Question:
I think my mother may have suffered some injuries to her brain, and I really need some comments as to who she should be consulting, for good care and treatment. If anyone has any suggestions as to a more appropriate support group to address this subject to, I'd be more than grateful. I'm concerned that the resources for dealing with the myriad problems involved in aging be in place, for those of us who will have to cope with them in the future.

I've felt as though the general attitude has been, "she's old, and weird behaviour and thoughts are to be expected". Well, I think she deserves to be happy for however much time she may have left, and I'm determined to find that for her. (Of course, if she changes her mind, and refuses to come and stay with us, as I was told by many "professionals" I've dealt with, "She has a right to make choices, even if they're bad ones", "If she's not a danger to herself or others, there's nothing anyone can do.")

Answer: As a survivor of childhood abuse, I suffered many years of battering around my head by my father. In order to survive my abuse experiences, I blocked out the traumatic experiences. However, the phsycial and psychological symptoms remained. It has only been the past five or so years that I began to remember these batterings and being knocked unconscious. I would not be surprised if your mom experienced both post-traumatic stress symptoms (i.e. repression or blocking of traumatic experience) and tramautic brain injury as a result of these beatings.

As I am new to the tbi field, I do not have any suggestions as to a support group, etc. However, if I do find some info that I feel may be of some interest to you, I will pass it on to you. Go with your suspicisions about the possibiity of tbi in your mother, keep trying until you and your mom are satisfied with the answers you have received.