When you suffer from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), it’s hard to deal with the changes in your own body. Despite having no physical injury to your body other than your brain, you may struggle to walk or speak. You may have weakness or deal with other problems. It’s hard to handle, but fortunately, recovery is possible, at least to a degree, in most cases.
When a person suffers from a brain injury, there may be damage to the axons. The axons transmit messages from one part of the brain to the other, allowing it to communicate. Most of the time, damaged axons cannot regrow, requiring the brain to “reroute” signals through other pathways. Interestingly, some axons do regrow in the dorsal raphe. Some researchers hope to use this information to better help patients who have suffered injuries by learning ways to encourage axon regrowth.
For now, recovering from a brain injury is a process that takes time. Every patient is different, so it’s impossible to say how long it will take for you to recover if you suffer an injury. However, with physical, speech and occupational therapy, medications and surgery, it’s possible to help patients recover and regain much of what they lost due to the initial injury.
After an accident, you need to make sure you have access to the best medical care. Many people pursue lawsuits to make sure they obtain the compensation needed for medical care and to support them while they recover. It’s not an easy road, but it is one made easier with enough financial support.
Source: Hopkins Medicine, “Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injury,” Shawna Williams, accessed June 06, 2018