Editor’s note: Jordan Emerson was in a terrible accident when she was a thirteen, crashing the compact car she was driving into the turn two wall at Beechridge Motor Speedway on August 8, 2006. The community rallied around Jordan as she recovered. Now an adult, she shares what life is like with her disabilities resulting from that accident.
Have
you ever felt trapped unsure and lonely?
Well,
I have felt that way for the past nine years. Envision being unable to speak,
move your body, or express your feelings. This is how I spent three months of
my life.
What
would you do if you just woke up from a coma, with a broken left shoulder
paralyzed vocal cord, paralyzed stomach, cracked left pelvis and a traumatic
brain injury on top of everything else just like a cherry on top of an ice
cream sundae just not as good.
I
have spent these last years reinventing myself.
Imagine waking up one morning having to figure out who you are all over
again. Add to that learning to walk, talk, and manage your emotions. It took me
years to realize how to cry.
Do
you know 1.7 million people sustain a brain injury every year? Of those, 52,000
die, 275,000 are hospitalized, and 1.355 million are treated and released from
an emergency room department. More than 10,000 Mainers experience a brain
injury every year.
As
for myself my brain injury left me with left-sided neuromuscular weakness. I use a knee brace on my left leg to assist
me in walking and I have limited mobility in my left shoulder making tasks such
as washing my hair very difficult.
Think
about this, you have a nice bowl of cereal and your belly is rumbling from
hunger and you dig deep into the bowl with your spoon and get a heaping
spoonful of “scrumdilliumptious” cereal, but by the time it reaches your mouth
you have nothing but the shiny spoon you started with. Let me tell you
something about those d*** intention tremors. Intention tremors affect my fine
motor skills when I desire (intend) to do something as common as writing a
note, picking up a cup, and yes trying to eat my favorite cereal. My hand
starts to shake. The more and harder I try the shakier my hand gets resulting
in scribbled notes, spilled coffee cups, and ending with the contents of my
spoon all over me, leaving me embarrassed and defeated.
One
positive aspect of recovering from TBI, which is the acronym for traumatic
brain injury, is the people I get to meet. I'm referring to my survivor
friends. I find comfort in knowing other survivors have been through what I am
going through and their successes are my hope. Most kids go to college or work.
My work has been my continued work on myself. I thought I would be in college,
driving, dating, and busy like all my friends. I’m working on getting there
too, but like everything, it’s just going to take me a lot longer.
Life
is definitely hard, and one of my driving desires that inspires me is to
educate people about how damage to the brain affects personality, thinking and
physical abilities. For example, did you also know another struggle with living
with a traumatic brain injury is initiation. Many people may not realize that
the brain helps us become motivated. When that part of the brain suffers
trauma, motivation can be difficult at times, which makes it extremely
difficult to want to do anything.
Please
join me as I continue my journey through TBI. It is my hope and ambition to
become a local spokesperson for the general education of the public to what TBI
is and how people are affected by it. Please friend me on Facebook, follow me
on Twitter, or email me.
facebook.com/jordan.emerson.8807
@thecomebackkid
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