fourcatmom Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Just thought I would post another update on my dd who suffered her second concussion just about seven months ago. We have had a long few months. Not sure what the last update I posted was but back in early May they took her off school completely and put her on complete brain rest and gave her medication to ensure that she rested and slept. We had a pretty horrible May and at one point they were even worried she may have suffered a stroke. She is on a combination of new meds now, some that enhance her mood and one still to make sure she sleeps at night, which takes a while to wear off in the morning. She had one break for about 10 days where she was great with no headaches and a good attitude and then it went downhill again. Her last stretch of headaches lasted 13 days. They are trying different meds to see if they are tension headaches or migraines. She started Neuropyschology counseling and she does that weekly. They are still evaluating for PTSD. She has an appointment in the TBI specialty clinic in August. She will undergo the 6 hours cognitive testing sometime in August or September. She will likely have a modified schedule come August with an IEP for support. On the up side, once she balanced back out in early June she asked the doctor if she could try riding again. Up until that point she had no interest in doing so. The doctor, to my surprise gave her the ok. He said it was important for her complete healing. She has worked pretty hard over the past few weeks, at first she could only do about 10 minutes and then would get off pale and sick to her stomach. Now, she has worked up to about 30 minutes. Today, she competed in her first show! It was just one class and it was for new show riders. There were only 3 kids and she came in 3rd but she did it! Nearly seven months later I feel like I am finally getting my old kid back. I know she still has a long road ahead of her and she was nervous leading up to today but it was something she wanted to do. And, she came home and slept for 5 hours after! Anyways, just wanted to share an update with you all. You've been so supportive in our recovery journey and we finally had some good news to share! :D 38 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkTulip Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 So glad to hear things are improving! My oldest DS has had two concussions and for a while there with the second one, we weren't sure if he was ever going to be able to function independently again. Fortunately, he is fine now with no residual effects, but the healing process can be scary at times. Hang in there Mama - sounds like she is doing great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Hugs, and such progress!!! I know it probably feels slow now, but years from now this will be a blip on the radar, because you have listened to her and your gut and done what needs to be done. Good job, Mama! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 (Hugs) Thanks for updating us! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Thank you for sharing. Praying that time heals. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 (((Hugs))) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplejackmama Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Thanks for the update. I think of her (y'all) often and am happy to see this. Curious, has her appetite came back? I remember at one point that was a major concern. Continued prayers for your daughters full and complete healing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Glad she is able to ride again for at least short amounts of time. Hopefully that will be healing as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooCow Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 What an awesome kid you have! That's wonderful that she literally got back on the horse!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 Thanks for the update. I think of her (y'all) often and am happy to see this. Curious, has her appetite came back? I remember at one point that was a major concern. Continued prayers for your daughters full and complete healing. Aw, thank you for that. I always if wonder if people actually like the updates on stories that they have read. I just know I posted so much about her and received such great support that I wanted to share a bit of the good as well. Her appetite is still an issue. Overall, she has lost 20 lbs. The medication that makes her sleep, also gives her an appetite which is why they picked it and it also suppose to help her mood too. She is also on prozac now and that was just increased to 20mg recently. So, yes she is eating better but not without the help of medication. In fact in May they took her off the trazadone because she was so off. She kept hitting her legs and telling me she couldn't feel them. She didn't want her medication, she didn't want to eat. She literally said she just wanted to "waste away". May was a tough month! Taking her off that medication seem to make all the difference. They said she would probably be on the medication for the next 6 months at least so we still have a long road ahead but slowly things are getting there. The counseling is a huge plus and I think that will help long term. So far June has been her best month yet. I do think she may have pushed herself too hard yesterday though. She took the 5 hour nap when she got home, was up at 7pm and still back in bed for the night by 10pm and slept for another 10 hours. Today, she has a bad headache and is back to lying in the dark. She will have a day of rest today and and hopefully she will feel better tomorrow. But, she didn't get the headache from the actual riding which is why they think it's more the PTSD then the concussion at this point. She is more nauseous and pale when riding. Figuring this out day by day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TianXiaXueXiao Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Prayers for your dd. I very much relate to her recovery journey. I was kicked in the head and trampled by a horse when I was 5 years old. It was a long recovery but I'm happy to say that the majority of my childhood was headache free after a couple years. Now I get tmj headaches which I think are much worse since it involves neck, shoulder, and sometimes chest pain! I hope she bounces back soon from this current flare. Brave girl! