I've had two concussions in the past 6 years. I "woke up" in the ER both times. I lost about 2 hours the first time and 4 hours the second. I was bicycling after dark and both times I cushioned my fall to the asphalt using my head. It took me months after the second concussion to recognize that my mind was so different. My memory, sense of time, concentration, emotions, and thinking had changed.

I now recognize that I was depressed in months 4-7 after the second concussion, and that my time horizon was quite limited--as if I were living in a bubble of 2 days diameter. I started recognizing my constellation of quirks after searching for 'trauma' and finding TBI-SPRT in September 1996.

When I meet people now, I tend to remember their names and often recall the context of my association; I no longer feel embarrassed to meet and talk with them.

People don't understand TBI==Traumatic Brain Injury until they've been bonked.