My Matter...

Hard Day

2010-10-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I had a hard day.... I am greiving & is is so painful.. i am tryng my hardess, one foot in front of the oter... second by second. Is is so hard & painful. I am tryng so hard to figur my world out without my Rex & is is so so so hard. I feel that i am in a deep dark hole. My brain injury suport gruop, & dr.Cherly help me. My Rex undrstood me he protected me, he helped me, i am lost without him. I am praying for strenght. i so miss my life......

stugeling

2010-09-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

Life is so so hard & lonely... My world is so small of abilites. i try to go to what i can do but it is tuff win yuo can't drive to make sefl go & meet frends for thigs to get out. Win yuo arent abel to drive, or read, just take care of the daly stuff without havng pepol takng yuo evywere it is teribel.. I just like to sit in my Rex's chair most of the time. My frends that are widows can make sefl go & meet but I do not have that abilty my world is so so small I just feel sad & traped.. i am rely tryng very hard for the positives of my abilitys that i have. linda I so miss my hubin

Late Musican Music

2010-09-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

thank you new friend for reading my blog on Late Music, Kevin Brown. I am glad I was inspirational to you! God bless you back.
Linda Wells

2010-05-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

its been awhile cent I rited, so many thigs have been going on............2 many thigs. we are so excited our kids & the twins are comng for a visit tomorow. I will rite next week. linda

2010-04-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

HI THIS IS LINDA....
Brethe & PAUSE & PLAN those are big words for me... Yes important to remember. I try to do just that. ASO, one foot in front of the oter. It has been hard for me lately.. hope to get beter days ahed.
linda

TODAY WILL BE A BETER DAY!

2010-04-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

Yestrday was a hard day. I have to many thigs going on. The files in my head are to many.. I did some deep breath exercises today. I made a littel list for today. 1 thig to do. So glad the t.v. taping got canceled, I dont thik I wood be to good. But.......... Today is new & I decide to make it A BUTIFUL DAY!!!
Normies I am trying ... Linda says

2010-04-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

I did not go to the conference today. I am sure it was very good & informative for brain injury persons & famlys & caregivers. My Dr. Cherly was ther with her students from antioch!!! That is specal win she is involved. She gives so much. I am so hapy she is in my life. I truly wood not make it without her.
It's so impotant to have a neuro psycoligist. Hard for us to acept the new us & depresion is a tuf one, so many times yuo want to be who u were, but not going to hapen. But.......... be the actor smile act like yuo get thigs even win yuo dont. I am at aceptance most of the time.
Famly yuo so help me want to keep going... called grankids.. I just wish I lives by them or culd drive.

It is a butiful Day!!!!

2010-04-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday, frend Elizabeth coming to get me for lunch.. nice. the Brain Injury Center Conferenc is Saturday, stil don't know if I am going...
Starting to prepare for a T.V. taping Tuesday in Ventura.... I rely just spek frommy hart, reding it does not work at all for me. This time I want to tell pepol yuo must contunue to work hard, finding hobbys try thigs that yuo can't do, keep trying. I dont lke cant's so I say find the cans.... thigs ar so much harder win yuo hav a braininjury.... but ....yuo can go farter than the Dr's. tell yuo. Positive yes tuff... work.. I have chosen to push self with the help of my hubin & famly, frends, that only hav known me the new Linda, almost all frends from befor my acident they left me. Well it is there lost.!.... It makes me feel good win oter brain injury frends say I am a inspiration . 3 of them I have got to do public speking. 2 to go back to colege.

well thats all for today. love linda

2010-04-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

Well remicade was yestrday, went well. well yes i am a braininjury survivor, & I have chrohns disease. so I get remicade infusion every 6 weeks.. so I can eat. It is going well. Brain Injury Center (BIC) has conference this Sat. Hope it goes well. Many profesionals I hope...........
I did all my erand today with Mari... good day. I was on task, I did prety good. List complete.. yeh.
I am doing a T. V. show next week, that will be fun. Me the brain jurred person talkng abuot what it is like in the my thiking my head & what it is like in my day with some normies asking question. Shuld be interesing. Me with the normies... Oh boy. They have no clue.
Well till tomorow ....Good Nite, Linda

Linda"s Day

2010-04-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

The famly visit was fun but very tiring..........Stil resting.. Yes yuo say but yuo hav been resting.. yes but .. it takes alot of of me win i am with oters. lots of stimuli. oters takling, laughing just lots going on. I smil & act like it get whatever is going on . All my braininjured frends get it. So i am stil taking it easy today.
Tomorow will be a beter i just know i will be charged back up.

good nite my frends.. Linda

2010-04-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

Hi to all....
Hapy Easter! My famly was here , we went to " The Getty Museum " a few days ago, we hav been havng fun.....

I am so tired..... canceled brunch i culd not make it.. Sleep, relax, do noting alday.
I will rite tomorow i hope... linda

BRAIN INJURYED TRYNG TO FIT IN A NORMIE WORLD...I SO HOP YUONEVER HAVE TO LERNWHAT IT IS LIKE!!

2010-04-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

TUES, APRIL 1, 2010

Stil tired from yesterday events. There wer many... Being brain injuryed is so hard. Win normies complain i get so upset. I so wish i culd trad themjust for a day. then just maybe they wood get it,

The BIC ( BRAIN INJURY CENTER) REELY IS MY FIT IN SPOT. I don't have or need to pretend, not of us do.

Today was o.k. culd not keep my thiks togeter. MAybe tomorow will be beter.

good nite...

2010-04-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Apirl 1, 2010

I WILL CONTINUE.... THE REST OF MY YESTRDAY...... MAYBE IF I rite this i will hav a beter day!!!!
I DECIDED I DID GOOD WITH THE BIC MEETNG WITH ? I DID EXPLAN MYSEFL LIKE HOW I SAY A BIG PERSON. STIL CANT GET IT OUR OF MY HEAD HOW THINGS WERE HANDLED WITH A HIGHLY CREDENTIALS PROFESIONAL. THEY AR VERY DUMB FOR THAT ONE.
THE REST OF THE DAY......
I WORK HARD ON THE COMUNTY KNOWNG ME & MY LIMITS & THAT I AM BRAIN INJURED . I HAV GOTEN SO MUCH HELP & MONEY FOR THE BIC. WELL WIN REX & I WERE AT, "THE OAKS", yestrday, anoter person that i hav devoloped a fredship with, said she had fuond me on our wesite & wood love to vounteer som time. i did not say anythig then . But I will!!!!
We went to starbucks for our daily java.... yea. I go in of course my frend is working. She is not to hapy, she has taken the day off on Tues. has goten 5 pepol to volunteer there time on puting togeter packets for the THE CONFERENCE we are havng. And gues what, yes she caled & was told that thigs may not be redy to put togeter.......oh i am furuos....... What are they thikng.
Yes me brain injuryed & i know yuo don't run a organizeation this way. She taking off work, 5 oters have made arangements, Oh i am not a hapy camper...... I so hope they hav the materal to put togeter the packets. But i will not be atending. somone out ther knows
... the WHY NOT for me....
So today has got to me a beterter day... I so know it willbe....

2010-03-31T22:17:00.000-07:00

wed March 31, 2010

A TUFF day!
Started out a meeting abuot my frustation of BIC. I tryed so hard to explain myself. Oh Boy, very hard. to thik & get it out to make sence. PAUSE & PLAN breath Linda. Well i did My best...

Meeting over.... i hope i got thu some important issues.

Now it is time to go with Rex to "THE OAKS" It is noisey , crowded, Loud, why do the y play music in the mall??? it is so noisey & laud anyway. So i have my ear plugs on, looking down, trying so hard to get by . The wold is so much stimuli. A normie just gets in ther car, drives them self & does shoping. Well it is not like that for us. it is hard & using up marbles, try to put a smil on yuor face Linda,, the actres remember look like yuor having fun. Oh yeah "THE ACTRES" she must take over . Good Rex got what he needed at Williams & Sonoma. Rex cooks, but I not to good at it anymor.

A HARD DAY GLAD ITS OVER. TIRED..... NO I DONT ANSER THE PHONE... BED.
TOMOROW WILL BE BETER... LINDA this is only part of my day to much more icky to takl abuot.

2010-03-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

Today is Tues march 30, 2010,

My day startd out good, out of bed, cofee next, then make my list of were & want i need to get. Today Mari comes & helps me. Those who know me, know i can no longer driv, but i do hav 2 ladys that help me out. Mari has been with me 14 yeres, & Alma 8 yeres. So thakful i have threm, it is hard, they bothwork for me but they are both dere frends.!!!!! Yes win yuo have a life change acident , yuo must lern many new tools to make yuor life the best.

