Linda Bucchi

Everyone’s brain injury Journey is going to be different, no two are alike! If you are lucky you may have a full recovery in 2 weeks-2 months, that apparently is the average recovery time for 80% of the people suffering them. Unfortunately, that leaves another 20% to struggle with the challenge of figuring out what is going on and to find appropriate treatments that will help your recovery.
I ‘m calling it a journey as a way of defining all the elements involved with the injury, but it’s more like a scavenger hunt (to find you). The worst part is that you don’t always know where you’re at on the trip, what your looking for or where to find it. The terrain is always changing and you may end up off road in some pretty bumpy places. When you find somebody, who gives you good directions, follow them and you will begin to see improvement and find pieces you need. It’s not a quick fix, but the pieces do start coming together as you go along.
I fell at work on7/2/21, I don’t know what I slipped on. I was the only Manager on duty and since it was the 4th of July weekend …no one was available to come in so I finished my shift and went home felling groggy and with a severe headache. Having no replacement, I went back to work the next day, reported my fall and left after work to be evaluated at Med-Express.
Looking back, I now know why it’s called the practice of medicine none of the doctors’ have it perfect …they’re all still practicing. Some will understand when you try to explain that you are not working right. Others may not seem to be hearing you, keep trying! Find the ones giving you the directions that send you down the path that helps you to find the pieces you need.
I explained I had fallen at work the previous day and was having head and neck pain. I knew I struck the back of my head, across my shoulders and my butt when landing. I could tell by the swelling, abrasions, bruising, stiffness and tenderness where I landed. When asked I answered I didn’t think I had lost consciousness, I didn’t know or remember anything after the scream when I slipped. I was sent to the E/R for a C/T scan and diagnosed with a closed head injury w/cervical sprain. The E/R gave me neck exercises and told me to take Tylenol for the pain and to follow-up with Med-Express in a few days. I continued working and was noticing increasing symptoms of headache, sensitivity to light and sounds as well as trouble concentrating.
At my follow-up, symptoms were increasing memory and word finding was becoming difficult. I was experiencing nausea, fatigue, confusion and headache. I was referred to a concussion clinic for further evaluation, told to rest and eliminate my electronics. I was still working full time and becoming more symptomatic daily. July 23rd. I left work early, to see my own PCP. I couldn’t take anymore…my brain wasn’t working right! The daily headaches, difficulty speaking, thinking, spelling, word finding, nausea, balance and fatigue was increasing and I was functionally deteriorating as the day went on. My Dr. assessed post-concussion syndrome and took me off work until seen by the concussion specialist.
By the next day my speech and cerebellar functioning had decreased alarmingly and I was sent back to the E/R for another C/T scan to rule out stroke or brain bleed. They also called my concussion specialist to move my appointment to an earlier date. I saw a specialist on 7/28. He had me take an Impact Test and assessed my symptoms. He then referred me to a vestibular therapist and gave me a program of exposure therapies, which I followed. He started me on Zoloft to help with my symptoms and set up a follow-up appointment.
I started therapy immediately with sessions twice a week, practicing all the exercises daily, I slowly began to see some improvement. I was not bouncing off walls as often or staggering around my neighborhood like a drunk (as much)!
My next follow-up, cognitive therapy was added and so we continued to work picking up pieces. The processing delays and mental fatigue I experienced as tasks complexity increased was addressed and we worked on my memory and speech as well. My therapists were great! They worked hard with me to identify my problems from balance, memory, dizziness, the visual anomalies to the cognitive fatigue. They gave me goals and strategies to help achieve them. It was a lot of work, but worth it. Their support gave me confirmation that the symptoms I was having weren’t unusual and that I could continue to improve.
Soon, my concussion specialist felt I had improved enough to go back to work full time. He stated” the first week would be really hard, the second week would be a little better and by the third week I would be back to normal”! I expressed concerns as my symptoms seemed to increase with daily activities and I was still experiencing: headaches, dizziness, nausea, trouble focusing as well as trouble with my memory, writing, articulating and processing information. If I can’t remember to turn my car off at the grocery store or put it in park when I get gas, how will this work? My medication was increased to help and I was sent back to work full time. My PCP didn’t think the Zoloft had decreased my symptoms or that returning to work on anything other than a part-time, light duty basis was advisable. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in charge of my treatment.
I went back to work and continued with my therapies. My therapists noted increased dizziness, headache, nausea, difficulty/articulating and multi-tasking in sessions after work, yet there was some improvement in my balance. On a busy day at work I was losing my balance, grabbing onto things to stabilize myself or if squatting I’d end up sitting on the floor (unintentionally). In the busy store environment, I had difficulty understanding and processing information quickly. My speaking and writing were also suffering. My brain felt like it couldn’t keep up and it was exhausting me trying. The headaches were worse and the mental fatigue was horrible. The nausea from the continuous fast movement required had me running to the restroom to throw-up. I was exhausted, when I got home I would lie down for 1-2 hours, get up for dinner and go back to bed again and sleep for 8,10 or 12 hours depending on how bad the day had been.
At this time, following my P.C.P.’s advice I found another specialist. After an extensive evaluation and testing and discussion of my symptoms and concerns, we discontinued my Zoloft (which hadn’t seemed to help) and began treating my headaches with a monthly injection. I was referred for neuro-psych testing and evaluation and visual testing. My new specialist had noted multiple visual deficits that weren’t being addressed. My workload was decreased and I began to see improved response. I still was having dizziness, nausea, vision and speech problems, but the frequency and severity had decreased. I continued my vestibular and cognitive therapies and joined a concussion support group. My testing results confirmed cognitive and processing delays with multiple speech and visual issues.
I was released from vestibular therapy, didn’t achieve all my goals but she believed I was enough improved to continue my therapies on my own. Yeah! I continued with cognitive therapy. We were working on memory and thought organization, seeing significant delays in processing as complexity of tasks increased or with background noise. Accuracy did improve over time, visualization helped. He released me with a list of sites to continue my daily practice on, and a promise to continue if needed after my vision was corrected.
I began vision therapy on April 19, 9 months after my accident! I continued with them thru August. What a difference that made! My eyes weren’t focusing together in distance nor coordinating very well together! There were a lot of terms for what was going on. The main thing was to get them together & cooperating with each other. I noticed the difference as soon as I began to improve, I could read longer without a headache and since I wasn’t struggling as much visually other symptoms improved too!
My company had released me from work in April, since I was unable to work full time but we eventually got them to accommodate my limited hours. In November I returned to work alternating 4-hour days. There was some recurrence of symptoms, increasing with exertion and stress. We work through them taking breaks as needed and as I improved the hours were increased. By the following June the hours were increased to alternating 6-hour days.
I continued with my concussion specialist and began with a Chiropractic Dr. who specialized in concussive injuries. He continued work on my visual scanning and balance issues and the accompanying symptoms and I saw more improvement over time.
I was referred to the Brain Injury program of Pa. and was accepted into their program. In December I began a year- long cognitive program 1 3-hour session/week, still pushing to collect more pieces!
I continue with my daily exercise programs both vestibular and cognitive and continue to see improvements over time. It’s a long process, but as long as I can continue to see improvement over time I’ll continue picking up the pieces of me! I know I’m a work in progress, and some times others may not understand or appreciate all the hard work you’ve put in to get where you now are! Celebrate every milestone…you may be the only one to recognize them! Hey, last week I rode my bike for the 1st time around my block, without losing my balance! Yeah, another piece back!