BIHN Blog

 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Acceptance is a big challenge for me. Truthfully, after my accident, 𝗜 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁. Even though I was told I probably had a brain injury and should contact the Head Trauma after release from the hospital to investigate more, I wanted nothing to do with it. I felt like myself, just with physical issues. It's funny how the mind tries to shelter you from the reality of the injury. I was one of the lucky ones and was cared for by my parents in their home to help me after my release from the hospital. Even my brother from another province came rushing home to see me. I felt like I survived and just needed to fix the physical injuries and I would be fine. Even though I was having TBI symptoms, I'd blame the physical issues.   When I was released, I was told that I couldn't work and needed about a year off to start to heal...

 David A. Grant shares his newest Brainline Article...  Life After Brain Injury — An Unexpected Outcome March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, my 16th as a brain injury survivor. My social news feed and LinkedIn updates are overflowing with posts, comments, graphics, and other content by others acknowledging and actively participating in this month long event. Years ago, in my youthful naivete as a brain injury survivor, I assumed that the national mainstream media spotlight would shine brightly on those affected by brain injury. While there may be media coverage outside of those within the brain injury community, it’s largely a siloed happening. Step outside of the brain injury community, and you’ll hear a whole lot of crickets. This is neither good nor bad, it just is. Looking back on my own life, until my life became defined by brain injury, I had never heard of Brain Injury Awareness Month. Started in 1980 by the National Head Injury Foundation (which later bec...

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 I just finished our wonderful Paul's BIHN meeting and a theme that came up was isolation and making and keeping new friends. How do we explain our brain injury and allow people to see/interact with us and accept our limitations.   I thought I'd share a recent experience I had with an old friend. We were friends / acquaintances for over 10 year and connected through horses, but I hadn't seen her in 6 years. She knew me after my head injury. I was very high functioning back then and I would force myself to do anything and everything. No matter how I felt. I worked a full time job on afternoon shifts, ran my horse farm, and had my English mastiff breeding program. So I was an exhausted brain injury survivor who wouldn't accept my limitations. Until I crashed and had to re-evaluate my life.   I reconnected with this friend last year after leaving a toxic relationship and she helped me find an old farmhouse to rent that would a...

Have you ever ignored your better judgment? Disregarded that little voice in the back of your mind? Maybe someone is waiting for your decision, and you feel the pressure to immediately act, when you would rather think about it. You suspect you are making the wrong move, but you do it anyway. Eight years a traumatic brain injury survivor, I view all choices with the utmost caution. I have paid the price time and again for poorly made decisions, pushing my brain and body too hard. And I suffer afterwards. No matter how thoughtful I try to be, I found myself there again recently. My friend Michelle (a stroke survivor) was eager to get me out of my home. I had become homebound lately, easily going over a week without leaving the street I lived on. It was less challenging for my brain, which made me less symptomatic. Having less symptoms gave me better mental health. Even though this was the easier path, it was not necessarily the right one. When Michelle suggested meeting at a lo...

August 1957: Born. June 1975: Graduated High School. April 1981: Graduated College. September 1983: Married. March 1988: Became a father. September 1989: Had my last alcoholic drink with a 12-step program. I am a third-generation Licensed Professional Indiana Land Surveyor. I have been married for 42 years. My spouse has not divorced me, as is common in our situations. We have a son who is 37 years old. I have an Acquired Brain Injury. Because of that, I have never been accused of faking my brain injury, and I have not lost family like many others have. I sleep. Sleep is a common problem with brain injuries. I do not suffer from PTSD, which I am grateful for. Then came January 2016. On January 10, 2016, my wife took me to the E.R. after two days of vomiting and horrible balance. On January 12, I lost my ability to swallow. I could not walk. I could not eat. I was diagnosed with Brain Stem Encephalitis. I was confused. A feeding tube was surgically placed before they would tra...

How many times have you had to ask yourself what success means? What security means? When I think back to the day in 2017 that my work vehicle was rear-ended, I am still amazed at how unprepared I was for what the future would bring. I had been a government employee for twenty years when I had my accident. I had gone to college for my profession, studied hard, completed internships, and passed the required tests. The life of a park ranger was all-encompassing. I worked weekends, holidays, and night shifts. I considered this part of the job I had worked so hard for. I was born and raised on Minnesota’s Iron Range, an area of the state known for the economic challenges associated with mining. I had been determined to find a career that afforded me the things many people I knew back then had struggled to find - a steady paycheck with a living wage, health insurance, and a reasonable retirement. In short, security. However, I eventually realized that this mix of outdoor adventure and...

  Sometimes the work you never planned becomes the work that defines you. I’ve had the concept for this graphic in my head for a couple of weeks, but hadn’t found the time to bring it to life. You may have heard me reference an accident that happened more than 15 years ago. At the time, I could never have imagined this outcome. As I lay on Main Street, a crumpled mess of injuries, both visible and unseen, I wasn’t thinking about the future—let alone a life shaped by service, purpose, and community. The early years were hard. There were moments when I struggled deeply and questioned whether I would even make it through. I certainly never imagined that this would become part of our shared story. And yet, here we are. I have a deep appreciation for people with what I call a “giver’s heart.” Virtually every BIHN volunteer and board member embodies that spirit, showing up for this community again and again. Today, BIHN is a bona fide nonprofit. Last year alone, we welcomed a couple thou...