My Brain Injury Part I - The New Sensation

As I have said in my introductory blog it was a horse riding accident that changed my life completely. I don't remember coming out of the saddle, I don't remember hitting my head on the ground the first time but I remember my head on the up bounce and landing gently back on the ground. The air left my lungs with a groan, my ribs hurt and I remember trying to cover my mouth with my hand in the mistaken idea that I needed carbon dioxide to get my breathing going again, (that was for hyperventilation not winding you goose). I passed out. When I woke I felt woozy. My ribs hurt a lot now and I wasn't sure what to do. I checked my watch and realised I had been unconscious for up to 10 minutes. Before the dramatic exit from the saddle I had checked my watch and decided I had time for another round of the paddock. My horse thought otherwise obviously.

I could see the Piece of Poop grazing happily not far from me and knew I had to get on my feet. My legs worked, my ribs hurt but gradually I was up. The world seemed a little hazy but I wanted to get home.

I approached the Piece of Poop and she allowed me to climb into the saddle as if nothing had happened between us. I had to ride home because I didn't feel as if my legs would carry me that distance. It was a very mellow trip home through two gates and past the mailbox.

I felt a tad tired by now and decided to relax in front of the TV. All was OK until my vision started to swim. I got out our home medical book and decided to seek advice.

Head Injury:

Unconsciousness? SEE DOCTOR NOW.

It's only one symptom.

Patient cannot remember injury? SEE DOCTOR NOW.

Yeah yeah, I don't think so.

Visual problems? Lethargy? SEE DOCTOR NOW.

Groan, OK I better act on this.

So much for taking advice, it was not what I wanted to hear. I contacted my doctor's office and they told me to get myself to hospital straight away. I phoned my neighbour and asked her if she could please collect my children, then aged nine and 12, who got off the school bus at her place, and drive me to hospital. I phoned the Lovely Husband and told him about it. He was about 40 minutes away and would meet me at the hospital. My very good neighbour grabbed some afternoon tea for the Short Ones and came and collected me.

I assured my neighbour that it was OK to just drop me off at A & E and against her better judgement she did just that. As I approached the hospital doors I needed one of the Short Ones for support because my legs seemed a little unco-ordinated. It seems that people with head injuries and that need to hold onto the counter so that they don't fall over get seen to pretty darn quick. Alright! I'll be outa' here soon enough. I have to say at this point that the young doctors in Emergency are very nice and thorough but the equipment they are forced to use is bloody pathetic. This poor young doctor went through four ophthalmoscopes before he found one that worked long enough to look into my eyes. And that one was held together with sticking plaster and he had to hold it in just the right way so it would stay on. I had a CT of the head which turned out to be normal. (The sometimes Lovely Husband laughed at that one of course). I spent a total of four hours in observation. The Lovely Husband took the Short Ones home and came back for me later. The hospital staff were supposed to take an x-ray of my ribs but forgot and I did not remind them, I just wanted to go home.

This was a Thursday night and we had planned a long weekend away with friends to the mountains starting the next day. It was mid winter and we were going to play tourist and climb an almost mountain, bush walk, eat, drink and be merry. On discharge the doctor told me I could still go but "probably shouldn't drive". I could handle that.

I had no concept of what a brain injury would mean to me at this stage, yes I felt unwell, unsteady and I was in a kind of haze but I had no head pain and I was quite relaxed and lucid.

Early the next morning two carloads of us travelled to the mountains. The road is steep and windy and at every bend I had to hold my ribs firmly with my hands. At every stop and start, bump and swerve I had to hold my ribs. But otherwise I was OK. The trip takes about two hours and we arrived in the crispy cold of the mountain town we were staying in. We played tourist; lookouts, bit of bush walking (or in my case bush wobbling), historical sites and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt ill and beyond tired. My head was spinning and all I wanted to do was lie down. Someone took me back to the house we were staying in and I slept for an hour or so. Maybe this brain of mine was not as quite OK as first thought.

I did not climb the almost mountain, I had a hot chai latte in the local park with one of our other party who has emphysema. We read the paper and people-watched. I did not drink any alcohol. I did not manage a game of Upwords (I could not find any words in all those letters). But we had a lot of fun and I came back home holding my ribs which were hurting even more now.

I did not go to work on the Monday as planned but went to the local doctor who gave me a few days off work and an x-ray of my ribs which were not broken. It would turn out that a "few days" would not be nearly enough time.

And so began the interesting journey of recovery but that is for another post.