This is part five of the fourteenth #BrainQA: How did your brain injury happen? There was a whopping 300+ answers, thank you so much for answering everyone! I spilt the answers into categories
- Poisoning, epilepsy, army accidents and medical mistakes
- Infections and diseases
- Domestic violence
- Sports
- Arteriovenous malformations (AVM), aneurysms, strokes and haemorrhages
- Brain tumour surgeries
- Attacks
- Suicide attempts
- Bangs on the head
- Falls
- Road traffic accidents
‘First time I was T-boned. Second time I fainted and face planted on a tile floor.’
‘Rolled vehicle four years ago. Domestic Violence resulting in brain surgery three years ago’
‘Three ruptured aneurysms and one stroke’
‘I have two TBIs one from birth, one from aneurysm.’
‘Soccer, snowboarding, and fainting.’
‘Car accident then hit my head at home’
‘Brain tumor surgery and stroke.’
‘Complications on second brain surgery for pituitary tumor. Epilepsy’
‘I’ve had several. Probably starting in 7th grade, playing football, I played on offensive line for five years as well as all special teams:
1) Went through friends truck windshield freshman year.
2) Got assaulted with a brick to the head.
4) Assaulted by a bounty hunter in a case of mistaken identity.’
‘Mine was caused by multiple brain aneurysms and resulting surgeries.’
‘Two falls, many beatings to the head when I was a child, one car accident, thrown from a bike, a horse and a motorcycle. Amazed to still be here and relatively functional! In my late 50s now and the effects have piled up…’
‘Auto accident was the last big one. I’ve had several over my life time. I wasn’t aware why I’ve had so many problems in the past. Also, I assume why the last car accident affected my brain so much’
‘My first was in a motor vehicle accident. I was being rear ended while I was at a stop. I broke my jaw. Then less than two weeks later I was stopped again and rear ended by a drunk driver going 90+mph causing me multiple injuries… Fast forward about nine months and I was broadsided by a lady who ran a stop light. Ten months later I was on a one way street and got hit head on. That was four TBIs in a two year period. I had been hit two more times after that and then my last one was in 2010, I was on the freeway going 70mph and my front tire came loose and I flipped 3x. I was life flighted and by far it was the most severe of them all. I was never made aware of of them until my most current one. I wish I knew why I was having all the problems I was having and could have gotten help over the years instead of suffering. Anyways a long story short I had seven TBIs total from motor vehicle accidents.’
‘Slipped and fell three metres down concrete steps and my head hit a limestone wall near the bottom on way down. Then car accident two years and eight months later an elderly man got confused between the brake and accelerator and slammed into the passenger side of my parked car…my head was hit in the exact same spot as the fall and I had only started driving again…I don’t believe things happen in threes…’
‘Which one?? My very first happened when I was eleven: I hit a car head on with my bicycle and spent two and a half weeks in a coma. When I woke up I couldn’t see so they put me in a drug induced coma. When I woke up from that coma I was unable to speak and had no fine motor skills on the right side of my body.’
‘T-boned was the worst one then another one from fainting and face planting on a tile floor.’
‘Fell and split my head open when I was three and domestic violence years later’
‘MVA (motor vehicle accident) drunk driver four Years ago. Prior, domestic violence. I have to say reading all the comments we are some amazing people right here! Stronger together…glad I found this group’
‘I had an MVA and during the CT scan they found a brain tumor. So now I have the joy of dealing with both…’
‘Mine happened the three different times in my life but only was recorded once where it showed damage. Once when I had high fever that was untreated when I was a toddler, once when a speaker fell on my head when I was five years old and had to get five stitches. And once when I was eighteen years old when I was in car wreck and suffered from severe concussion and had to get over one hundred stitches in my head.’
‘Long story, I’ve had threee medically unexplained blackouts that led to head injuries. Assorted body parts have been broken in the process (some permanently) but I’m still standing’
‘Two auto accidents. First was most severe. Likely had severe TBI from that but back then they had little knowledge and if they could get you out of the hospital, that was the extent of care. The second accident in 2005 was relatively unremarkable, but the whiplash tipped me over the edge to immediate and severe TBI symptoms. It took years of work to regain anything like normal function.’
‘Car accident 1997, things toppling off a shelf 2006, pipe fell on head 2007, flying fall off steps in ice/snow 2013.’
‘My story starts in the UK Army 1987. During Basic training I suffered a TIA (mini stroke) but the medics just said it was exhaustion. I came home in November 1987 after a stint in the guard room. On Xmas Eve 1987 I suffered a brain stem-haemorrhage. Long story short I was in a coma for a week when they fitted a shunt. Had the operation a few weeks later. Had another haemorrhage on operating table which caused a clot and the surgeon was unable to see any more aneurysms. Six months later it was found he hadn’t and I had a 3rd. Years went by. I trekked The Great Wall of China for Headway. Abseiled from very top of Humber Bridge towers 500ft. Became a chef. Four years ago I collapsed and rushed to hospital. There they found I’d had high blood pressure and an aneurysm had formed on the cerebellum threatening to burst and kill me. I had it injected with glue to block it but it gave the effects of a stroke. I’ve now had my PIP and my DLA stopped and forced to sign on and look for work.’
‘Repeated concussions (7), plus 2 electrocutions, and 2 totalled vehicle car accidents. Electrocutions: Once at 7 or 8 when I was bathing my sister threw a plug in and turned on a lamp in the tub with me. Once again at 27 putting up Christmas lights. They were plugged in as I was putting them out on the hedges outside. I ran my hand against a bare spot of just wire and got hit with electricity. Don’t know for how long but couldn’t let go until I fell back on a tree about 15ft’ behind me. It’s more of an anoxic brain injury due to lack of oxygen to the brain. But still grouped in the brain injuries.’
‘I’ve had multiples, but the main ones were falling 6 feet (off my dad’s shoulders) at age 9, hit by a car while riding my bike at age 31 and then the last biggie was a vehicle’s trunk that had lost it’s hydraulics and was propped up by a stick landing on my head.’
‘TBI 1) Had an undiagnosed sinus infection that traveled to my brain/skull TWICE. It returned after my 1st craniotomy and nineteen days later I had my second.
TBI 2) I somehow (no memory so idk if it was intentional or not) overdosed on my seizure meds and had a massive seizure during which I regurgitated into my lungs… Spent two weeks in a coma’
‘For my 5th and most recent concussion, I stupidly put my hand through the handle of a dog leash while leading a 200lb buck goat. He got his legs tangled up in electric fence and because he was being shocked he freaked out and was running and leaping all over the place, dragging me around like a little rag doll on the end of that leash, over rough, lumpy, rocky ground.’
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#BrainQA is a Q&A to bring brain injury survivors together and to raise brain injury awareness. Every Monday at 8pm (UK time) on facebook, twitter and instagram
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Two falls; many beatings to the head when I was a child; one car accident; thrown from a bike, a horse, and a motorcycle. Amazed to still be here and relatively functional! In my late 50s now and the effects have piled up …