Hi katch,

Sorry I don't have more information for you, but I did find that information on traumatic brain injury at the National Libraries of Medicine: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/traumat icbraininjury.html and this site for military veterans: http://www.dvbic.org/cms.php?p=FAQ

When is your next appointment?

thanks for the link. He goes on the 20th for an EEG. He went to see the psychologist today. She told him no more woring that from what she saw, the neurologist feels he has fluid on the brain. My other question is how can that be when 2 years ago, he had a CAT scan done and it was normal I thought CAT's were the most efficient in telling these types of things.

If your husband experienced an open brain injury, then the cerebral spinal fluid may have leaked into the sinuses. This is called "CSF Rhinorrhea". Here's a link to types of brain injury . I suggest that you ask the neurologist to more precisely define the diagnosis and request explanation. Speak up! Anything that you don't understand can be explained. And let us know how it goes! Good luck!

I kinda knew that when he said he didn't see the wall behind the eyes like he is suppose to, what that meant. I think I just might be in denial because it's taken 4 years for anyone to see this. My heart sank because he said he was very concerned.

we got the mri back. he has a minor brain injury. the doc says that he should be able to get better. but, it's going on 4 and a half years!!!!!!!! the doc says that there is residual blood on the right side of the brain. above his ear. i want to know how to handle this...any help???

Hi katch,

Gosh. Four years is a long time, and I can imagine how frustrating this must be for you.

Unfortunately I can't offer specific medical facts beyond what your doctors are able to see, however I have also been with someone going through very tough times with their health for many years. It can be quite a roller coaster.

Regardless of the diagnosis, the most important, and most supportive action that you can provide him on your part is the sense of normalcy. I remember that one of the most frustrating things for my girlfriend was the feeling that people would treat her differently or pity her. She really resented this pity as it only re-inforced for her the sense that something was wrong for her. She just wanted to live a normal life, and to be able to enjoy the little things just like everyone else.

The other thing that is very frustrating is the lack of standard practice in medicine, and this would also drive her nuts. One doc would say one thing, the other another. Don't give up, and keep looking for answers. I hope that your doctors will be able to track things down.

We never know what life has in store for us, even if we are perfectly healthy, so the absolute best thing that you can do for him is to uplift his spirit. By your previous replies I can tell that you genuinely love your husband and put forth everything you have for him.

Make sure to find time to decompress from this pressure and to breathe peace into your own life as well as the relationship.

I hope that everything will turn out for the best. Please let us know how things develop.

Sincerely,
Daniel

That's the government for you. I don't decompress though. My girls and him come first. It's very hard for me not to "talk down" to him. I do get very frustrated when I have to repeat myself more than twice and when I ask him to do something for me and he completely forgets. But, I have given him the "job" of getting the VA off their hiney's and he has done good with that. It is very difficult especially when you don't have support. katch

Hi, I am going on my 4th year after a closed head injury. It took a while (and a neuropsych evaluation) for doctors to realize the extent of damage done as I looked normal and had not been in a terrible accident. I am still learning new ways to cope with the after effects of my fall, and there are some things I will not be able to do as well or at all. Our brains are remarkable in that they try to learn new pathways to do old jobs and make new connections to continue to learn. There is no cut off time for healing, our brains are continually changing. Please be patient with your husband and his memory. My injury has left me with little short term memory, but with the use of sticky notes and a daily calendar to list what I need to try to accomplish, as well as timers, cell phone alarms and the such to keep me going. Understand he is probably devastated inside knowing he is different yet not having that validated and supported. I had a few people in my corner, but really had to fight the system, former friends, family etc... because they did not get it, that I was different. After a brain injury of that extent, you are never the same. I am at peace with who I am now, but it still worries my son and yes frustrates him at times. He has spent a lot of time reading about brain injuries and the resulting changes, so he knows what happens. I would suggest checking into tbi support groups in person and online as well as looking at tbi.org site for more info. Good luck to you all!

Thank you for that. He is going through the PTSD group now. The problem we are having is that we are dealing with the government. They refuse to take care of their soldiers. These guys are willing to fight for freedom and when they get injured, (mostly because it is not a visible injury) they want to discharge them from the care they need. It frustrates him and then me even more because I see that he wants the help and the help is not there. He was suppose to be under a sleep study. That was over a month ago. He was suppose to have a mental eval for the brain injury and go through the TBI courses. That was well over 3 months ago. He recently went back to school for criminal justice and is doing good. We are being screwed and I can't handle it. I hate seeing him suffer and I can't do anything about it. I really have no support because like I said...the injuries that are most "severe" are not visible. But, thanks for the site. And thanks for understanding. I am beihind my husband 100%. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here now with him. It can get real bad at times. But, I love him to death and I know that things he does is not him and until they get off their keesters and help him completely, I have to suffer. Thanks again katch

I can relate to what your husband is going through. I was involved in a roll over accident resulting in a TBI, which manifested into other neurological problems. I spent 3 mos. in an ARMY hospital and was released w/a clean bill of health. A few years later, I started having seizures. After 30 yrs of putting up w/seizures, the meds and a partial Temporal lobectomy, I am worse off than ever. The VA (my only option) doctors, interns and students have concluded that I'm suffering from ptsd, adhd, bipolar2, severe depression, well you get the picture. The only problem is I can't get any of them to agree on what the cause is. The TBI, the seizures, the surgery, the 2 strokes I had while under the knife, or the tons of AED's I've taken for over 30 yrs, they can't agree on a cause of all these. Because they can't agree, it slows up the treatment and any disability compensation that I'm entitled to. I don't mean to scare you, but just giving you a heads up if these crop up in the future. KUDO's to you for putting up w/ your husband and what he's going through. I know 1st hand about the VA, head injuries and the problems that come w/dealing with this. I hope your husband's diagnosis is correct and he gets the proper treatment and doesn't suffer any more than he already has. TC, make it a nice day and I sincerely hope everything turns out fine for you and yours.

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