In August of 2010 I began this blog to chronicle my life with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Six weeks later, after only making four or five entries, I'd completely forgotten it existed.
Today, almost two years later, I accidentally found it, and have just read it once again. This blog, I realize, is not about TBI, but Memory Impairment. That is the reason why - like so many other things in my life - this blog suddenly ceased to exist for me for so long in the first place. It is also the reason why I've chosen chronic memory loss as the subject of this blog.
Anyone dealing with memory loss for any reason - not just TBI - is most welcome here. Those who know us or live with us are also most welcome here, as our memory impairment is a daily albeit different challenge for them, too. No one is excluded.
I write my experiences within this blog in the first person. Maybe your experiences are like mine, maybe not. Either way, all comments are invited. Your shared experience may not only teach us something new, but it could be a healthy release for you, too.
My own inability to remember things is not selective. If I can completely forget having written a month's worth of blog entries and not realize it for nearly two years, then anything can be forgotten. The only question is when? How can I accept this limitation, and to what extent will I ever be able to function again?
Everyone asks that at some point; no one is exempt. For me, the answer lies in perspective. I see my memory loss as only a daily challenge, not a daily burden. There's a difference. My more positive focus upon memory loss has not only made it unimaginably healing, but even fun too. Since it's my reality anyway, why shouldn't I make it fun? That choice is ours and ours alone; I choose fun and I hope you will, too.
I'm a Left ULE amputee with a passion for knowledge, a penchant for travel, and an appetite for regional cuisine. Often led by my stomach and my service dog, Sophie, I'm sharing with you the fruits of my voyage of discovery as a differently abled man. For the past two years-and counting-I've traveled the American Northwest, the Southwest and Northern Mexico, first in a Subaru and now in a 30-foot motorhome. So buckle up and join us as I share what we've learned along the way.
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