Common Indicators of a Head Injury

This questionnaire is not meant to be a formal "test" to see if you have a head injury. If you have multiple "YES" answers, bring this questionnaire to your doctor. Additional tests (medical and neuropsychological) maybe ordered.

HEADACHES
Yes
No
Do you have more headaches since the injury or accident?
Yes
No
Do you have pain in the temples or forehead?
Yes
No
Do you have pain in the back of the head

(sometimes the pain will start at the back of the head and extend to the front of the head)?
Yes
No
Do you have episodes of very sharp pain (like being stabbed)

in the head which lasts from several seconds to several minutes?
MEMORY
Yes
No
Does your memory seem worse following the accident or injury?
Yes
No
Do you seem to forget what people have told you 15 to 30 minutes ago?
Yes
No
Do family members or friends say that you have asked the same question over and over?
Yes
No
Do you have difficulty remembering what you have just read?
WORD-FINDING
Yes
No
Do you have difficulty coming up with the right word

(you know the word that you want to say but can’t seem to "spit it out")?
FATIGUE
Yes
No
Do you get tired more easily (mentally and/or physically)?
Yes
No
Does the fatigue get worse the more you think or in very emotional situations?
CHANGES IN EMOTION
Yes
No
Are you more easily irritated or angered (seems to come on quickly)?
Yes
No
Since the injury, do you cry or become depressed more easily?
CHANGES IN SLEEP
Yes
No
Do you keep waking up throughout the night and early morning?
Yes
No
Do you wake up early in the morning (4 or 5 a.m.) and can’t get back to sleep?
ENVIRONMENTAL OVERLOAD
Yes
No
Do you find yourself easily overwhelmed in noisy or crowded places (feeling overwhelmed in a busy store or around noisy children)?
IMPULSIVENESS
Yes
No
Do you find yourself making poor or impulsive decisions (saying things "without thinking" that may hurt others feelings; increase in impulse buying?)
CONCENTRATION
Yes
No
Do you have difficulty concentrating (can’t seem to stay focused on what you are doing)?
DISTRACTION
Yes
No
Are you easily distracted (someone interrupts you while you are doing a task and you lose your place)?
ORGANIZATION
Yes
No
Do you have difficulty getting organized or completing a task (leave out a step in a recipe or started multiple projects but don’t complete them)?

__________ Total Number of Yes Answers
If you have 5 or more Yes answers, discuss the results of this questionnaire with your doctor.

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For more great infomation visit: http://www.tbiguide.com/

To obtain a copy of:
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY SURVIVAL GUIDE
Contact: Dr. Glen Johnson, Clinical Neuropsychologist
Clinical Director of the Neuro-Recovery Head Injury Program

5123 North Royal Drive Traverse City, MI 49684
Phone 231-935-0388 Email debglen@yahoo.com
Website http://www.tbiguide.com/
Copyright ©1998 Dr. Glen Johnson. All Rights Reserved.

Eyes Open - Brain not Engaged

Many times people with a brain injury, may be able to speak normally at the time of the injury, only their brain is not engaged with the events that just happened. Do not assume, just because an injured person can speak coherently, that they are not seriously injured.

At the time of my car accident, I was unaware that I was speaking clearly, but I have no memory of what I said and to whom.

Basic Facts about Traumatic Brain Injury

This is very accurate! Symptoms don't always show up at the time of injury. It is very important to keep watch for signs of these changes for months after a head truama. I experienced many of the symptoms they talk about in this video, only at the time of my injury the medical treatment was to go home, rest and get back to your normal life. After a TBI - there is no "normal" any more.

High School Football Head Trauma

For the Love of the Game!

Here is another silent injury issue. Our children are at risk for Traumatic Brain Injuries.

Brain Injury and Food

This is very interesting information!!

Living With Traumatic Brain Injury

This video is very inlightening about the daily struggles and victories people may have with a brain injury.

