After the Injury

In the case of many traumatic brain injuries, the effects of the accident are not always felt immediately. Those who have injuries in motor vehicle accidents (MVA) sometimes feel nothing when the injury occurs. However, reality sets in the day after the accident. Sometimes the body is not aware of the pain right away.

This is often the case when individuals experience coup-contracoup injuries. These are most often endured in car accidents. This injury can take place when a vehicle comes to an abrupt stop. The brain is forced forward within the skull, and hits pointed bone inside the cranium. Injury to the brain can also be caused due to the impact. A coup-contracoup injury can actually cause a shearing away effect on the brain. Axons and cells that exist within the brain are torn and dislodged from their original locations, hence causing a brain injury.

Some may go for weeks without any symptoms of brain damage. Whiplash is known to cause brain injury as well, because your body is moving at a faster rate of speed than your automobile is.

So why are you experiencing physical and emotional changes? It’s a simple fact. You’ve endured a brain injury, and with brain injury comes pain, physical pain, emotional changes, and stages of recovery.

Many who suffer traumatic brain injuries go through a period of confusion where they don't understand what has happened to them. This varies from person to person. For those who were comatose as a result of acquired brain injuries, it is very confusing for them to understand why they are in a hospital. Sometimes people get violent. These individuals may think they are dreaming, while those who suffer TBI, on the other hand, may be in the confusion stage anywhere from a couple of moments to a couple months.

This is much more complicated for children. It is difficult for them to understand why they are suddenly waking up in a hospital. There have been cases where children have come out of long comas, believing that it is the same day that their injury occurred. And because children’s brains are still developing, doctors can not tell what effects the injury will have as they get older. They can diagnose the immediate effects determined by CT Scans, angiograms, and MRI’s, but as children grow and change, so may their disabilities.

When dealing with TBI, problems with cognition frequently result. Most survivors of traumatic brain injury are able to attend to their personal care needs and can move around on their own. But in many cases, emotional problems limit them. While brain injuries, can cause changes in one’s vision, they are not noted for causing blindness. Unlike ABI, traumatic brain injuries have the ability to have an effect on the entire brain. Acquired brain injuries are often termed strokes, because of their basic nature. Some ABI's involve bleeding much like that of a stroke, And with ABI, a specific hemisphere of the brain is usually damaged.

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