There are different phases of a child’s full or partial recovery from a TBI. The first is the acute phase and is the time when children wake from their comas. This is a great time to have familiar items in the room, like favorite stuffed animals, music from home, and pictures of loved ones. Whether your child emerges from the coma aware and cognitive or unresponsive, provide comforting language and try to make the room less foreign. Children may not remember their accident, may have no idea anything has changed them, and may not know where they are. As they are figuring out where they are, understand that they may be simultaneously coming to the harsh realization that nothing will ever be the same.
Your child may not realize how physically different they may now be. For instance, many people have their heads shaved before surgeries. There may be swelling or facial reconstruction, or other injuries such as severed limbs that will become a new reality for a child, who moments before had no idea anything was different or why. The level of awareness your child has of his or her changes may have a lot to do with the age, intellect, behavior, and personality of the child before the car accident.
Your role as a parent after a child’s traumatic brain injury is probably the most challenging role of your life. Every day you deal with the heartbreaking reality that your child is forever changed and living in a harsher reality thanks to a driver who was reckless or negligent. You may not be able to return to work, and you are undoubtedly dealing with an extensive list of bills. Take one thing off your plate and find a diligent Georgia car accident attorney to go after the compensation you so desperately need and deserve.