FINANCIAL SETTLEMENT - LEGAL AND FRAUDULENT

HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD AGREE THAT RFUSING TO TELL PARTICIPANTS IN A 97.1 MILLION DOLLAR CASE, REFUSE TO BE TOLD THE FINAL SETTLEMENT AMOUNT THE COMPANY RECEIVED OR ATTORNEYS WERE PAID, HOW AND TO WHOM THEY DISTRIBUTED THOSE FUNDS, WHILE PAYING THE MEMBERS IN
THE ORIGINAL CASE $22.91 EACH, a total of $685,000, never including the final
settlement amount or the number of orignal claimants.

HUMAN ERRORS

Human errors are possibilities that occur contantly. Weather one is a physicain, attorney, or lay person. Outright mistakes are not human errors. They are the result of carelessness, unconcern, personal needs, or perhaps even the belief in myths.

Has the art of making distinctions been discarded to serve personal needs? Myths will come and go, depending on societal attitudes. We cannot change that. We can, however, try to be more discerning about them, especially when knowing how destructive they can be. Being aware of this characteristic, which many of us possess to some degree, is a major step in the right direction. Going beyond this can yield insights into the reasons for many modern dilemmas in the daily lives of lay people as well as professionals.

Myths often change through time and circumstances, but not always. Some serious ones, like medical myths about women's health, and invsible injuries such as concussions and closed head injuries, are prime examples of myths which are taking a long time to be resolved.

In modern times, opinions; non-verifiable or verifiable, containing a "grain of truth," repeated, heard or read often enough in newspapers, columns, television and Internet, start the planting of a myth. Often these myths are embellished in the retelling. Inevitably, that grain of truth, or half lie, sprouts like all seeds do, no matter how inaccurate they reproduce themselves as truths.

The Value of a Mentor

Many people, did not have parents who where equipped to be a mentor as well as a provider. Even if this was true for our childhood, this lack doesn’t mean we are left fending for ourselves. It is perfectly fine to acquire mentors on our journey. Mentors can provide the emotional sustenance our parents couldn’t give us while they were providing other things like a roof over our head and food to eat – very important provisions. This is not to say parents can’t be mentors, just that there is room for both.

A problem comes into play when we try to substitute our mentors as our parents, forcing us to stay locked to our past, and limiting our emotional growth. More times than not, a mentor can say the same things our parents did, but it sounds better and we have less resistance to follow their advice. Following good advice, no matter whom it comes from, usually produces good results.

Most of us have at least one deep problem - our attitude about ourselves, which effects how we relate to others? This attitude can be either end of the spectrum – too little self esteem, or too much self-vibrato, you know the kind of people who think they are all that and a bag of chips. We all need to find a happy medium when it comes to self-esteem.

If you don’t like yourself, it’s very hard to extend joy to those who do. This attitude often reveals itself in jealousy and verbal tear-downs, causing strife in relationships. We have all seen the other extreem on American Idol, where people who clearly can’t carry a tune in a bucket, lash out at the judges who don’t pass them on to the next round. “They don’t know good singing when they hear it! They are so stupid!” We who are watching this show of stupidity, are not thinking it’s the judges who hold that title. For the most part, we see others as we see ourselves.

This takes us back to the heart of the problem – resistance to change, or following good advice. Living in past pain or glory, stunts our emotional growth. Rehearsing our past over and over again causes fixation instead of maturation. A good mentor can help refocus our thoughts. In a healthy mentoring relationhip, the future and all of its potential should be the focus. Denial of our weaknesses/struggles does not always serve us well.

Fortunately, today we have a plethora of Life Coaches who are trained just for that purpose. We also have books, recordings and for those of us who are blessed, a real live person who invests their wisdom into our lives.

I Will Still Have A Long ‘TO-DO' List Even After I Die.

At the age of 92, you would think I should feel satisfied with the accomplishments of my life, only when I look at what is left on my “to do” list, I either have to live forever or will my tasks to someone else.

One of the most important tasks that should be in my will is to help the next generation understand the beauty of listening to a different point of view, instead of ignoring it.

My sense of responsibility is still good as new and has many years of life left in it. I feel this is one of most valuable possessions to pass on.

Tenaciousness has served me will over the years and helped me fix some of the most difficult obstacles that show up on life’s journey – illness, financial crisis, family disagreements, death and loneliness, just to name a few.

