Ok ladies I am going to give it a go....From the day that the volcano went off in my head to say that my life changed is an understatement...Since then my journey has been one of blood sweat and tears, lost friendships ( a lost Mother) and new friendships made. It hasnt been easy but hey the brain injury was mine...I felt it.,earned it and own it...But the people that suffered are my Children and my Grand children.
In that time I have managed to smash up a great deal of my house...cause mayhem everywhere I have been,..not to mention flood my home and try to burn it down a few times...I have also fallen asleep while the kitchen is on fire and been completely oblivious to the events...I have over dosed on my drugs because I couldn't remember if I had taken them, sure that I hadn't ,I took them again,and then again.I spent a good part of two years learning to do the basics again like walk and talk while my sons did all the day to day washing, feeding and dressing required to get Mum back on her feet.When my Mother was to busy and saying things like ,"she will never walk again" my sons however were showing me pictures of motorbikes and saying, " if you want to ride again Mum you have to try harder" ....So I did , Biker Mum tried and tried and tried and in this, my 5th year since surgery, I spent a splendid two weeks on the Isle of Man racing around the island at speeds in excess of 130mph....all be it as a pillion...another feather I can add to my cap since surgery.I have ridden bikes since I was 14 ,but I had never been a pillion before. It was tough ,but what were once my passions are now my addictions..So I will be back on the Rock in may next year for the TT with my new bike buddies because the old ones I had before couldnt cope with the aggressive sometimes violent and down right rude me. But hey ho..My boys did it ,Their strength and unconditional love got me where I am today. We laugh a lot and still cry a lot also...but generally happy tears...,Christmas is always emotional. My first ,post surgery Christmas I spent in A&E having cut off the top of a finger while trying to chop a swede. Have you ever tried to tell a brain injury survivor ,you cant chop a swede when you only have the use of your left arm ..? and most definitely not when she is determined and holding a sharp knife...lol.....let me tell you this ,six stitches to put the top of a finger back on was my Christmas present from the NHS....and it hurt more than the brain surgery..I screamed like a baby while my son videoed it...Lucky for me my pain killing drugs for my head ,I was covered and I was back home to finish cooking dinner ,with the help of my sons this time. Having asked them why they let me do it on my own....I was put down a peg or two by them saying " Mum you have always told us we must learn by our own mistakes" .I didnt try to chop swede again until I had regained some control and strength in my right arm....I think we are quite lucky as a family...as a mum I naturally listen to my children and my children talk to me ,so we kind of had an understanding quite early on regarding our own feelings ..my biggest was the guilt of putting my young family through such trauma...and theirs was having to parent their parent...but we did it and we have accepted the change and not all of that change was bad....We have learned a lot about ourselves and each other and all for the greater good..It hasnt been easy ,its been down right scary at times......But if we can get through it anyone can. Honesty with each other and the help of a talking stick worked for us, along with the help of Dorset Charlie and her (soon to be printed on a T-shirt) oxford street on Christmas Eve blog......