#Concussion #BrainInjury Update 1: Firstly, thank you all for the wonderful support, it has really lifted my spirits. There have been some substantial developments in the last fortnight, and I wanted to bring you all up to date

For those that missed the original story, this thread set out how a seemingly innocuous bump on my head has thrown my life into chaos: https://twitter.com/Dr_Joe_McIntyre/status/1382980633455038467

That thread led to a number of people reaching out with their own stories of struggling with concussion/TBI. For many of us, there was a sense of isolation/misunderstanding - that a concussion 'should' be a 1-2 week thing, and that these long issues are weird.

This thread is an attempt to continue that conversation. Concussion is increasingly in the news (see below), but there is a huge range of experiences of what brain injury can look like - and we should talk about it more https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/apr/30/explainer-what-we-know-about-concussion-in-australian-sport

For me, I am now nearly six weeks since the injury and while some things are improving I am a long way from 'better'.

I have started (slowly) returning to work - 2 hours a day - and am confronting what this sort of injury means.

This week a had a confronting/scary/informative 2.5 hour appointment with the specialist. I am now off to get an MRI in a few weeks. BUT we now have a much better idea of the nature/cause/extent of my injury.

It seems that the seriousness of the injury is a result of the rotational forces at the point of impact (I was turning quickly at the time). This seems to have led to brain stem trauma/injury, and the particular set of continuing symptoms I am experiencing.

The good news is that the long term prognosis is very good - I should make a full recovery.

The bad new is that this recovery will be measured in months not weeks. This is pretty confronting.

I probably wont be able to increase my work capacity till June. Probably cant drive till then. No sport for a year. No alcohol for a year. Need neuro-physiotherapy.

I still cant last longer than an hour of intensity (read walking/talking/any work) without headaches/fatigue.

I have had a couple of meetings where I can last maybe 30 mins as a human, then I start slurring and stuttering. I have to close my eyes to speak/listen. It is confronting and embarrassing not to be able to talk. I hate it. But atleast it is temporary - and improves after rest

Basically, a relatively small head bump is going to largely put me out of action for 3 months. This is pretty shite, but at least I should recover.

Again, 'concussion' is such a bland description for a range of brain injuries. We need to be better at supporting people in all jobs/professions as they deal with the consequences of these injuries.

Sometimes this can just mean talking about our experiences openly

I hope others (you know who you are) feel less isolated by my attempt to share this. For my other tweeps, I hope this helps explain my slowness and absence.

Thank you again to the wonderful people around me who have made so many gestures of kindness and support to us.

And again, thankyou to @juliettemm who now has to drink the 2016 Barolo I bought her to say thanks all by herself...