Hope may seem like tenaciousness, but it is different. Hope sees what can be. It is the hot air that helps our balloon raise so we can see great vistas. I know whoever receives this task will be blessed by it.

Oh yes, I almost forgot to add humor to my list of tasks to pass on. Without this gift, life becomes too long and too short.

Well, I will have to finish this inventory list later, I have other things to do right now.
Blessings and love to you all.

Why are there so many different religions?

Does anyone, believer or non-believer, ever ask themselves - If there is a God, is there more than one? Or, why are there so many different religions?

If there is more than one god, did the God Almighty create them for man? Or, are they self-created beliefs that man uses to convince himself, for his own personal motives, to believe, not in one God – but their own interpretations that encourages them to use God as a way of convincing
themselves, and others that these ‘’PERSONAL CREATED BELIEFS” serve an international purpose rather than just their own wants and needs.

Does anyone really believe there is more than one God?

That Really Made Me Mad

I had a disagreement with a physician which I wrote about to the State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts. It was rejected by them, without ever giving me a reason why.

I belonged to the insurance group, Advantra, and he was my primary physician. My visit was a routine visit. The doctor suggested I take a pharmaceutical (Amox-Clav) and do exercise for my ‘ROUND SHOULDERS.” I don’t think he ever listened when I told him over and over again, I have had round shoulders ever since I was six years old and I did not think any pharmaceutical or exercise could correct that at my age, which at the time, was over 80. I was sure an antibiotic would not fix round shoulders. He prescribed a drug,
which was because I wasn’t feeling quite well,. After taking one dose of the drug he prescribed, I had some bleeding the next morning, and called him. He did not return my call.

I went to his office that morning, and, because I did not have an appointment, was told by the receptionist that I needed to go to the emergency room, which I would not do, but waited four hours in his office before he did see me. After a quick conversation, he did not tell me to stop taking the medication but told me I needed to go to the hospital. It was I who had to ask whether to continue taking the Amox-Clav or not. One would have thought he would have told me that himself.

I didn’t think checking into a hospital through the emergency room myself. I call a friend to accompany me. After a grueling day, I ended up with a three-day hospital stay, but they never found anything wrong with me. This doctor didn’t come to check on my condition until the end of the third day, which was too late to discharge me that day. Staying an extra day would not be cover by my insurance company. I insisted on leaving the hospital without his discharge authorization.

What is the patient to do if there is no, helpful listening ear for the patient’s benefit? I am sure the doctor’s would not stand for this if the situation was reversed.

Expediency Does Not Solve Problems

Is it asking too much of people on both the pro and con side of an issue, to listen and understand the opposing viewpoint? Finding workable solutions to the problems that face our world today will be no easy task, but we must find them. The question is - does it have to be TODAY? Is there no room or time for discussions? Blindly running head long into a problem could just make it worse. All sides need to set aside their party agendas and start getting it through their heads that this crisis isn't about them and their needs, it's about a world economy falling apart and the helpless that need help.

There is not a nation on the face of the earth that hasn't suffered by the hands of greedy people - be it political leaders, military war lords, business owners or private citizens. So, how are the world leads going to handle this crisis? Each nation has always touted itself as having the best approach to everything. Who is going to bend?

We hear how the whole world is in crisis, but how bad is it? I guess you need to consider who is doing the talking. How do we know if what is being reported is true or just propaganda to get us whipped into a frenzy, taking to the streets with a false message? We witnessed this during WWII, anyone that wanted to call themselves a good citizen spouted the hate language that would keep them safe. There was no talking it over and making nice.

We need to be careful how fast we run into a good plan - it might not be all that good.

WAS GOD ALWAYS THERE – WAS I TOO BUSY TO PAY ATTENTION?

