on monday i went with job to his rehab doctor. john is in the process of being placed in a 'phase 2' 6 month day treatment program at Mount Sinai Medical Center for cognitive rhab of his TBI. John has gained weight, sleeps a lot, is depressed, is extremely apathetic, and is in denial of all of the above. his rhab doctor said that apathy and inertia are sequelae (aftereffects)of brain injuries and that it when John is in the routine of being in a therapeutic environment he would be last apathetic. since this doctor had also been my rehab doctor, i made little noises about not being apathetic when i was under his care, which he recognized and agreed with (nodded.)

i wonder if it's true that we who are active on this board as stroke survivors are the atypical ones and that most survivors of brain injuries are apathetic and suffer from inertia. i know that my dad goes through periods of extreme frustration and depression, but with the extent of his deficits, for him apathy would have equalled death. i know that i have never been apathetic. i also see, though, that even though we have over 4000 members (i do not know how this breaks up between survivors and caregivers), only several hundred are active (if that) at any given time. i wonder if apathy and inertia has anything to do with that.

there is probably a biological component to this inertia. however, the major sequelae of my stroke was a biochemical mixup that requires me to imbibe prescribed mood-altering substances, probably for life. without these medications, i would probably be apathetic and worse, but i choose to take them. when you think about it, all thougt/emotion/feeling/etc. can be explained biologically, or psychologically, or spiritually, or all of the above simultaneuosly.

Alcoholics Anonymous has a saying, "there are no victims. there are only volunteers." my translation of that slogan is, "s**t happens. how you deal (or not deal) with it determines whether you become a survivor or a volunteer for victimhood."

:gleam: