Dear fellow coma victims, the American Superbowl provoked media about concussion. Something other codes of sport like Australian Rules Football and Rugby Union are also taking seriously. A star American footballer said not to play the game to avoid the brain damage caused. The doctor who treated that player said brain damage caused by concussion was permanent, that cognition was impaired. Hearing all this I reflected upon my own condition and the damage of three month coma which is kind of similar.

For concussion these people spoke of memory loss, I often can’t recall, at least I remember that something was on my mind. I can only guess at the mental functions I lost because of coma. I certainly don’t speak as well as l did before my accident. Just after coma I occasionally slurred and my speech is staggered but it has improved. And with word choice I often consider the next word to use. It’s a little slower but very close to normal. I often test myself with the meaning of words.

I worry all the time about my cognition and perception, and sometimes wonder if I can still feel things like empathy, joy or sorrow. So there you go, my little problems are quite common, indeed the brain is a very sensitive organ. It seems through improvements in technology and medicine we are understanding such organs much better nowadays. Memory is very important.