My sister and brother seem to remember our childhood experiences so differently than I do; they make it sound like we never lived together. Seeing life through a different set of eyes does explain the depth of our personal, political, and emotional differences and is a clear indication of why it appears we are from entirely different backgrounds.
At my father’s funeral, in a casual conversation, I learned why there has always
been a wall between my sister and me. She believed my father had liked me more than he liked her -- sad and definitely untrue, but my father was not there to tell her the truth of the matter. I guess like all of us, especially children, the need to be loved is strong, only love feels and looks different to each person and this interpretation leads either to an unhappy life, or one of security.
My affection for my father flowed deep as did his affection towards me. It was as normal as breathing. I believe my mother and sister were jealous of this relationship. It was through my father’s wisdom, past down to me, that I developed a sense of worth. It was these seeds he planted in my mind that protected me in the days to come.
I married young and divorced young, leaving me a single mother of a two year old daughter. This experience made me realize that if I did not change my life style I would end up in another “routine marriage,” for the rest of my life, even though I intuitively knew this was not what I wanted. I knew I had to change me. My father may not physically be here, but he will never be gone.
My life had been so complicated up to then, with so many unusual circumstances and decisions to make, which I never felt capable of doing. As I look back now, I find it difficult to believe that I alone was able to come up with these correct answers. My decisions would either lead to a successful future, or sad failure. Was there an unseen force guiding me?
Now began the task of seeing my real self, my responsibilities for my daughter, my future life, interests, and those duties I could not shed. I never was successful trying to be friends with my sister, yet I had no difficulty striking up a friendship with strangers, especially those who stimulated my interests in serious reading, discussions, music, and the world around me. In this process, my new acquaintances convinced me I was more interesting than the way I saw myself. I began to realize I was more than just a people pleaser, who took care of the details for everyone.
At just the right time, my future husband showed up. Born in Finland, a Military
Intelligence officer in the American army, on his way to Europe, during World War II. Both of us were divorced, and each had one daughter. It only took three dates before we both realized we had fallen in love, but did not reveal it. I did not expect to hear from him again when he left for his responsibilities in Europe, I was wrong. Before he even reached Europe, his first letter said: “When I return, if we both feel the same way, I will ask you to marry me…” He did, and we were married as soon as he returned.
When I met my future husband he also saw qualities in me that my friends had seen. This was exactly what I needed, someone with a different viewpoint, who saw me differently -- through his Finnish European background. Together we began to develop serious interest in news, politics, music, art. I also learned to listen to serious discussions even if I did not have enough knowledge to follow them. Slowly, over the years these people and focus groups became a major part of our life.
This would be just the beginning of a life filled to over flowing. Our 50 years of marriage took us around the world, meeting Heads of State and political leaders from Israel, Germany, Scotland, France, Italy and Finland.
Was it by chance that everything fell into place or was God always there guiding my steps, even when I was too busy to pay attention?

WWII Trauma

A man in the building where I live asked me a question about WWII – Do you feel veterans were treated fairly after the war? Here’s my answer.

Did we treat the veterans of this War fairly? I don’t think so.

For more than twenty years after the war, GIs were told it was their negative psychological attitudes that was the reason for their physical symptoms they had developed once they had returned home from the front lines of war, and they were using these symptoms as an excuse for why they were unwilling to hold a job. In other words, they were being told they were lazy and didn’t want to work.

It took over thirty years after WWII before this myth was acknowledged as an error by the country – Government, Military Leaders, and the public. Apperently, the only wounds that were “real” were the ones you can see, like a missing limb or a gapping hole where shrapnel entered. I’m sure there was correct information out there about internal injuries, but it wasn’t being applied to the problems these GIs were experiencing. It appears some policy maker felt the potential cost of caring for “invisible” injuries was far too great and the budget took precedence over these problems.

Researchers, making this correct data available to the public, forced the army to finally confirm what the GIs had been saying was true; their mental problems were not caused by their attitudes, but by their brain’s response to the violent shellings they had experienced for years during their tour of duty. The army had no choice but to finally acknowledge the truth and shell-sock is now a common word associated with this kind of injury.

PREDICTION OR FICTION?

I find it fascinating to read the predictions for the daily horocope on Aquarius. An Aquarius, is born between January 20 – February 18. After reading them for almost a year, I finally found one that fits perfectly.

Coded with five stars, it says:

Your ability to see past the obvious could make a big difference.
Understand what is going on behind the scenes. Sometimes
observation takes on a bigger role and more significance than
asking question. Tonight: Let your mind wonder.

