• 29 Aug 2016

Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Scholarship

The Law Office of David D. White, PLLC.

According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel, “Nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day. An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled.” [1] So what happens to those that become injured or disabled?An automobile accident can completely alter someone’s life. From personal experience, I have been in a car accident and suffered from a traumatic brain injury.

In my case, the person that hit my car was texting, so I was not at fault. I was in the backseat and hit my head on the seat in front of me. I felt a strange “out of it” feeling, but I did not realize how serious brain injuries could be. After my injury,  I had to stop rowing, which was a sport I planned to participate in while at college. I also wracked up some large bills because I had to see a neurologist that specializes in traumatic brain injuries. These were two points that my attorney stressed when dealing with the lawsuit against the insurance. My attorney supported me by providing me with emotional support as well as advice on how to answer questions posed by the insurance agency’s lawyers.

The neurologist noted that I had short-term memory problems after the accident and I suffered from severe migraines. These migraines were so bad that there were days I could not see the sunlight without falling over in pain. I was incredibly frustrated because I could not attend school and my grades suffered. Because of this, I became depressed and felt hopeless. I felt that I would never be myself again and I did not know how to solve the issue.

I like to look at the positive side of everything and I think that suffering from a traumatic brain injury has ultimately helped me as a nursing student and a future nurse because I will be able to sympathize with patients that suffer from TBIs. With time, the side effects of my TBI have gotten less severe, however I still suffer from short-term memory problems and lack of concentration.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration!

References

[1]http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics