We are at the breaking of a summer heat wave, and the storms coming across the Lancaster farmlands have been fierce and beautiful. It feels like the storms crossing the land mimic what my brain has been going through. I am 8 months post falling from our loft at our home in Maryland and sustaining a concussion. After evaluation at the Mild Brain Injury Program at Sinai, I've had the benefit of a team of terrific rehabilitation experts, and can see ways I have improved. Yet, there are days when I'm overwhelmed because I just don't have the cognitive sharpness that I have always relied upon. The changes are subtle; they are not obvious or logical. They defy easy explanations or solutions. It's an invisible change that others don't see as "much of a big deal" but to me and my best friend, Eric, they are huge. I do things like lock us out of our email with a password change that I just can't recall. And, surely people who love us don't mean to diminish our situation, but when they say "Oh, I've had that for years - welcome to senior moments." they completely invalidate what is a very real and difficult season in my and Eric's lives. For today, and tomorrow and the next day I'll keep working on my exercises, and solving brain problems and trust God.
