AndyH

Hi Rod, Its very early days mate. I have been looking after Heather for 4 years now although these days she is pretty much independent! In the early days, in hospital Heather was incredibly confused. She would overhear other peoples conversations and for a while what she heard would be her reality. She once told one of the nurses that she was a dog called Sally and she lived with a woman called Hazel. Another time she told me that Kurt Cobain was married to her Aunty. As alarming as these incidents were at the time nowadays they are a source of amusement for Heather and I. Nowadays she may be slightly confused but only on occasions when she is extremely tired such as on waking etc. The memory thing in regard to medication was one that we had to deal with as well. We eventually got a pill box with an alarm fitted. If Heather does not take her medication I get a phonecall! It is a service based in Leeds for people with issues like Heathers, its free too! Not sure where you are from or if the service exists in your area but have a chat with the hospital social worker about it. Or even Headway. Things will change and move on. Be patient, recovery takes time even when its just a broken bone, this is the brain we are talking about! Take care Andy

Wow. 4 years! Its been a long road but definitely one worth walking! Its funny I remember the incidents of the day Heathers brain bled but the inbetween bits are becoming hazy now. Am glad that we are no longer defined by the incident that happened to us all that time ago. Thanks to everyone for all the support over the years. Thanks to Karen for chasing up the old forum members and setting up this site. Its been a blessing having this space. Thanks again to you all. Andy

Thanks Holly! Feedback is always appreciated! Andy

Hello everyone. Hope you are all well. Well without further ado, here is our latest endeavour to highlight changes following brain injury and how to cope with them. See ya! Andy http://www.nhs.uk/video/pages/medialibr ... ilter=&Id={D095EF23-B14E-4CA9-A6DB-1490147F68A9}&Tag=&Uri=video%2f2009%2fMay%2fPages%2fPersonalitychangerealstory.aspx

Hi there, Heather, my wife, had her SAH 4 years ago. ince then things have been, erm, interesting! At first things were tough. Then they got tougher. Now though things are coming together. Its a slow process and it takes time and patience. Healing comes in stages, at first the healing comes thick and fast, then it slows down and becames a more gradual process. Heather has gone from having a 2 second memory to having one that functions well with prompting. She still struggles with initiation and needs support in doing some tasks. As for how long you continue this jouney and is this what you should be doing. That will always be up to you. The best things you can do right now for him is to gently guide him. Its a long road but for me every painful hard step has been worth it. Heather and I are still going strong and we are slowly coming to terms with the full extent of what has happened to us. We are both still very much in love and, at long last, the time when we were defined by SAH is passing. Take care Andy

Morning all, Heather still suffers friom fatigue and we are 3.5 years into this. It seems to come in cycles that cover a 2 month period. For 3-4 weeks she will be up and busy with little to no extra sleeping during the day followed by a period of light naps during the day to full blown snore outs on the couch! Hope this is helpful Andy

Am with you on that Scott.

Morning. Heather and I have had excellent results from counselling. We see a guy at Headway. Because Headway is a charity it has been free for us to visit and have sessions. I can definately recommend it. If its unaffordable try Headway or other charities that are out there. See ya. Andy

Hi Scott, Whenever Heather has a drink her inhibitions drop and her higher exec skills disappear. I widh she didnt drink at the moment because she seems to be a year behind when she does. Her memory falls to pieces and on the odd occasion she becomes a danger to herself. We were told by one of the rehab that Heather is roughly 5 pints ahead us even before she has a drink. We also told that for every 1 drink I drink it is equal to 5 for Heather. Sad sorry **** state of affairs!! If you know the word namaste' NAMASTE

Hi Laurie, Long time no speak!!! Hope that you are well, that Michael is recovering and the break did you good. I have been busy with media stuff again and will actually be glad when things die down again. Keep your chin up and I will catch you online soon. Andy

Our heart goes out to you too!! Thanks Diane.

Hi Molly, Recovery takes time and you are early days at the moment. I got most of my info regarding recovery from the net, here, Headway, books etc. I searched everywhere. This place is still my favourite though. The experiences of SAH survivors has been invaluable to us. Welcome to the site. Andy

Good morning Kath, LGI is where my wife had her operation to clip a ruptured aneurysm. Its a good hospital!! The canteen on floor C is actually pretty good too. lol Anyway, welcome to the site! Andy

Morning Mary, Welcome to the site!!

Hi there, Nice introduction and fantastic attitude. Sounds like you have survivor mentality! Welcome to the site! Andy