The phone is ringing.... Oh no I must get redy. Now i panic.... I am not going to be redy win Mari arives. So i am starting to get myself upset & that is win i make more mistakes & loose , forget what I started off to do... Oh get so frustaed. Phone no I can't get, Oh no it is one of my Dr.s hold yuor thinks of what yuo were going to do. Becuz yuo must take this call. Well done with with the Dr. & i hav no idea what iwas going to do. So it is just keep geting redy.

Off we go, a good day we got eveythig done. List complete this is grat.

O.K. yuo normies i will keep tryng to be like yuo guys. lind's day

2010-03-16T23:26:00.000-07:00

i reconected with 6 old high schol frends.... It makes me feel good. yes i shared my blog & 1 has a very specal grandgirl. i will pray for her... She looks so swet!!! bless yuo my child...nice to know yuo at one time had good close frends & they reconected back with me.... i so like that... not to say ther are pepol now that like the new Linda... Lynn is gone

A Survivors’Tale by Linda Wells

2010-02-16T21:04:00.000-08:00

My name is Linda Wells, I am a brain injury survivor & this is my story. In 1993 my husband & I were in Catalina Island to celebrate a new years eve. Of witch I did did not make it on DEC 30 Rex (my husband) & myself were riding in a golf cart with 2 otters, we were sitting in the back, going up a street the driver drove Grover & threw me off the golf cart, I rolled down the street hit my head.

The ambulance came took me to the hospital in Catalina I had a bump on my head, was unconscious for just a little bit. The doctors said I had a conscious. To take me tour friends home watch me. Well within 1 hour I could no talk, walk, and my right side of my body was like paralyzed my face drop down.

My husband took me back to the E.R. They air watched me off the island to long beach memorial hospital. They did a cat scan on my brain. I had a bleed in my brain the size of lemon.

The doctor told my family that I would probably never be able to process information told to me think & speak to response back. More or less like a vegetable. Oh my, how did my family deel with this one. Me I was not knowing anything. They asked me my name. I knew in my head I was Linda but win I wrote it would be 1100222, no I know that does not say “Linda”. I had a long long journey ahead of me!!!!

I hard my first seizure only 1, of 100’s to come. Grand MAL, Petite & Focal. They started therapy rite away. Then I was moved St. Johns Rehab in Oxard, then solutions in Sant a Barbar then back to St. Johns. Then home!!!!! I had 5 years of therapy, speech, physical. It was so so so hard….. I never wanted to lose my husband, I wanted to be the best I could be. I worked very hard always , lots of confusment, your friends leave you because you are now notthe person you once were.

The new world is hard hard hard….

I have trouble with nose, vision, groups, no music, can’t read books, can’t drive, my thinks & words my not always work or make cents. Spelling oh that you can see in this letter – I do my best… I lost ability of money, but I know how to give a credit card. Concentration, comprehending, well. We go throw 5 steps: denial, sadness, anger, bargaining & finally acceptance!!!

Well I do like myself most of the time!!!! You must work, hard, try to stay positive & you can do more than the Dr’s tell you can do, I have learned my new world.

I do like being with my brain injury friends….they so get it.

