Am I Going Bonkers?

This post like last week's post is about my thinking rather than any particular event, but some news first. A friend sent me a quote after last week's post that I liked so much I decided to put it on the blog. It is from former Israeli prime minister, Golda Meir, who said "Don't be humble. You're not that great."

My second bit of news is that during the week my physio said it was ok for me to get around places with predictable terrain like Cavit without my stick. She had a good look at my walk before she said that. One of my problems that will, hopefully, pass with time is that, occasionally, I try and transfer my weight on to the foot in the air before it is on the ground. That causes the foot to come down too early. My physio thinks that I should stop doing that in time, but, in the mean time, the stick should make me think about it more and be more useful when the terrain isn't flat or predictable.

The main reason for this post and the reason for the strange title is to tell you about what I am thinking what life will be like post-discharge. I have managed to avoid the common head injury patient desire to get back home earlier than is sensible. However, I don't seem to have avoided the common head injury patient belief that help won't be needed after discharge. I do accept that I will need some physiotherapy after I'm discharged, but it's sort of hard to ignore the issue when you have trouble walking. I don't, however, believe that I will need much more therapy like occupational therapy.

The issue has arisen recently in a meeting between me, my Mum, the clinical leader and the occupational therapist who is most likely to give me help (if I need it :-) after discharge. It has also been an issue in thinking about going away for a trip post-discharge.

This belief creates an interesting situation for me because I am aware that it is so common for head injury patients to believe what they believe despite the common need for help post-discharge. I spend a bit of time wondering if my thinking actually is irrational and if maybe I'm going bonkers.

Still, I might be right (hopefully) and my physio says the difference with me is that I'm willing to listen to what people have to say, but this doesn't stop me wondering if I might be thinking irrationally. How do you ever know if you're going crazy, I guess?

Cheers,
Mike