Recovering After An Accident
When you have been involved in an accident, it is only natural to want to know how long to recover from a traumatic head injury. It is important to understand that every head injury is different, and the recovery period will be unique for each person.
How Long To Recover From A Traumatic Brain Injury?
The length of time necessary to recover from a brain injury will depend on the severity of the injury and the areas of the body it has affected. While each outcome will be different, the medical community has created this timeline as a guide.
0-2 Months After Injury
If the injury victim was rendered unconscious or entered into a coma when the injury occurred, the first two months are very critical for the victim. This is when the brain often suffers the most harm from swelling and potential bleeding.
If the victim was not in a coma-like state, there is still potential for additional harm if care is not taken to manage swelling and bleeding. This is considered the critical care period for the victim.
3-6 Months After Injury
During this time period, many of the problems resulting from brain injury come to light. During this time period, therapy and medical treatments provide the most significant help. The brain is very “elastic” during the healing process, and the right treatments and care are very beneficial.
Many patients undergo several types of therapy during this time, including speech therapy, physical therapy, cognitive therapy, and personal or group mental therapy to help them cope with the changes in their lives.
7-24 Months After Injury
Patients will continue to experience progress during this time. Most patients who experience speech problems after a head injury should be back to full speech within a year. Those who experienced walking difficulties should continue to make significant progress through the two-year mark. Other physical issues will continue to improve with therapy.
Cognitive and emotional therapies will be in place during this time as well. Depending on the severity of the injury, considerable progress should be made in these areas. However, since this is a very difficult area to judge progress and recovery, patients and families should not place a specific time frame on recovery in these areas.
24 Months And Beyond
For some people, therapy and care will continue for many years, if not their life, when they have had a severe head injury. This does not mean that they are not responding to treatment, only that their injury is healing differently than other people.
The medical community actively admits that they do not even understand 10 percent of all of the functions of the brain or how the brain heals when injured. This is why each case must be treated as an individual situation and categorized under one set of guidelines.
Basic Guidelines
This guideline was created to give a perspective. It does not guarantee any outcomes, nor does it mean that your loved one is not responding well to treatment if they do not reach these goals within the allotted time.
Traumatic head injuries are very serious medical conditions, and the medical conditions that they cause as well as the recovery will be unique to each person.
Get the Help You Need
A person who has had a traumatic brain injury will require extensive medical care. Make sure that they are protected as well as their family by speaking with a lawyer about the incident that led to the injury.
Proper legal representation can help ensure that the injury victim receives all of the care they need to recover from this injury. Representation can also help family members connect with the support systems they need to help care for their injured loved ones.
