Quit? Never!

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These are but a few of the demons I have wrestled with, as I am sure some of you survivors have, as well.** We are constantly breaking boulders into stones, stones into rocks, and rocks into sand until we can finally sift through our troubled minds to make some sense of our lives.

Some days we can be so sensitive and temperamental, at least I can, like a nest of snakes. Some days a person could not step anywhere without stirring me up! It was so unfair to them. I know of families that broke apart as a result of one parent or the other being either unable or unwilling to fight or cope with the effects of brain injury. The ‘glue’ which bonded them before the accident became as the winter snows in the warm rays of the spring time sun. It just turned into mush and trickled away onto some other substance to create or nurture a new life.

** For me, even the simple things such as music that once stirred the heart or art that once touched the soul, now had no effect. Some survivors overcome this loss of sensitivity in a year or two, others in five years or ten, but others…never.** Often times the journey of the brain injured victims and their loved ones is not ascension toward a glorious light but a decent into darkness, chaos, the maelstrom.

But there is hope! For us, the brain injured and for our families and loved ones who must endure the pain and anguish, the emotional stampede that we so fervently hope to corral into some semblance of organized chaos. Hope is a bird that always flies, the light that always dies, and a stone that crushes when it can not be carried any further.

**If one really dares to hope, even in the face of hopelessness, you would gladly shoulder that stone, step into the light and reach toward those white wings. When one has hope, it is a good feeling. It is exhilarating, and that is why hope is so dangerous. The glorious lifting up, the sweet sense of soaring, always too brief, and then the terrible fall that is more devastating because of the sublime heights from which it began. But it could be worse never to have hoped at all. ** Without hope, it feels as though I were stuck in fast running water, way over my head and my attempts to survive, alone, were no more evident than a single thread in a coat of many colors.

Yes, we have fallen into a [slough] of darkness and despair, feeling helpless, and hopeless because of the attempts of the unwelcome visitor to claim that which we cherish the most, our life!  But the determination to live, to survive, and be willing to take the risk of hope then we can, through the motivation of our friends and family, begin the climb back up for they can hold the ladder steady.  .  .  .  

As a multiple time survivor of brain injury, I can assure you that there is help available for the relief of anger, frustration and despair. Relief from emotional distress, nightmares and the anxieties that so often become a part of our lives is what we constantly strive for. Sure we depend upon palm pilots, notepads, and pens as well as the constant reminder of ‘things to do’ by our friends and family. But, I would rather have that then having to go through life as an emotional train wreck trying to roll along with a broken wheel or two on my wagon!  .  .

I would urge anyone who has suffered brain injury to fight, do not despair and never quit! You may never be completely whole again, but you can still feel love, happiness and a great sense of accomplishment if you are willing to fight for it! Remember, life is really a stage that we are thrust upon at birth and good or bad, success or failure depends upon our performance.     .  .  .

When we can no longer perform as we once did, the curtain of opportunity closes for many of us. So, perform! Attend your local support group. Check out the resources that are available and remember our motto, Don’t Quit!!            http://www.lapublishing.com/blog/2013/unwelcome-visitor-brain-injury/