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 Prayers for your dd. I very much relate to her recovery journey. I was kicked in the head and trampled by a horse when I was 5 years old. It was a long recovery but I'm happy to say that the majority of my childhood was headache free after a couple years. Now I get tmj headaches which I think are much worse since it involves neck, shoulder, and sometimes chest pain! I hope she bounces back soon from this current flare. Brave girl! Oh! Stories like this are hard to hear. I have no doubt that my being narcotic about her while she is around horses is not helping her! In some ways I would have been content to see her walk away from riding altogether but I know this is what she loves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TianXiaXueXiao Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 My apologies. I didn't mean to frighten you. I continued to ride for the rest of my childhood until I moved away for college. I never had another accident and the initial accident was due to not having parental supervision and being a little girl who wanted to sit on the neighbor's horse that was tied to my porch! I later did ride that horse after he was actually broken and there were no hard feelings. Fandango was his name. A beautiful animal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 My apologies. I didn't mean to frighten you. I continued to ride for the rest of my childhood until I moved away for college. I never had another accident and the initial accident was due to not having parental supervision and being a little girl who wanted to sit on the neighbor's horse that was tied to my porch! I later did ride that horse after he was actually broken and there were no hard feelings. Fandango was his name. A beautiful animal. No worries. I was teasing. This has been a hard process for me but I am slowly getting back to where I was and I am able to enjoy watching her ride again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted August 12, 2015 Author Share Posted August 12, 2015 How quickly things turn from good to bad. The last post was at the end of June. She had been doing better. July 11th was the last time she rode, one month ago today. She just quit. She doesn't want to ride, doesn't want to go to the barn and doesn't want to talk about it anymore. She is doing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy weekly and all of sudden she just stopped talking about the horses and refused to do so anymore. July was absolutely horrible. She was completely withdrawn and it was a trial to just get her out of bed. The doctor finally switched up her meds early August and things have been slightly better. We went to the TBI clinic today and he told us she is not ready to do school which I guess doesn't surprise me given her day to day energy but I thought they would have her do something. He said school was like a marathon and she was no where close to being ready for that. He said realistically it would probably take another year and was doubtful that she should ever ride again. Absolutely no riding now (even if she wanted to). He said she could try and walk for 30 minutes at a time but if she got a headache or felt sick then she needed to stop. That's psychically where she is at right now. We are almost at 9 months. He also said she was severely depressed. He had her score her symptoms and said at 15 they call in a psychiatrist. She is at 19. There were many nights in July where I wished they would have hospitalized her. Not in a psych ward but I would have felt better if she had been in a hospital with someone watching her. They said they don't do that. I wasn't really thinking she would do something to herself but I felt like I was loosing her. Just feeling overwhelmed with the new information. I guess it's stuff I already knew as we have living it but it's so damn wearing. By the time we left for the appointment and got home it was almost 4 hours. I guess I am just tired and I thought things were improving. I am just sad she is still struggling so much and what this means for her long-term. I know it could be worse and I am grateful that at some point she will get better but right now it's just hard. Thanks for listening. it helps to get it off my chest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 (Hugs) The hive is here whenever you need a listening "ear". More (hugs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 (((HUGS))) Wish I could buy you a coffee and listen. Praying for a good need combo and healing - for all of you guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 ((Hugs)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 thank you for updating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 So sorry. Can you find a support group, even if only online, for Traumatic Brain Injury? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 :grouphug: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 :sad: :grouphug: I 'liked' your first post before I realized that it was old and that you had updated. I'm sorry you all are walking through this. So hard, I'm sure, to know just how to handle it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I am so sorry. It is hard dealing with sick kids and especially hard when it is an area where a bowl of chicken soup is not the cure. Praying for you both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I 'liked' your first post before I realized that it was old and that you had updated. I'm sorry you all are walking through this. So hard, I'm sure, to know just how to handle it all. Me too. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplejackmama Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Oh I'm sorry. I was just thinking about your family this week. I didn't want to see this post. Ugh. What a nightmare!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted August 12, 2015 Author Share Posted August 12, 2015 Thank you everyone. I didn't get much sleep but hoping today is a good day. If any of you can help me plan high school for my 9th grader I just posted on that board. I'm so tired and stressed I have no clue what her year will look like and school starts in two weeks. Thanks for the cyber hugs I needed those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 In case this might help: http://www.biausa.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 If at some point she'd like to talk to someone that has a brain injury, and is living a fantastic life even with the long term effects, PM me. A writer friend has a brain injury (in fact, she's unable to learn touch typing even though she writes really well), and she is also an artist. She draws, paints and sculpts amazing things. Shes also a mom and wife. I'm sure she'd be willing to talk to your daughter about the frustrations of not being able to do what you want as well as working around those limitations eventually. Also, if your daughter can't do school, could she do some sort of art? Maybe even art therapy? doesn't have to be "good", just an outlet, you know? Hell, just swirling colors, playing with clay, etc might be good. I know that veterans with TBI often find a lot of peace in art therapy. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/arts-and-health/201308/art-therapy-and-mild-traumatic-brain-injury http://www.health.mil/News/Articles/2015/03/18/Art-Therapy-Provides-Pathway-to-Healing-for-Those-with-Traumatic-Brain-Injuries http://www.brainlinemilitary.org/content/multimedia.php?id=8090 This is one of the dolls my friend sculpted, fyi: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I'm sorry. I can't imagine how long the road must seem. Off to the high school boards... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mominco Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewe Mama Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 Thank you for the suggestions. I have been so tired today, I will look them all over. I think art therapy is a great idea, maybe even an art class if I can't find art therapy. You would think there might be support groups for TBI or PTSD for kids and families. I will look into those. thank you again 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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