balance.
We have had a rough couple of months, as you may have seen from my recent posts. Troy and I have always been really good at balancing each other out. When one of us falls, the other is there to pick up the slack. I truly felt the load was too much to handle and Troy wasn't able to pick up anything for me. This is life for us now. There are more times Troy isn't able to pick up the slack and the load continues to fall heavier on me. I had many months of "too much" and finally broke. I called our "911", also known as, Doctor Vandenberg. He was able to get us in fairly quickly which NEVER happens so we are extremely thankful for that. We switched some meds around a few weeks ago and life has been significantly easier ever since. Concerta is known to have some crappy side effects which we were experiencing in full force. Since Troy's head injury one of the many issues he faces is just plain irritation with everything and everyone. He gets so unbelievably frustrated with things that don't go his way and quickly becomes unreasonable. If he is set on it, it will be that way. His high dose of Concerta really heightened his irritability and made life just miserable for himself and for us. With the lesser dose, I feel like we are in working order again praise Jesus!
Overall, Troys appointment went well on wednesday. I feel like we are getting back on track and reevaluating some necessary things. This TBI life is a continuous balancing act. Doctor Vandenberg discussed options for us going forward. One of them being scheduling some sessions with a Psychologist through Mary Free Bed who could help teach Troy how to better his social skills while also managing himself and others a little better. He seemed interested in giving that a try. Many of you who knew Troy before the accident know how social he was. The kid was friends with everyone. Now, things are a little different. Socializing doesn't come as easy as it once did. Dr Vandenberg told us that this is 100% due to Troy's injury and is quite common with TBI survivors. I think this may be one of the more frustrating life changes Troy has had to cope with since his TBI. He often times feels like he has lost friends because "no one wants to hang out with him anymore". Although this particular situation could be far worse, like not being able to communicate or socialized at all, he does struggle with this. There are many times he claims he is too "awkward" in conversations with people. I recently read online about the "Twelve things you need to know before loving someone with a brain injury". One of them being; "We feel disconnected from people" Not being able to fully participate in activities sometimes shuts them out from their peers. That could not be more accurate for Troys situation. This is one big change he notices and feels really uncomfortable with at times. We're going to work on it and see how it goes.
One thing that Dr Vandenberg talks about every time we visit with him is his disbelief with where Troy is now compared to where he started. He reminds us that he never thought Troy would be back to work again. Which is one of the many huge blessings we are able to celebrate. No matter how hard days are at work or how frustrated he gets, he's there and we are so grateful for that! We are so thankful for Troys recovery and I'm so thankful for Troys drive to be the best Dad and husband he can be with his circumstances. This is no easy journey; we work extremely hard on ourselves to be better for each other to be the best for Brody. We have an incredible bond that we wouldn't have had without this journey. Our love for family and appreciation for health has quadrupled over the last three years. We have it good, even when it's hard!
Overall, Troys appointment went well on wednesday. I feel like we are getting back on track and reevaluating some necessary things. This TBI life is a continuous balancing act. Doctor Vandenberg discussed options for us going forward. One of them being scheduling some sessions with a Psychologist through Mary Free Bed who could help teach Troy how to better his social skills while also managing himself and others a little better. He seemed interested in giving that a try. Many of you who knew Troy before the accident know how social he was. The kid was friends with everyone. Now, things are a little different. Socializing doesn't come as easy as it once did. Dr Vandenberg told us that this is 100% due to Troy's injury and is quite common with TBI survivors. I think this may be one of the more frustrating life changes Troy has had to cope with since his TBI. He often times feels like he has lost friends because "no one wants to hang out with him anymore". Although this particular situation could be far worse, like not being able to communicate or socialized at all, he does struggle with this. There are many times he claims he is too "awkward" in conversations with people. I recently read online about the "Twelve things you need to know before loving someone with a brain injury". One of them being; "We feel disconnected from people" Not being able to fully participate in activities sometimes shuts them out from their peers. That could not be more accurate for Troys situation. This is one big change he notices and feels really uncomfortable with at times. We're going to work on it and see how it goes.
One thing that Dr Vandenberg talks about every time we visit with him is his disbelief with where Troy is now compared to where he started. He reminds us that he never thought Troy would be back to work again. Which is one of the many huge blessings we are able to celebrate. No matter how hard days are at work or how frustrated he gets, he's there and we are so grateful for that! We are so thankful for Troys recovery and I'm so thankful for Troys drive to be the best Dad and husband he can be with his circumstances. This is no easy journey; we work extremely hard on ourselves to be better for each other to be the best for Brody. We have an incredible bond that we wouldn't have had without this journey. Our love for family and appreciation for health has quadrupled over the last three years. We have it good, even when it's hard!
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