My brother suffered a TBI in a construction accident over a year ago. Still has tremendous trouble sleeping, which can make anyone cranky. Definite personality changes. Gets frustrated, angry, emotional and tires easily. So unlike him previously. Some things have improved over time: his sense of smell is coming back slightly and he can now taste super sweet or super spicy foods, but nothing in between. Doctors constantly working to adjust drugs to get him some decent sleep and he continues with a therapist. We’ve seen improvement in the past year…baby steps…and remain hopeful…but the Doctors remind us that the brain is still a big unknown. He may improve–or not.</p>
<p>Another book is “I’ll carry the fork” if he likes sports at all. It’s filled with sports analogies which is how we got my dad to read it (and part of the reason the rest of us liked it so much). </p>
<p>I concur with everyone: I’m so sorry. I have no experience, nor family members, who have suffered a TBI, but I do have a good friend who is a social worker at a rehab facility, like where your dad is. She is an amazing person who is always willing to help. I highly advise you find a person like her where your dad is staying. They are well versed in different care options and the stages patients go through as they recover and they can give you great comfort as you/he travels this journey.</p>
<p>I just want to point out here that a concussion IS a kind of traumatic brain injury. So if you or a family had a concussion, that was a traumatic brain injury. </p>
<p>Surfcity, I hope and expect that your dad will heal and his symptoms will improve. I’m sorry you’re going through this. </p>
<p>I have a friend who I met( at water aerobics) after her TBI which occurred about 4 years ago. She has quite a bit of difficulty, with sensory things( loud noise, rhythmic sounds) but the insurance that covered the accident ( it wasnt her fault) limits the therapy she should be eligible for.
She founded a non profit to assist people with things that arent usually covered, but it has been quite a detour from where her life had been headed.</p>
<p>I am so sorry. Hang in there. They say there is a lot of change possible.</p>
<p>I have a good friend who suffered a TBI. At first she was more fearful and emotional than usual. She still has trouble with some tasks and skills that used to come easily, like reading and doing math. It has been maybe seven years, and she is still improving, though. </p>
<p>She bought a book by Jil Bolte Taylor called My Stroke of Insight. It is also a TED talk. The author was more severely affected than my friend, and describes her joinery back. </p>
<p>My H was in an auto accident–rollover-- three years ago, and suffered a TBI. The first few weeks he was basically out of his gourd–so violent he had to be in restraints for days, needed an aide present in his room 24/7 to keep him from just ripping out his IV and walking out, paranoid (was absolutely convinced the nurses were all “doing drugs in the basement” instead of caring for him), and the worst thing was that the docs would never reassure us that this was all temporary, I guess because sometimes it’s not. But usually it is, and as the swelling in his brain subsided, the crazy behaviors ceased. He spent 10 days in the trauma ICU, 3 days on a medical floor, and 10 days in a rehab facility, then attended out-patient rehab twice a week for a while. The improvement in his abilities and demeanor continued for a good year, and I’d say he’s now 90% of what he was before the accident. He has some memory issues, the right word is occasionally elusive, and he’s a little more distractible and temperamental–but nothing that outsiders would notice. </p>
<p>My best advice is to have patience. It’s only been a week! You wouldn’t expect a broken limb to heal that fast, would you? Time will be your best friend. I’ll also recommend that once he’s recovered sufficiently, your dad be tested before getting behind the wheel again. Our local hospital offers this service–they know what to look for in post-TBI patients, and it’s critical to get a professional judgment that his reflexes and judgment aren’t impaired, even if he seems okay to you. </p>
<p>I worked at a residential rehab program while in college and my first career was Occupational Therapy. The emotional changes are because his frontal lobe was affected. As others have said, it is difficult to know how much will heal and what will remain, but there are meds that can help get him through this roughest time. The most significant improvements occur during the first year. There can be improvement after that, but it slows down. Make sure his doctor is aware of the current symptoms, especially those occurring at night. </p>
<p>D had a friend who had an extremely severe TBI. He is now several years post accident and has improved. It is hard to say how much more he will improve, but he seemed cheerful when we met him during the daytime. Best of luck to you, OP and your family in moving forward and your dad in healing. </p>
<p>D’s best friend in college just reached her 5 year anniversary after a severe TBI (bike vs college transportation bus), and despite the fact that she was in a coma for 5 months she has recovered further than Dr’s ever gave hope for. She is taking two classes at the community college in the field she was studying pre-accident. She still has trouble with things we take for granted- initiating contact with friends for instance. But is continuing to improve. I was there on a nearly daily basis for the first 6 months or so, and the best advice I can give is be very positive in your interactions, keep praising the small things they are doing correctly, and give them plenty of time without a lot of stimulous. The brain needs time to heal. Her grogress continues- despite the old notion that what you see after a year is what you get. She still attends therapy- she is getting some through a Learning RX center, and gets visual therapy as well. Best wishes to your dad. </p>
<p>You might want to pick up a couple of books: Over my Head, My Stroke of Insight, The Brain Injury Surval Guide and The Brain Injury Survival Kit are all good. They offer insight for the support team of what it is like to be inside the head of someone with a brain injury.</p>
<p>If your dad is the support group type of person, you can find a brain injury support hroup in your area by ysing google.</p>
<p>Oh, and I will take this opportunity to climb on my soapbox and remind everyone to wear a bike helmet. I know that has nothing to do with your dad’s accident- but I always use any opportunity to remind people of that.</p>
<p>Wow - THANK YOU all for your comments. I was off line for a day while I attended to some things and visited him. It sounds like he is much better off than many TBI patients. And after being on his floor today, I can see he is one of the “better off” patients. I wanted to thank my lucky stars that I have my mobility and faculties, as most of the other patients had parts of their head missing or were strapped into contraptions to protect them, etc.</p>
<p>I wish I could reply to everyone individually here. (I wish we had a multi-quote function )</p>
<p>He has recognized me and mom right from the start and no sensory problems yet that I see. During the day he is pretty lucid, he gets more agitated when mom visits because he wants to go home with her. But today he told me he just wants to get out of there, but he said it in a normal way, as opposed to asking me to “jail break” him out because the nurses are all ganging up on him (which is sometimes what he says at night)</p>
<p>Several staff have mentioned sundowning, even tho the docs said that is only with dementia patients. But he clearly fits the symptoms. He also did not have good sleep habits prior to the accident. I think he had some type of sleep apnea or restless sleep issue but he did not want to do a sleep study.</p>
<p>I was just looking for reassurance that he can come home eventually and resume a resemblance of his old life. If he can’t drive, that is not a problem as my mom does most of the driving. He is Type 1 diabetic and I know he wants to get back to wearing his insulin pump but that is not going to happen until they are sure he won’t accidentally think he ate some ice cream and give him self a dose. He is calculating all the units he needs now anyway just to keep the nurses on their toes :)</p>
<p>I got to meet more of the staff today and talk with this psychologist so I feel much better about being able to help manage his care.</p>
<p>I really don’t think I was the type of person who needed reminders, I always am fond of saying “tomorrow is promised to no one” but this accident really brought it home that life can be very random. A few seconds later and he would have been safely in his car. Or if the driver had hit the gas harder he would probably have been run over and killed altogether. Whew.</p>
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