Well, I've had a bit of a surprising thought and I thought I'd share it with you. Years ago I was hit by a car, flew 65ft through the air and landed on my head. Fractured my skull in two places front to back and had brain damage of course not to mention the other injuries a person gets from an accident like that. Anyway, the ambulance called me in DOA and the hospital left me in the hall with a sheet over my face for 4hrs. When they finally had time to get to the dead people they discovered that I wasn't quite gone yet so they shoved me in ICU and told my husband to call my Mom because I was going to die.Well, I did die at some point after I was put in ICU and had an NDE and all that. It was not my time so I'm still here, brain damage and all.

This is the part that interests me. I was left with some sort of amnesia which took my entire life from about 2wks after the accident backwards. They told my family that I would probably never get my life back. Maybe a few pieces and parts but basically I knew absolutely nothing. My mind was a blank slate and while I knew everything, I couldn't remember that I knew anything so basically I knew nothing. They said she was my Mom and that was okay. I didn't know what a Mom was anyway but she seemed like a really nice person and she just kept hanging around. Mind you I kept sliking in and out of a coma. They said he was my husband and that was okay too but I had no idea what a husband was. He kept telling me he loved me. I really have to find out what that is. Remember I was a blank slate. I didn't know right from wrong, good from bad. couldn't walk or feed myself, couldn't dress or bathe myself. I was also incontinent just like a baby. Anyway, my mom, my husband and one of my sisters had to teach me the basics all over again. They had to teach my brain what it already knew in there somewhere but couldn't get out. After that, because I had nothing to fall back on or refer to, I had to find out who I was and that took years.

My whole point here is that once I started to remember what I had gone through, it made me more clear and aware of what Jim is going through. My understanding is so much better. Let me tell you, I have the greatest respect for all you survivors because, while the situation was different, much of it was the same and I have sort of been where you have been SORT OF. I hope you understand what I was trying to say because it felt good to put it out there and I did not mean to offend anyone. It's kind of ironic that I now have to do for Jim what he did for me so many years ago.

Betty Jean