Hi Everyone,

The energizer bunny ran out of battery power Friday. Not Corey ~ ME! I took advantage of our nursing coverage as well as Caitlin and Corey’s permission to rest and I slept for nearly 21 hours.

Feeling recharged Saturday, the girls and I decided to go to an early movie. The last movie we attempted, in a movie theater, was summer of 2012. Corey did not like the noise or the size of the figures that appeared to be ‘coming at her’ so we left after 15 minutes. Last night we saw Disney’s FROZEN. This time we sat to the side of the screen, brought cotton for her ears and crossed our fingers. She enjoyed the movie thoroughly. She followed the story and laughed out loud at more then one scene. Within 30 minutes of exiting the theater, Corey had no memory of the experience.

This morning Corey’s internal alarm woke her at the usual 5 o’clock hour. After helping her to the bathroom, administering medications and returning her to bed, she called out to me; “Mom, I can’t go back to sleep”
M – why?
C – my body wants to sleep but my head won’t be quiet
I knelt beside her and asked, ‘why, what are you thinking about’
C – desserts
M – Desserts?!
C – How do you make Creme Brulee?
C – laughing out loud as she circled her pointer finger next to her temple she said, “I know, who thinks of desserts when they’re sleeping? It’s crazy”!
M – a chef, that’s who!

Day in and day out can be maddening for a TBI survivor and their family. Short term memory loss is one of the most difficult side affects to cope with. Corey’s “with us” one minute and gone the next, yet she’s always showing us she’s “in there”. Speaking from the family perspective, it can drain our energy. Somehow we have to keep one foot in the world of possibilities; constantly looking towards the future, researching the latest therapy and medications as well as keeping abreast and preparing for changes in the healthcare realm. The other foot mourns the loss of the person we knew, accepts our life has changed and forces us to acknowledge the human emotions we feel each day. We heal as we rediscover and fall in love with the person we live with today. Good days, bad days and most every day we are grateful we get another chance for a new life together.

Speaking with longtime friends this morning, they reminded me: Action leads to Reaction. Not all bad actions cause a negative reaction. Good can come out of bad. A positive action can cause positive reactions. Take a smile, a laugh, a shared moment that lingers with you as you work through the day’s schedule. Those moments shape our perspective. Perspective is the spark that ignites our chain reaction.

Life gives us moments. If we don’t take action by living a full life, those moments will not be discovered. Listening to Corey laugh, that’s a great moment!

C – It is important to have happy life moments to keep you going for the times that you’re doing something hard. They make positive memories and positive memories keep you going.
C – So no matter what, always keep a happy memory around every day, xoxo