Download or read book Thriving After a Severe Traumatic Brain Injury written by Donavan Michael Vliet, Mr. and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-03-16 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about my traumatic brain injury recovery since 1969. I have with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) for almost fifty years. I believe God saved me for a reason. I am a child of God! This book documents my struggle to survive and how God has helped me through the good days as well as the bad days. Writing this book encourages me to move forward in spite of the brain change. The messages conveyed in this book has inspired me to pick up the TBI mantle and expand my vision of what is possible after the injury. This book encourages me to overcome any obstacle and achieve my dream. As I constantly stretch forward and live my life to the fullest, I know that the next adventure is going to be better, greater. At times it seems like I am in a "brain fog" as a result of the injury. It may not be fair that I suffered a traumatic brain injury; however, I believe I am able to deal with the brain change than someone else. So why not me suffering a TBI? The situation of brain-impairment may not change in my lifetime, but I will honor God nonetheless. I have seeds of greatness in the garden of my mind, however weeds (negative thoughts) will choke them, unless I am constantly vigilant about keeping the weeds out. Negative thoughts are bound to appear, but I have the right to not let them take rest in my life. I must pay attention to what plays in my mind. I only give thoughts of hope, thoughts of faith and thoughts of victory space to run in my mind, not thoughts of despair or disappointment. This book is testimony that I have been refreshed mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically by my recovery in the past and today. Better things tomorrow are just around the corner. Things that go wrong can shape me or scar me. God sometimes allows me to find myself in a place where I want something (mainly complete recovery from my brain change) so bad that I can't see past it. Sometimes, I can't even see God because of the fog. TBI is a hard and lonely experience to go through, filled with disappointments and uphill battles, but sometimes in life, the most painful lessons are best remembered. TBI is like navigating the maze with a blindfold. My hope is that these words help you in some way, and that you believe you can and that you will have a fulfilling life. With TBI the chaos of life is often too much for my sensitive brain to handle. Doctor visits and hospital stays are their own trials with a brain injury. It doesn't have to be a battle. I just have to learn and adjust to the brain change. In 1969, as a brain injury survivor I was misunderstood. I was either dead or visibly disabled (speech or motion defects), or I was just fine. I fell into the "just fine" group. No instruction to see a neurologist or mental health professional, or counselor was given. No emphasis to medicate problems was given; of course, there was probably no medicine to prescribe that would help. The brain is the stuff in my skull. But the mind is a lot like the Internet, a map of information collected from all my experiences and interaction with other people. I have a lot more power to decide what and when I do life than I think. Most my experiences were formed after the accident as I was still developing experiences when the injury occurred because I was a young teenager. I was still learning who I was and how I fit into life. I make mistakes, yet God is big enough and loves me enough to say He forgives me. I should actually believe Him. I shouldn't feel bad about all the times I have messed up because that is ignoring who God is and what He said. If I don't trust His forgiveness, it is like saying I don't really believe He's that good or that I don't deserve His forgiveness. When I accepted Jesus it is like I had been thrown a life preserver after my life was in a terrific collision. I looked like I had been hit by Jesus. I love it! I am safely bound to Him by a bright red rope of grace.