Thank you,
@Whimsical. My forehead caught a professional baseball pitcher’s 90+ mph fastball at close range when his catcher missed. It has changed my life. Injury pre-pandemic but rehab therapies were abruptly halted for nine months due to the pandemic. Providers and their staff keep changing due to the stress of working in healthcare. Amazingly a one year waiting list for additional services. Working full time remains a challenge and requires much recovery each day. Trying to keep things positive. Continuing to be a fierce advocate to progress to a better quality of life.
Adrenaline took over. I did not lose consciousness. While Mr. Cardinal and friends were dashing off for ice and medical support, I had other plans. I saw the pitcher at the fence looking horrified and watching me so I staggered over to him to question what happened - pitch, velocity, catcher’s challenge. I previously worked in trauma research and medical rehabilitation, so I was on autopilot collecting data. A trip to the emergency room showed no skull fracture or brain bleed, but it has been a long haul trying to restore balance, reduce pain, dizziness, nausea, insomnia, and executive functioning. Crazy for a short visit to the ballgame. It was a pre-game warm-up pitch so we never had out planned fun evening. I guess you could call it kind of a curve ball for me.
@Cardinal Rule
I'm so sorry it has taken me a while to reply. I finally sat down to get caught up.
OMGOODNESS, wow, just wow. I can't imagine that happening and walking away to tell the story. 90 mph is scary as
duck, but to the head, oh my gosh, just thinking about it, wow. So many things could have gone so many ways at that moment. The miracle is that here you are, telling the story and even throwing in a bit of humor, which really is necessary at times, to cope and deal with things. Life-changing is the perfect way to describe it, but almost seems like an understatement for what you have been thru, and continue to experience daily.
Adrenaline kicking in is an unbelievably amazing thing. Thank goodness you had the wherewithal to be able to function and stay alert, I bet that pitcher was in shock himself.
The only comparable thing in terms of being in shock was when I was attacked by a 100 pound + Bullmastiff. I knew the dog since he was a puppy and I was getting the mail and talking to my neighbor. He had his dog on a leash and I leaned down to pet the dog and at the same time his spiked collar poked his throat (according to my previous neighbor) and the dog lunged at me and bit my face/cheek and neck all at once. His weight knocked me into the middle of the street.
It felt like I was in the middle of the street forever while my neighbor was freaking out. I got up and walked towards my house as my neighbor was attempting to help me, but I was like, "I'm OK, I'm going to walk back across the street now, I'm OK, wow, there is so much blood, I can't see where I'm going, but I'm OK..." and the closer I got to my front door the more I could feel myself panicking and I could not control it, as soon as I got inside I yelled for my then-husband who thankfully was home at the time and off to the ER we went. I was fine after the initial attack, while in the middle of the road, but within a certain amount of time after I got up and was walking up my driveway that is when the panic set it, it was a crazy experience.
Brain injuries/damage suck and it's a constant battle against our own body and will always be an everyday struggle. I'm not just saying that just to say it, I have lived with damage to my brain since 1997. Mine is progressive and during the darkest of moments/times, humor was and always will be my silver lining. Perhaps that is why I love it here so much, the humor is over the top and it's so needed.
9 months without any kind of therapy/services for you, when deailng with the brain must have felt like an eternity. The disconnect when suddenly our brains don't work as they always have, as they should and we have to relearn so much, yet are trying to adapt to the new normal, all is so very overwhelming and exhausting, mentally, emotionally and physically. I can honestly say I get it. I wish we could talk more, we seem to have a lot in common, although from different initial situations. It is a long road trying to find the balance (no pun intended...I still have no balance!!)
Sending big Whimsical healing hugs and many more silly maASSive images your way, because laughter
is good for the soul.
xoxo
snark!
Thanks, but we've got it.