My next step is to see who is responsible for the comments – or are
they opinions presented as predictions? With so many people, born
during this time period, it isn’t surprising that I found one that may be
correct.

GOD WAS ALWAYS THERE, BUT I WAS TOO BUSY TO PAY ATTENTION - BIO OF MYSELF

Because the stories my sister and brother seem to remember about our relationships are so different from mine, they were like we never lived together. They do explain the depth of our personal, political, and emotional difference and are clear indications why it appears we are from entirely different backgrounds.
I was a pretty child, fussy about myself, scared of my shadow, but obedient. It appeared as if, even in those days my body talked to me. It told me what not to eat, something my mother never understood when the doctor told her it was doing, but she never gave up nagging me about food, and everything else.
My sister always criticized me but not until my father’s funeral, did I learn why. She believed my father liked me more than he did her. How sad and improbable, but too late to be repaired. Like all children, we both needed love. How we went about getting it
led us in entirely different life styles, both complicated and difficult to relate healthily to each other. We never succeeded. Try as I would, this problem lasted our entire lives.
My friends filled my requirements with like interests in serious reading, discussions, (not arguments, no matter whether you were a leftist or rightist), music, current events, and the world around us.
As a “taking care of details person,” I expanded even further in my interests when I met my future husband, a man so different from anyone I had ever known until then. He was a Military Intelligence Officer, had been divorced,with one daughter. After three meetings, we “subtly” realized we had fallen in love but did not reach the stage of being able to talk about it.
When he left for Europe to fulfill his responsibility as a GI, I doubted I would hear from him. My excitement was enormous when I received a letter from him, while he was still sailing on his trip to Europe, that said “When I return, if we both feel the same way, I will ask you to marry me.” He did. We were married as soon as he returned.
My simple life became so complicated, with unusual circumstances that it required the wisdom which I was not sure I had in order to make the correct chioces. As I look back now, I find it difficult to believe that I was capable of making them myself, and they turned out to be correct. Or was God helping, but was I too busy to realize it? Years later, as my life slowed down,and maturity well in place, I realized it was God’s hand in my life that helped me through my days of hard choices.

CONFLICT BASED ON BELIEFS

If one believes one is religious, and we all believe in only ONE GOD … how and why do we have so many different religions? Has GOD told us to do this? Or can it be those of us who have so many different motives who “believe” there aren’t so many different religions to convince ourselves that our beliefs are the only correct ones?

Can it be GOD? The obvious answer must be loud NO. We must be telling ourselves that what we believe must be correct? This is a dilemma that muddies our thinking. There must be some way to repair the damage this is doing to all our different personal religious beliefs. If this is so, when GOD...IF WE LISTENING TO HIM…must be telling all of us the same thing.

I wish I knew how to help us solve this problem. It does not add to what should be a positive experience for each of us. Not necessarily all of us believe the same thing, but each of us has a choice by which we can live productively, have positive relations with each other, and be able to listen to our differences, and discuss them rather than simply disagreeing. Or is that asking too much of ourselves?

The Three "Me's"

The Three ‘Me’S”

I saw my life in the form of three distinct people:
The original me before the accident.
The injured me I had lived with for almost 35 years after the accident,
The new me of today.

In the first “me”, happiness filled my life with the person I knew so well and liked. In the second, it was filled with anxiety and sadness and someone I did not know -- and did not like. In the third, a new me emerged ... one who began to show signs of the me I had tried so hard not to lose, as if she knew how badly I needed and wanted her.

Slowly, imperceptibly, I was sure she was trying to come back. I now rarely feel her, but others do and constantly surprised me when they tell me they do. Even people who see me for the first time seem to be aware of her – the pre accident me. This situation is so strange to me. The injury has so much control over my body; it is so subtle -- it is outside my reach. I had always thought of life as a continuation of daily experiences to prepare one for facing the future, creating anticipation and hope, as one looks forward to the future.

Since the accident, daily experiences were more devastating, than not. It was my good fortune that the healthy past came back in the form of memories, which helped me remember the normal, happy, healthy, emotional feeling of joy I had lost after the accident. Somehow, my memories and emotions reminded me “normal” was somewhere, but it did not tell me why it was unable to help me stimulate it.