Car Accident & Head Injury
Three years ago I was hit in a car accident and found I had a closed head injury/mild traumatic brain injury. This incident wreaked havoc on my life, first because I had no idea why I couldn’t tolerate reading, bright light, and loud noises and had no energy whatsoever. I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat. My car got quite an impact because it was braked and the other driver hit my solid aluminum wheel well instead of the car taking the force, it slid a few feet and tilted up a few more. In other words, there was only a small crease above the wheel well even though the wheel itself was damaged giving the impression that nothing major happened to the car, therefore nothing major happened to my body. Not so.
Personally I thought laziness & irritability had taken over my life. In addition to this I had a bad case of whiplash and ribs out of place. When there is no blood and you have no recall of hitting you head, it is difficult to associate with any harm befalling you. To top all this off, terrible migraine headaches struck often, incapacitating me completely.
Luckily, I was diagnosed by a good physician and prescribed Imitrex which made it possible to conduct my life in a reasonable fashion. Eye therapy is the most important ingredient in my recovery and though my insurance company (Geico) created a bad faith situation at the 50K mark (just like my doctors warned me about) and I will have to see them in court next year, at least I know what to do in order to get better.
My advice, if any, is to get a good attorney before the 50K mark, especially if you are unfortunate enough to have Geico. Also, if you have sensitivity to light, are irritable, dizzy, confused exhausted, nauseous or cannot tolerate reading after a minor car accident, fall or being shaken in any way, head to emergency as quickly as possible and follow up with a Cognitive Therapist or Neuropsycologist to see if you have a closed head injury. You don’t have to hit your head to have this condition, though you may not ever remember doing so if you did. Your memory about that time will trickle back in stages over many years and you can anticipate not being able to connect all the dots for some time to come. Closed head injuries cause the slowing of your thought process because dried blood is making it’s way through your brain. It can be hard to make a simple choice, like if you want to go to the movies. Your usual run-down analysis is impaired and either stops or skips steps while you process the invitation. This is more confounding than it sounds. Previously I had great eyesight but my eyes now, drift, converge, line up wrong like tilted headlights and imply words from two lines down into the line I’m reading. I would not have known what was wrong except my Cognitive Therapist determined that I could not be helped until my eyes got better and sent me to Dr. Roger Dowis in Boulder, CO as he specializes in that field of practice. This has been a Godsend and my only true line of hope. If you have a similar injury, Dr. Dowis can recommend a specialist in your area.
Hopefully there will be a success story at the end of dealings with Geico and further treatment by good doctors. In the meantime, I cannot afford Imitrex, Naproxen, Birth Control or even the Retin A, which I have used for nearly 20 years, as I cannot work full time at a job in my field. I also cannot afford or qualify for insurance with a closed head injury diagnosis, so this 50% Pharmacy Card will be invaluable to me!
Thank you John for recommending this offer!
Corey (Coco) K. Boulder, CO