Karl Curtis: Brain injury is more common, and more debilitating, than you think – Madison.com

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Despite the fact traumatic brain injuries (TBI) occur more frequently than do breast cancer diagnoses, HIV/AIDS infections, multiple sclerosis cases, and spinal cord injuries combined, Im willing to bet most people did not know this.

In truth, everyone should know about brain injury because it can strike anyone, anywhere at any time. All it takes is an accidental blow to the head or unexpected medical diagnosis. If this happens, as it did to my family, you will need to become aware quickly.

Nineteen years ago my oldest son, then 9 years old, fought and beat brain cancer with the help of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Unfortunately, the same treatments that saved his life also damaged his brain. The fact my sons post-treatment TBI has had a far greater effect on his life than cancer may sound incredible so some, but it is true. Cancer can be defeated, but a brain injury lingers.

To be clear, the manner in which my son acquired his brain injury is unusual. The vast majority of TBI result from falls, motor vehicle accidents, assaults, and accidental collisions. This raises another important point: Nobody plans to get a brain injury. A missed step on the stairs, a driver who runs a red light, or a wayward foul ball at a baseball game can leave anyone with a life-altering injury.

How might a TBI affect someone? My sons story provides some examples.

As a 9-year-old, my son was preparing to start gifted and talented programming at his elementary school. After his injury, simple math and even remembering to turn in his homework became difficult. Nineteen years later these cognitive problems still limit him professionally and personally.

Brain injuries can also hamper social and communication skills. We laugh at fictional Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory as he struggles to read emotions and detect sarcasm or humor in conversation. My son has these struggles every day. Its not funny.

Then there is the fatigue. When my son began sleeping 14 hours a day, my first thought was laziness. I later learned a damaged brain needs to work harder to do everything, even passive tasks such as watching TV or reading a book. Weve all had late nights and then struggled through the following workday. My son is tired like that every day.

My son also experiences bouts of anger, loneliness, depression and anxiety, all common symptoms of brain injury. His short-term memory is poor, and when something does interest him he fixates on it to the exclusion of all else. Too much stimulation, even from something as benign as a family holiday gathering, overwhelms him. Fortunately he does not experience the headaches other TBI survivors live with, nor the sensitivity to bright lights and loud noises.

My son is one of an estimated 50,000 people in Wisconsin who live with a brain injury. That estimate is likely low because a great many people who experience a brain injury dont seek treatment. Perhaps you know such a person. Does Grandpa seem different since he fell off the ladder? Has your co-worker been struggling since her bicycle accident? Have you not been yourself even though you left a physically abusive relationship months ago?

Keep in mind the fact someone looks fine on the outside does not mean there isnt damage internally.

If this sounds familiar, it could be a brain injury. Most of the 44,000 people in Wisconsin who go to the emergency room with a TBI each year recover without lingering symptoms, but for those who do not recover fully life can be a constant struggle.

Despite his challenges, my son is a terrific person. Hes friendly, loyal, kind and smart. He has a part-time job, he graduated from college, and he has performed lead roles in stage plays. In this sense he is like any of the hundreds of brain injury survivors I have met in my work.

Like most TBI survivors I know, he is also frustrated. He remembers his pre-injury self. He remembers when routine tasks were not a struggle, when making friends was easy, and when a satisfying and lucrative career seemed a sure bet.

He remembers normal. TBI has created a new normal.

So please, if you or someone you know is dealing with a new normal that may have been created by a TBI, regardless of how or when it occurred, see a doctor. Dont try to tough it out. You only have one brain, and it needs to serve you for your entire life.

Karl Curtis is the executive director of the Brain Injury Alliance of Wisconsin, anonprofit organization serving the states brain injury community since 1980. Its mission is the prevention of brain injury and the full participation in life for individuals with brain injury. For more information visit BIAW.org.

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Karl Curtis: Brain injury is more common, and more debilitating, than you think - Madison.com