Brain injury can change the way you think, remember, communicate, and move through everyday life. Sometimes, even the things you have done for years can suddenly feel impossible.
In this video, Dr. Eric shares a deeply personal part of his recovery with Adeline. He describes struggling with memory, losing track of his thoughts while speaking, and wondering whether he could pass a college class because of how difficult remembering information had become.
Yet, his story also includes an important moment of change.
🧠 When Memory Changes Everything
Dr. Eric explains that after his brain injury, remembering information became extremely difficult.
He describes being unable to remember enough to feel confident answering questions in a college class. Sometimes, he would forget the beginning of a question before the person had finished asking it.
Imagine trying to answer someone when you cannot hold the entire question in your mind.
Or imagine starting to explain something and suddenly forgetting what you were saying halfway through a sentence.
These were some of the challenges Dr. Eric experienced.
💔 Feeling Like a Different Person
Dr. Eric shares that he did not discuss these struggles with his colleagues, except for one close friend.
He describes the period before September 2022 as feeling like a robot. He continued teaching pathophysiology by relying on his slides and what he already knew, but he struggled to interact with students in the way he had before.
He explains that interruptions could cause him to lose his train of thought completely.
For someone whose work involves teaching and explaining complex information, this kind of change can affect much more than a classroom experience. It can change how a person sees their abilities and their place in the world.
🌱 September 2022: A Meaningful Turning Point
Dr. Eric identifies September 2022 as an important turning point.
He recalls a student walking into his Wednesday class and realizing that he could remember what he had taught on Monday. He also remembered the student’s name.
He describes this as the point when he felt he became a professor again.
That moment mattered because it represented a change in an ability he had struggled with for a long time.
His story reminds us that recovery can involve changes that may seem small to someone else but feel enormous to the person experiencing them.
🧩 When Everyday Tasks Require More Effort
Dr. Eric also describes how memory difficulties affected him outside the classroom.
He shares an example from church, where he participated in activities in the morning and returned for a service in the afternoon. He found himself repeatedly asking the service minister about things he would normally have been able to work out himself.
Experiences like these can be frustrating and exhausting.
When memory and thinking become less reliable, ordinary tasks may require more repetition, reminders, or support.
If this sounds familiar, please remember that struggling with a task does not mean you are not trying hard enough.
💗 Your Struggles Do Not Define Your Worth
Dr. Eric’s story gives us a glimpse of how deeply a brain injury can affect a person’s everyday abilities and sense of identity.
It also reminds us not to assume that someone is doing well simply because they continue showing up, working, teaching, or participating in their community.
People may be working very hard behind the scenes to manage challenges others cannot see.
Every person’s recovery is different. We cannot know what the future will look like for someone else, but we can offer patience, understanding, and room for them to describe their own experience.
🌷 Love Love Brain Note
If your brain injury has changed the way you remember, speak, work, or manage everyday tasks, you are not alone in facing those challenges.
You may miss the things that once came naturally. You may need more time, reminders, or help than you used to.
That does not erase your knowledge, your experiences, your relationships, or your worth.
Give yourself permission to acknowledge how difficult things can be. Celebrate meaningful changes, even when they seem small to others.
You are more than the abilities that brain injury has changed. 💗
🎥 Watch the Video
Watch Dr. Eric share his experience with Adeline:
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Note: Every brain injury is different. This content is for education and support, not medical advice.
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