From My Mother:

I was standing in the park watching my grandchildren play when the call came.  Within a moment’s time, our lives completed changed.  We thought we had such busy lives but we quickly learned how most of those things that kept us busy were totally not essential.  Our lives for over 7 weeks was about driving to and from the hospital.  We made it through those tough weeks because of many kind and supporting friends and family.  But there have been many many more weeks where very few are aware of the challenges that we face as a family.  Severe traumatic brain injuries don’t go away.  We have learned that progression is possible and is real!  But because it is a brain injury, it’s like riding a roller coaster! Up and down, up and down and squealing around the corner and diving down again.  That’s the way life goes when you support and love someone with a brain injury.  And I really hate roller coasters! 

We have learned so much about the medical world and how much they do not know.  When we left the hospital with Shannon, the doctors’ never really did say, “she has a brain injury”.  They could not tell us what to expect or much about what to do.  They just sent us off to see some rehab folks.  I believe that most families leave the hospital without a clue of what is to come.  It is often one heartache after another.  As we watched Shannon struggle to learn to swallow so she could eat regular food, or saw her friends move on with their lives, or dealt with her anger one minute and her depression the next, our pain was very deep.  We were often confused about what to try to do next.  But we learned so much through this ordeal, that the heart grows ever stronger and we are able to deal better today than we did yesterday.