Graduation and Milestones

 It’s graduation season, and this one is extra special for me because there is a graduate in my family. My daughter is graduating from high school. It’s so exciting to see my oldest child end one chapter and move on to a new one.

You might be wondering what this has to do with brain injury. In my mind, events like graduations are like markers in my recovery. Every step, whether it is physical, or cognitive, takes effort and time. Like a graduation, it doesn’t happen in the blink of an eye or without a long-term commitment to the goal. On the physical side, I went from a wheelchair to a crutch and now walk only with a hiking pole.

On the cognitive front, I am working to compensate for the losses to my short-term memory and other challenges that resulted from my traumatic brain injury. Instead of focusing on what I’ve lost, I focus on the hard work I need to invest to advance my recovery. I’m willing to put in the hard work, but the progress comes incrementally and not without frustration that my life is not nor will be exactly as it was before my accident.

For me, it wasn’t always clear that I would get to witness these important milestones, so I find myself being extra emotional at the events. Fortunately, at this graduation and milestones to come in the future, I can celebrate each hard-earned step along the way.

 Caps off to the graduates.