With a brain injury, one never knows how the person will change. After Taylor had her accident, I read many accounts from caregivers and patients themselves who warned not to expect the post-injury person to be the same person pre-injury. Of course, this is a very scary thought for family members who wonder how their loved one will change because of the injury. There are certainly some very grumpy patients here at Craig who say nasty things to their caregivers (but who knows whether they were like this before or because of their accident?). Luckily, Taylor is not one of these people. She has been very conscientious about not missing her classes, apologizes if she coughs after taking a sip of water because she still can’t cover her mouth well, and says, “Thank you,” all the time. There are definitely times that she is sad about her situation, and she understands how hard she must work to get back to where she was. She is quite a trooper. She actually cracks quite a few jokes throughout the day, especially about her personal care issues. As you can imagine, not being able to work your arms and legs means that you depend on people to help you with going to the bathroom, bathing, eating, etc. (Taylor has gotten over being embarrassed with needing help with these things some time ago.) We even have a few running bathroom jokes about how they do things here at the hospital.
Lately, Taylor has been feeling nauseated and vomiting. We think it’s because they have been giving her very high levels of magnesium supplement, but it is hard to know for sure. When she doesn’t feel well, sometimes she’ll be late or miss her classes, which makes her upset (because she is conscientious). The sickness also makes it hard for her to keep up her weight, which she needs to do since she already lost about 10 pounds since the accident. She also needs to show that she is eating enough by mouth in order to get the PEG tube out. Hopefully, this will be resolved soon.
Hang in there Taylor and keep strong. That goes for your mum and dad too.
Dear Taylor, there is so much to be attentive to and learn about as you continue to heal in so many ways. My son is two years old now and he is just learning how to say “Thank you.” He says it all the time (even when it doesn’t exactly make sense to say so) and is very charming. A thank you can get you pretty far in life. With gratitude for you and your family, Rev. Rebecca
Taylor, you are Amazing!
Blessings from Santa Monica.
Wow, how inspiring. Taylor, I wish you could meet my sister. She is more like your mom’s age so not quite your peer. She is disabled due to Multiple Sclerosis and needs someone to help her with self-care every day. She is happy and brave and motivates everyone to be a better person. I so admire her. And now I am developing the same admiration for you. Take care, Vilma
Thank you for writing this, it’s such a relief to know that she’s getting back to her old self. <3
Kit, thank you for this update. I recall that Taylor was a conscientious even as an eight year old, carefully doing her homework. It seems this hasn’t changed!