Body
I just celebrated my 55th birthday. I sure never dreamed that I could live, or wanted to live this long, especially right after my discharge from R.I.C. on August 24, 1982. My accident was on September 08, 1981. If you figure it out, I spent exactly 350 days in the hospital, 7 weeks in a deep coma and then 6 more weeks in a semi coma. I was given less than a 10 % chance of surviving the first night. My back was broken, T 10- T11 fracture dislocation causing a lesion of the spine, paralyzing my right leg.
My rib cage was all busted up, my collar bone on the right side was broken, a hairline fracture at the C6 vertebra. My cheekbone on the right side was shattered and the right side of my skull was crushed. I guess I was one of the lucky one's because other than all that, I didn't even get hurt. My Traumatic Brain injury had and still has quite a grip on my life.
I am completely deaf in my right ear from cranial nerve damage, my right eye is almost non-functional due to the cranial nerve damage, I am completely paralyzed on the left side and on top of all that I'm still just as crazy as I was before my accident. I really meant it when I said that I was one of the lucky ones, because my reasoning and cognitive thinking were not really affected by my TBI, at least not after the initial shock wore off.
Everybody who acquires a disability, pretty much undergoes the same six phases of death. Denial, anger, bargaining, frustration, depression, and acceptance. I never really went through the denial stage. Once I was fully out of the coma and fully aware of what had happened, there was no chance of denying it. Getting through the periods of depression are a little difficult. Everyone will be different. I was lucky again, in that a simple photograph got me through my periods of depression. It is a photograph of a Bull Moose grazing in a shallow lake surrounded by towering mountains. I took the photograph one year before my accident. Just looking at the photograph hanging on my wall invoked such a desire to get back to the beautiful area where I took the photo, it gave me the will to keep going. I wish there was something more encouraging that I could say to everyone out there who is living and dealing or knows someone who is dealing with a TBI, but there isn't.
Every TBI is different from the next one and even if the injuries are almost identical, each person will handle their injuries and the after effects differently. I will say that if you can survive long enough, things do get better. Your brain will transfer some thought and function processes to other parts of the brain that is not injured, some, but not all. I can now move my right leg and arm a little but nothing functional. But anything is better than it was. Nothing short of a miracle will give me back the use of my arm or legs, but you can't win them all .
Like many others before me, I have learned to live in a wheelchair and learned to depend on others for the everyday help that I need. And most important of all I have learned to depend and trust in the Lord to put the right people in my life to help me.
You can not give up, because the Lord does not put anything in our lives that He doesn't think we can handle. I was angry at the Lord for a long time because of my accident. One night while reading the Bible, in the Book of Kings I, it hit me, and I felt that I knew the reason for my accident. In fact I awoke the next morning thanking God for my accident, and for my surviving it. My accident wasn't a punishment as I had thought for a many years. I now look at my survival as a second chance at life.
As survivors you must find your niche in life, and go for it. My niche was and still is nature photography. I do believe that that is what has helped to keep me alive all these years. Researching, studying, and planning my photography trips to capture some of the world's most elusive critters on film, or as in my case now, on memory cards, and in some very non-accessible areas. Find your niche and pour your heart and soul into it, excel at it and encourage others to try, that's what keeps you alive inside.
I would be more than happy to talk to anyone about living with TBI or about photography. I'm no medical expert or even a photography expert, but I have picked up a few things over the years. Because of my hearing problems, email is the best way for me to converse. I can be contacted at:
David Farber…..
raptorfoto@sbcglobal.net
www.naturallyfarberphotos.com
Take care and God Bless
