To The Doctors & Other Medical Treatment Providers
By: Brainstorm For Brain Injury
Tags: Medical Professionals, Brain Injury, Doctors, Therapy, Life Change

***The following was contributed to Brainstorm For Brain Injury by PM&R Dr. Gooch. There are many doctors out there that are doing an amazing job treating complex issues and we applaud them and are so grateful for what they do. Brain injury is one injury that seems to get little attention or help. We realize that the long term effects of brain injury are hard to treat but believe that with improvement, lives, families and communities will change for the better.***

I am writing to providers, to those who see patients with brain injury. Last week I saw Scott for follow-up in my office. He had a brain injury a few years ago. He is married and has three children. Prior to his brain injury he worked as an engineer. After the brain injury he was hospitalized for a few days, but he received no follow-up or brain injury education. Scott looked normal. He walked, he talked, he used his hands well. If you did not know Scott well, you would not have known anything was amiss. But Scott knew something was wrong. His boss knew things were off and his wife and children really knew that that he was not himself.

Scott had cognitive and emotional sequelae of his brain injury. These issues are some of the most common difficulties for people with brain injury.

Shortly after his injury, Scott was frequently overwhelmed. The shrieks and even laughter of his children were unbearable. He could not be around them for more than a few minutes. Social gatherings were impossible. He could not tolerate being around more than two people at once. He angered easily. He would often scream at his wife. When he was fatigued his irritability and outbursts were much worse. He became easily fatigued. He could do not nearly as much as he could prior to his injury. Multitasking was out of the question. He could handle only one simple task at a time.

He returned to work a few weeks after his injury. No one had told not to return. He thought he would do fine. He did not do fine. He could not handle the noise. He did not remember tasks his boss told him to do. He screamed at a co-worker. He was fired.

His wife, although a patient person, was having more and more difficulty handling his moods and outbursts. His kids avoided him.

Scott was never like this before his injury. He was calm, patient and generally happy. He was a hard worker at home and at work. He played with his kids regularly and his marriage was strong.

I saw Scott two years after his injury and his life was a mess. After hearing his story, I it was obvious that he was struggling with brain injury sequelae. I explained that his symptoms were common after brain injury. His difficult behaviors were not done intentionally and could be better controlled. I told him to take “brain breaks” every hour. I referred him to cognitive therapy at a facility experienced in dealing with brain injury survivors. The therapist helped structure his day to avoid overstimulation and gave him tactics to compensate for his cognitive struggles.

Last week I saw Scott and his wife, Melanie for follow-up. These simple tactics changed his life. With structure to his day and avoidance of overstimulation, he does not have outbursts. With noise cancelling hearing aids, he is able to tolerate the noise of young children. He and his wife are doing well. He is able to help around the house. He has become more active in general.

Many people with brain injury fall through the cracks. They do not get the simple help they need. They struggle immensely. Help is available. If you do not know of specialists in your area, contact us through Brainstorm for Brain Injury and we can help you find help.