Brain Injury

You’ve learnt that one of the most important people in your life has a brain injury. Do you feel shocked, angry, numb or afraid?

Do you feel like life is unfair?

One thing is certain – you don’t feel good.

Before you learn about brain injury, it’s important to recap a few key things about the brain.

The brain

Your brain is like the “control centre” of your body. It helps you think, move, feel, and understand the world. Even though it’s one organ, different parts of it (called lobes) have special jobs, kind of like different players on a sports team. When a brain injury happens, those jobs can get harder, depending on which lobe is affected.

Click and explore below:

What is a brain injury?

A brain injury happens when the brain gets hurt, any time after birth. This can happen by non-traumatic or traumatic causes.

Non-Traumatic Brain Injury

A non-traumatic brain injury happens when something inside the body causes damage to the brain. This can happen because of:

• A stroke (when blood flow to the brain is blocked or vessels bursts)
• A lack of oxygen (from drowning or a heart attack)
• Illnesses or infections (such as meningitis)
• Poisoning or drug overdoses (that harm brain cells)

Example: If someone has a stroke and their brain doesn’t get enough oxygen, it can cause a non-traumatic brain injury (or ABI).

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

A traumatic brain injury happens when something outside the body causes damage to the brain. This could be from:

• A hard hit or blow to the head (such as in a car crash, a fall, or a sports accident)
• Something going through the skull and into the brain (such as a gunshot wound)

Example: If someone falls off their bike and hits their head hard on the pavement, that could cause a traumatic brain injury (or TBI).

How are brain injuries diagnosed?

Diagnosing a brain injury involves several steps to understand the extent of the damage to the brain.

First, doctors understand the incident that caused the injury and any symptoms your special person might be experiencing, like headaches, confusion, or dizziness.

Doctor’s will conduct a physical exam to check your special person’s reflexes, coordination, and balance. To get a detailed look at their brain, doctors often use imaging tests like CT scans or MRIs, which create pictures of the brain to identify any bleeding, swelling, or fractures.

The table below tells you about different tests your special person may have, what happens and how they may feel.

What happens after a brain injury?

The journey after a brain injury can be challenging and complex, involving multiple stages of recovery and adjustment. Here’s an overview of what you might experience.

Immediately

• An emergency response occurs where getting immediate medical help is crucial. This might involve hospital admissions and different diagnostic tests to assess the damage. Your special person will have initial treatment where they are stabilised and their symptoms are managed to prevent further injury. This might involve surgeries, medication and other interventions. If you would like to learn more about hospitals, you can click here.

Early Recovery

• Rehabilitation often starts early and includes physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. These therapies help your special person attempt to regain lost skills and adapt to new challenges. In rehabilitation, realistic short-term and long-term recovery goals are set. Examples of goals are:
  • To be able to shower and dress every morning without help
  • To use my nurse call bell when my morning medications are due
  • To be safe walking outside and crossing roads with one person helping me
  • Independently use my wheelchair to get around inside without bumping into anything
• Emotional adjustment begins where both you and your family may experience a range of emotions, from shock and sadness, to frustration and hope. Psychological support and counselling can be very helpful during this time. Reach out to someone you trust, at school, work or within your social networks.

Ongoing Recovery

Continued Therapy

• Your special person may have ongoing rehabilitation which is often a long-term process where regular therapy sessions continue to play a vital role in recovery, helping your special person to improve their mobility, communication and cognitive/thinking skills. Accessing community resources such as support groups and specialised programs, can provide additional support and encouragement.

Long-Term

• You and your family will begin living with changes where you may need to adjust to Permanent changes in your special person’s abilities and roles within the household. This can involve finding new ways to enjoy activities and maintaining social connections. When, or if, it’s time for your special person to return to work, different rehabilitation services can help with finding suitable employment, job retraining and workplace accommodations.
• Building a strong emotional and social support network of family, friends and professionals is crucial. Support groups provide a space for young people and families to share experiences and learn from others facing, or having faced, similar challenges. If you are experiencing mental health issues, therapy and linking with your general practitioner (GP) may help you manage Depression , anxiety or other emotional responses to your special person’s injury. Find resources that may help you here.

