The Things I Never Told My Children

The reason for this mess

There was a specific reason for writing all this.

In 1979, I was in a horrible car accident resulting in a double concussion, permanent brain damage to my left frontal lobe, and the inability to walk well. Riding a bike and driving a car was far down the road. I lost a lot of language skills, including the loss of German and Puerto Rican--two languages I spoke well. My English suffered a lot too. The names of things were missing from recall, producing a lot of incomplete sentences. Getting lost often was another reward.

I had a doctorate in psychology, which helped the recovery process. At least that part of my memory was not lost, so I began rehabilitation.

Stress proved to be a killer. With too much stress, any gains were lost, and I had to start all over again. Learning to meditate helped take the edge off the damage.

I needed to recover my word use, starting with crossword puzzle books. I did thousands with increasing improvements. It was frustrating to say the least.

I started writing opinion letters to the newspaper, with many published. It helped with the continuity and writing. After five or six years, memories started to recover, and twenty years of psychiatry helped me organize the thinking process. There are some memories that I would have rather forgotten...but!

The brain is a funny organ. If you have a memory that seems incomplete, your brain helps by creating a logical fill-in. Many of my written memories may have two or more versions. It still makes a good story, so take your pick; there is no way I can choose!

I enjoyed the process of rehabilitation with everyday discoveries lurking around the corner.

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