New address

Well, since I'm incorporating everything for my blog, this will be under TheMarciFactor also, we will have a separate tab, and DH will still be writing when he can.

TBI Life and a New School year

Tomorrow starts a big step for us.  DH starts yet another grueling semester for school, and Monster starts PPCD because he's behind in speech.

So, last Thursday, we had a meet and greet with his teacher and here he is with just one of the special people that will get to deal with him this year.

I don't know if I'm more worried about Monster or DH.  See, Monster is fairly smart, sometimes a little too smart for his own good.  While DH has problems with just basic classes.  I'm so proud of him for working as hard as he does every day for his grades.  So, it's another semester of me keeping Monster occupied while Daddy studies.  

Then, there's the times where DH gets so frustrated that he wants to quit.  He calls himself stupid and worthless, and it BREAKS. MY. HEART.

I know better.  I know he's incredibly smart, I know what he USED TO BE CAPABLE OF.  We both don't know what the future holds here. 

We talked about things when he first applied for the disability and we were going to travel the United States.  But then, he got the opportunity to go to school, and everything changed.  He's been unable to work and we've lost our house and truck.  We went from having funds to spare, to eating beans and rice to survive.  Now, our main focus is to get him through school.  With the TBI and Hydrocephalus comes the learning disabilities, the memory problems, the trouble walking.  I want to raise awareness for other soldiers coming back with unbearable headaches everyday, falling down for no reason, and forgetting just about everything.  For the spouses, trust me, it's not NORMAL!!! Get it checked out!

Because I insisted he go to the doctor for his headaches, we were thrust into a world of Special Needs and brain surgeries.  Never in a million years, would I have guessed that this would be my life, but it is.  Because he retired, we don't get the support from the military that other injured soldiers get.  There was NO REHAB of any sort for him.  Nothing to help with his memory problems or gain, except a cane...here ya go...good luck.  We're traveling this road alone.  No support from family and very few friends.  But I have to say, our church family has been wonderful...from helping DH with scholarships to school to the surprise baby shower when Monster was born early!

So, where am I going with this?  Just that tomorrow is a very big day!! After this semester, if DH passes, he will have enough credit to be a SENIOR! Monster starts school and I've never done the first day of the school year with any of my kids!! I'm nervous, and scared.  I know I will have to deal with the frustration, and yet, I wish life was easier sometimes. 

Coach Color Tag Contest!

In celebration of Coach’s brand new Legacy Collection, inspired by the Coach archives and colors throughout Coach history, we are spreading the love of color all over the internet with ColorTag. I have always been a HUGE Coach fan. I'm also putting a color here since it's a separate blog! So, Please click away!!! It’s just so rich and beautiful! I love it when it is mixed in with the Legacy stripes the most! Check out my swatch below!

 I need YOUR help PLEASE  to spread this gorgeous color all over the internet! All you have to do is “tag” it by clicking on the color above!! What’s in it for you? There will be more than 100 Coach Gift Cards – ranging from $100 to $500 – that appear at random in the embedded swatches. Make sure to let me know if you find one and WIN!!  

Thanks in advance!!

This is Mike posting again!  I really want this for Marci and this is my blog, so please keep sharing and passing around the hydrocephalus and TBI community! You guys are GREAT!  This would be a great present for Marci and with me being grouchy lately she deserves this!  Keep sharing!!!
SSGJMCook

That Demon Algebra...

So, what have I been doing lately besides the contesting and being a mom and wife? 

Helping decipher  

ALGEBRA...

DH wasn't the best at math before the TBI, and now he's 

trying failing 

that dreaded Demon.

The incredibly funny thing about all this is...he's great at writing papers.

He has 

Screamed and Cried over this.

The one thing that really hurts me is when he gets so frustrated over this that he calls himself 

STUPID.

He wasn't stupid before his TBI, and he's not stupid now.  But, the things that used to come easy to him are so hard now.

The funny thing is...he can do some math that I can't even do.  I still have to write down addition to multiply and he can do it so easily.  

I know he's smart, he's incredibly smart.  And when he finally does pass Algebra, we will have quite the celebration.  Right now, though, it's work work work.

Until 4AM.

Until time to leave the next morning...

Until he works so hard, I have to pull him away from it.  

He will make it...

  

It's Time

I've finally decided it's time to start posting the happenings in our family life, with DH's TBI.  We have our ups and downs, sideways and undergrounds...but we do survive...even if it's in a different way than most families.