Who?

 Have you ever thought what it would be like to look in a picture of yourself and not know it was you? The face that has stared back at you year after year. Your hair... Dark and full... Changing to salt and pepper... To a dignified white. A few facial lines. Maybe a lot of them. But, still you know yourself.

But what if you didn't?

Imagine not knowing yourself. So...how can you recognize other people? Even friends you've known for years. Even family. This is the situation as part of the severity of the injury, and part of the healing. Those things are coming back, but as they do, the not knowing can also bring a great level of stress and discomfort to him. To expose him to that much stress really is out of place at this time. 

Jim is finally recognizing himself in pictures. Nine weeks plus, and he recognizes himself. Mostly. The main goal here is for him to be well, keep healing and progressing, and to get back to being the Jim we all love.

So without a doubt, I have definitely tried to manage visits and exposures that would cause him any kind of discomfort. Sometimes it's just too much stimulus. That goes with the TBI. He is indeed very fortunate to have so many people who care about him, including very long time friends. Friends may feel that the time in the hospital is a very long time, and should warrant a visit. On the time scale for TB I, this is extremely early. So please be patient, know that we are trying to manage everything for Jim's well being for the long term. Your concern and wanting to visit and see him are greatly appreciated. It just may not be the correct time, and I hope that you understand the necessity at this time.

He is making such marvelous progress that we expect that visitors will start to be able to filter in a little bit of time to help encourage him to keep going forward, chat about old times, and help with his recovery.

In the meantime, I ask for your trust.