The last day of my first life occurred on September 18, 2006. Eighteen years and 3 days ago.
On that day, a drunk driver stole a truck, jumped a curb, and compressed a parked car. I was in the car. The good news is I survived. The bad news was brain damage.
Most of us lose people we love. I lost the person I was. Plus the home I lived in with my child, my work as a freelance writer, and the income I had earned.
There are one hundred trillion neural connections in the human brain. That looks like this: 100,000,000,000,000. That is more connections in one human brain than there are stars in the Milky Way.
One hundred billion neurons -- woven together in a pulsating tapestry of 100 trillion electrical connections -- make us who we are — or were. Mine were broken by the same type of injury former Representative Gabrielle Giffords suffered when she was shot in the head.
Each year, an estimated 2.5 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury. Of these, over 60,000 die and another 80,000 suffer permanent disability, which means they lose the lives they had. In addition, hundreds of thousands lose the child, or mom, or dad they had.
These are the numbers of these conditions that occur in the U.S. each year:
Traumatic brain injury 2,500,000
New cancer cases 1,900,000
Heart attacks 805,000
Strokes 795,000
TBIs are more common than heart attacks in the US.
Recovery means returning to your former life, regaining your former mind. Most people can’t. Rehab means learning to live with what you have left. As in learning to walk again. Learning to talk again. Learning to read again. And write again.
Disabled people are the single largest minority in the world, and likely the least heard from. It’s also the only minority anyone can join at any time.
I’m sharing our story not because I think it is exceptional, but because I know it is not. Many others with similar stories can’t write because they’re more disabled than I am or because they lost their lives.
According to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHSTA), 2 out of 3 Americans will be impacted by drunk driving in their lifetime. Each statistic is a person. Each death is preventable, as is each injury.
FYI, every 65 seconds, Alzheimer’s takes up residence in another American. Every 21 seconds, or three times more often, traumatic brain injury breaks another American brain.
Hello Judith
I did not realize that the statistic was so high. My twins suffered a brain injury at birth due to medical negligence. One is severely disabled and doesn’t speak and uses a wheelchair. The other is doing incredibly well considering how they started out.
Actually, both are doing incredibly well given they began a 1 pound each.
In someways, they are the happiest people I know.
I love that you’re here and sharing your stories. You are a remarkable writer and inspiration.
Thank you for sharing your words with me.