Traumatic Brain Injury – What It Means and What You Can Do Should It Happen to You
There are all kinds of injuries a person can sustain that range in severity and recovery time. Few can compare to traumatic brain injuries however, as these truly are all-encompassing injuries. For a person who sustains a traumatic brain injury, every aspect of their life is usually affected, and depending on the severity this injury could have lasting life-long effects that you are forced to accept and learn to cope with.
So what exactly is a traumatic brain injury and what should you do if it happens to you? Let’s examine the issue closer.
What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury is one that affects the brain functionality. Symptoms can range from mild to very severe disabilities depending on the injury itself and its location. A traumatic brain injury isn’t just something that affects the person who has suffered the injury, but also all of those who are close to them. For the person who has suffered the injury it is normal to go through a period of shock, then learning how to cope with the injury and lead as normal of a life as possible.
Statistics taken from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that there are around 1.5 million Americans who incur a traumatic brain injury each and every year. Not only that but around 50,000 people will die from their injury each year, and 85,000 will be left with long-term disabilities related to their injury.
What Causes a Traumatic Brain Injury?
There are a number of things that can lead to a traumatic brain injury. These include infections, hypoxia, tumors, stroke, chemical or toxic, deceleration injuries, closed head injury, and open head injury. Again, each of these can range in severity, which will affect how severe the symptoms are and how long they last.
Sometimes the injury may be caused by fault of your own, whereas in other instances it may be from an accident in which you have no fault. For those who have suffered a traumatic brain injury due to no fault of their own, it would be wise to contact a personal injury lawyer who will be able to discuss your case and figure out if you should file a claim against another party.
How to Deal with a Traumatic Brain Injury?
For the person who has suffered from a traumatic brain injury, it’s important they take as many steps as possible that will help them cope and heal as best they can. Sometimes this means learning new strategies, learning how to go about everyday activities, and even how to have relationships with friends and family.
Some of the steps that can prove to be helpful include joining a support group so you can listen and speak to others in a similar situation, avoid being distracted so you can focus on tasks, start writing things down, take breaks often, create a schedule/routine and follow it, and make changes to your lists of tasks and expectations.
While it’s not always possible to come back from a traumatic brain injury, there are steps you can take that will help ensure that your future moving forward will be as smooth as possible.