Hope and Resilience

• Celebrating progress of your special person and your own adjustment is important. Celebrate milestones, small victories and progress, no matter how minor they seem. Thinking positively is important for maintaining motivation and a positive outlook for you and your special person. If you set your own goals, they may need to change over time. It’s important to be flexible and adapt to new challenges and achievements you face in your life.
• Plan for the future and look ahead which may involve creating new memories with your special person, starting work, finding new hobbies and interests. Over time, many young people and families find new strengths and resilience, discovering that they can adapt and thrive despite the challenges posed by a brain injury in the family.

What are the stats?

• There are over 700,000 Australians living with a brain injury
• Worldwide, over 69 million people each year sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Stroke is the 3rd leading cause of disability world wide
• Over $400 billion globally is spent each year on people with a TBI
• Most TBI’s are classified as mild

Will my special person get better?

Predicting how your special person will recover after a brain injury is difficult to answer because it depends on:

• How the brain injury happened
• What parts of the brain were hurt
• How widespread and serious the injury is

If you ask the question “will my special person get better?”, you may hear the doctor’s, health professionals or your family say “we don’t know” which may be the only honest answer they can give.

What is needed to understand your special person’s recovery is time.

The level of recovery after a brain injury is different for each person. You may experience small changes in your special person, or there may be big changes, or disabilities, that are lifelong. No matter the changes, hold onto hope and explore new ways of making life enjoyable and fulfilling.

Changes

Brain injuries change the way brains work, so it’s no wonder that lots of changes can happen to your special person. Changes extend out to everyone around around them, including you.

Let’s see and hear from a mum and two dad’s about their experiences of having a brain injury. They share how they got their injuries and how these experiences brought them closer to their families. They discuss the impact on their children and what kids might go through. Their reflections are warm and caring, offering new insights into their new perspectives on life, their happiness, and even their thoughts on food!

When life suddenly changed for our kids

…and importantly, how our kids helped us heal

Can I see all the changes to my special person?

No. After a brain injury, people can experience both visible and invisible changes.

Visible changes might include physical symptoms like difficulty walking, moving parts of their body, or how they complete tasks like having a shower. Some people use different equipment to help them, such as lifting machines to get them out of bed, or a wheelchair to mobilise indoors and outdoors.

Invisible changes can be just as significant but harder to notice. These include issues with memory, concentration, and emotions. For example, your special person might feel more anxious or have mood swings. They might find it hard to remember conversations or find it hard to concentrate on tasks like housework. They may have difficulty recognising people and what things are used for. For example, they might look at a mobile phone and think it’s used to brush their hair. They might say or do things that they wouldn’t have said in the past. For young people, experiencing these changes can be embarrassing and frustrating. This is normal!

Video: Re-building Brain Power

Watch the video below to understand how you can help your special person re-build brain power when they’ve experienced invisible changes.

**add in educational video # 2 (re-building brain power)

What else can you do to help your special person?

In addition to the suggestions in the video above, here are some general things that other teens have done to help their special person. Pick one or two things you could try each week:

• Spend time with them = watch a movie, read a book or have a chat. Ask for help with homework or talk about things happening in your life. Give hugs. Say “I love you” or just hang out in silence
• Help when you can = empty the dishwasher, pick up your clothes or offer to cook a meal. Little gestures like this can make a big difference
• Be patient = you are all experiencing stress so use different strategies like taking some time out, shooting hoops, or going for a walk if you are getting frustrated
• Share a laugh = talk about fun times and memories or watch a comedy show. You’re not responsible for making everyone happy, and know that you can only do so much
• Be real = be yourself and share your feelings and experiences – good or challenging – as it’s ok to share this and let others comfort you. Showing emotions is a real super power!
• Keep them in the loop = tell your special person what you’ve been up to and what’s happening in your life. Ask how their day has been
• Help with your younger siblings = play with them to give your parents or caregivers a break
• Keep a journal together = write your thoughts down, put in photos or draw things in a book that you share. This can help share your feelings when it might be hard to say them out aloud

It is normal for people to experience different changes after a brain injury. Have a look at the table and see how you could help your special person if they have had changes to their:

Brain injury myths