I was told pretty much right away that there would be behavior and personality changes in Richard because of brain injuries. When he first started talking, he would say things that although they were obviously drug induced, they were also very much Richard. For instance, he said, "Tell them that I want 50% off!" LOL. If you know Richard, you know that he is the world's biggest bargain hunter, and somehow he talks people into discounts that they would otherwise not give.
When he was at HealthSouth, they did some testing and found that he couldn't remember words for common things.
He went for a consultation with a neurologist at UNM. He showed us scans of the brain and showed how much frontal lobe damage there was. The doctor said that although other people might not be able to see the differences, his family would. He also said that the damage done to the brain was moderate to severe and that he would no longer be working. We have since learned that the damage done to the frontal lobe causes behavior similar to the developing brain of a teenager.
I didn't realize how much of a personality change there was until he came home from the hospital. Richard was angry and he lashed out in ways that were unusual for him. He dwelled on (and still does) the details in such an over the top way that he could take forever to tell a story because every detail of it was important to him. He couldn't seem to determine what details were relevant, and which ones are not. He also cannot determine who he should share information with, and who he should not. He talks incessantly when around people he is not normally around. At home, he doesn't say but a few sentences a day to me. He cannot complete tasks or takes 10 times longer to complete them than the normal person. He is constantly side tracked with other things. He has lost the use of executive function. This is the ability to organize time and realize the passing of time.
There are many effects from the brain injury, but there are also other issues as well that make it difficult to tell if they were caused by the brain injury or not. Richard had signs of being on the autism spectrum before the accident. He was told just a couple of years before the accident that he probably had aspergers, but that he compensated well so it was harder to tell with him. He suffers from post traumatic stress from the accident itself, even though he can't remember it. He also deals with anxiety and depression. How much of this is from the brain injury, I really don't know. I assume that they are all interconnected in many ways. Now it is not difficult to diagnose aspergers syndrome or a high functioning autism. He started having panic attacks in the hospital as well.
He went through very thorough congitive testing after the accident and in that testing they found that he remembered things that never occurred. He does this alot now, especially in conjunction with the accident itself. His brain fills in the blanks, because not knowing them is too frustrating. Remember, the details are important to him, so if he can't remember them, his brain makes them up. For instance, the trauma ICU unit is on the second floor of the hospital, but he would tell everyone that it was on the top floor because that is where the helicopters would have to land. Whatever makes logical sense to him therefore, must be true, whether it really is or not.
Don't get me wrong, there are many, many details that he is absolutley spot on about. He can remember days of the week, times of day, etc. in very sharp detail, and they are right. But you never know when he will fill in the blanks on events or details that he does not know.
He will tell you in detail how fast he was going and how fast the other vehicle was going, but he has no memory of the accident at all. The first memory he has is right before he went to Kindred Hospital.
He cries easily, and this was especially true right after the accident when he would cry even when telling a story that should not be emotional.
The frustration that I have had is that there is no real help for traumatic brain injuries. There are experimental treatments, but they are not covered by our insurance and in most cases, they are very expensive. This is really the area of his injuries in which there are treatments that we could try, but we cannot afford them, so we haven't done them. It is also hard to find treatments and help for this kind of injury.
To me, this is the most difficult injury to deal with long term. The physical disabilities really do not bother me too much, but the change in my husband has been very hard.
I wish I had some answers to getting help for this injury. I don't. Some of the alternative therapies that we have learned about but cannot afford include hyperberic chambers, the Amen clinic in California, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). If you can afford them, these might be options for you. If you try any of them or know of other options, I would love to hear about them!
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