News: Woman Rebuilds Life After Brain Injury

2007-10-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

Woman rebuilds life after brain injury

By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

Linda WellsA fall changed Linda Wells' life forever.
While on a weekend trip to Catalina Island in 1992, Wells and her husband were riding in the back of a golf cart when the driver suddenly swerved, causing Wells to fall out and hit her head.
The impact jolted her brain forward and back, tearing and stretching cranial blood vessels. A blood clot the size of a lemon formed, compressing the brain. The entire right half of Wells' body was paralyzed.
She couldn't move, walk or talk and was airlifted to a hospital on the mainland where doctors told the family she'd probably remain in a vegetative state for the rest of her life.
"I was a drool person," Wells, now 59, said of her condition. "Because I was stuck in there, I couldn't communicate."
Over the next several years Wells underwent intensive therapy. In the period since the accident, the Camarillo resident has recovered the ability to walk and talk and care for herself but hasn't recaptured some abilities most people take for granted.
The mother of two and grandmother of three has lost her shortterm memory; some critical thinking, reasoning and cognitive skills; and the ability to organize her thoughts and make decisions and plans.
Those lost abilities mean that Wells doesn't remember her age or address; can't count money; may blurt out any passing thought that comes to mind, no matter how inappropriate; and doesn't grasp the concept of humor.
"I'm aware of all that I've lost," said Wells, who was forced to sell her medical billing company after the accident.
With the assistance of two parttime helpers and coping strategies learned in therapy, Wells gets through the day.
Like Wells, about 5 million Americans are in need of lifelong or long-term help as the result of a brain injury, experts say.
In Ventura County, brain injury has forced an estimated 16,000 residents to adapt to a new way of life, according to the Brain Injury Center in Ventura, the county's only nonprofit support organization especially for brain injury survivors.
The center provides information on brain injuries and community resources available to victims and their families.
"I always think that kind of information diminishes a tremendous amount of stress for the individual," said neuropsychologist Harriet Zeiner. A brain injury is "something that could happen to any one of us. That's how (the center) benefits the community."
A neuropsychologist is a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating people with neurological problems.
Cherie Phoenix, the center's executive director, said that most people tend to reach a plateau the first year after a traumatic brain injury and progress in smaller increments afterward. Wells, however, continues to make cognitive progress.
"Linda is unique," Phoenix said, adding that Wells is "a fighter" and "an inspiration" for keeping a positive attitude while doggedly rebuilding her life.
Wells said seeing a neuropsychologist has helped her adjust mentally to a new life that includes occasional seizures and requires considerable effort to accomplish the smallest of tasks.
She said she's accepted the fact she'll never be the same person she was before that day on Catalina.
Zeiner (who did not treat Wells) said not everyone is up to the task of rebuilding their life. Injury to the brain can result in lost circuitry that controls particular functions; rehabilitation trains another part of the brain to take that task over or teaches the person how to compensate for the loss.
That means arduous learning and tapping into whatever skills the injured person has left, she said.
"It always comes at a cost of energy," Zeiner said. "They do consciously what the rest of us do unconsciously."
Family affected
Zeiner said when someone in the family suffers a brain injury the effects ripple through the entire family. Whatever role that person filled must now be taken up by other family members, who must also care for the injured person.
"It really is a family disorder," Zeiner said.
Wells' husband, Rex, said the effects can devastate a family.
"In some ways, it's more of an impact than death," Rex Wells said.
When someone close to you dies, you grieve and eventually move on. But when a family member has a traumatic brain injury you don't have much time to grieve or adjust, he said.
Wells said that although he had to fight with the insurance company for coverage of much of the therapy his wife has received, she has improved because of it.
"She just kept plugging along," said Rex Wells, who retired from Southern California Edison several years after the accident. "She functions at a very high level."
Linda Wells' son Trent Taylor was a UCSB college student at the time of the accident. He moved back home for six months.
"It did impact us," Taylor said of his mother's injury. "It's been hard on the family; it's been a struggle."
Taylor, now a gastroenterologist who lives in Albuquerque, said his stepfather has done such a good job of supporting and caring for his mother that he didn't have to interrupt his education.
"I don't feel like I've lost my mom," Taylor said. "She's made amazing strides."
Triumph over tragedy
With so many limitations on the activities Linda is able to do, husband and wife like to focus on their victories and not the "can'ts."
"We're always looking for things we can do," Rex said.
"I've come far." Linda said. "I like this Linda most of the time."
Over time, she's discovered a love for public speaking. Once reluctant to talk about her injury, Wells now eagerly speaks to psychology students at a Santa Barbara college and at local Brain Injury Center events. Wells and Zeiner are scheduled to speak at the center's benefit dinner at Sterling Hills Golf Club in Camarillo on Oct. 26.
Wells said she now wants to go shopping alone, although she still needs her helpers to drive her around. Although she easily gets confused during simple sales transactions, she thinks she can handle impatient customers and salespeople. Wells said she'll speak to them honestly, explaining that she has a brain injury and she's doing the best she can.
Nonetheless, some people have been unkind, Wells said, assuming Wells' slurred speech and short steps mean she's drunk. Once, a woman accused Wells and her helper of fraudulently parking in a handicapped space. Wells cried when the woman said neither of them looked disabled.
"Don't judge people by these things," Wells said, holding up the blue state-issued placard. "They shouldn't be that way to anybody. We need their kindness, and we (the center) need their money, lots of it."