How a ‘Minor’ Head Injury Had a Major Impact on My Life | Newsweek My Turn: Health Triumphs

Starting From Scratch

How a long, incremental recovery from a 'minor' head injury had a major impact on my life.

By Bernie Freytag | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Jun 27, 2008 | Updated: 11:05 a.m. ET Jun 27, 2008

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I awoke not knowing where I was. I felt tired but perked up after seeing familiar faces around me. My eyes turned to a nurse who had started to speak.

"You're in Mass. General Hospital, Mr. Freytag. You were in an accident. Do you recognize these people?"

Funny thing, I didn't really hear her say I was in an accident. I was more interested in the second half of the statement. Of course I knew these people. They were my family and friends. Why would she ask such an obvious question?

I found out that I had been in a bike accident and suffered a head injury. I had fallen, fracturing my skull and knocking me unconscious. I don't recall how I fell, and the one person who found me didn't see it either. I also suffered a seizure and fairly extensive bleeding. My biggest mistake? I wasn't wearing a helmet.

At the time, I didn't see a reason to wear a helmet. People will say that's just stupid, and they're absolutely right. But I was 31 years old and felt like I was bulletproof. I just never thought I would get hurt. Unfortunately, I had just found out the hard way how wrong I was.

I was in Boston and training for a marathon at the time. I would ride my bike to work or around the Charles River as part of my cross-training. The day of my accident, my roommate knew something was wrong because my dog was not taken care of and my bike was gone for an unusually long period of time. He called my parents, who, in turn, called the police. I didn't have ID on me, so I was declared missing for about a day and a half. It wasn't until later the next day that they found out where I was—in the hospital. The terrible thoughts that entered everyone's minds, especially my parents', must have been horrendous. I simply can't imagine what they felt, and don't want to try.

I'm not a cyclist, but had the misfortune to suffer from a congenital defect called an arteriovenous malformation. Mine was what my neurosurgeon described as a "bleeder." My choices were to treat "conservatively" by doing nothing, treat agressively with surgery, or treat with radiation. In the case of radiation, I would have to wait 2 to 3 years to discover if the treatment worked. During those couple of years, my chances of hemoraghing again were substantially increased. (I also suffered from a seizure disorder to to the irritating nature of blood on neural connections). I chose surgery. I know it was the correct choice for me. It was the most logical choice if I didn't want to take the chance of dying before age 30.

My recovery was long, physically instead of the relearning that Bernie went through. I first made the mistake at returning to my commision salary job only 6 weeks after surgery during the holiday season. After that, I was out for a month and a half and returned at reduced hours. I am quite sure that I had some of the same problems that Bernie endured. Mine still persist because they weren't obvious to my physicians. My ability to remember names, books that I have read, selective memory of my past. Sometimes memories will return to me temporarily but when I try to retreive the information later, it is lost again. It has been 13 years since my surgery and I doubt that I will ever fully recover. My symptoms seem normal to anyone but me. (Anyone can forget what they went into a room for, or a name - I never did before).

I can relate to Bernie's whole story. I'm a 55 year old female. I had been a cyclist since I was in my early 30's. I was struck by a car on my bike (wearing a helmet) flew over the top of the car landing in the middle of the street on my head. That was 25 years ago. I have had many falls in the past 25 years always wearing a helmet. I've been having seizures for 5 years but not diagnosed until this past December. I had a seizure and fell in my empty concrete swimming pool resulting in a severe concussion 2 years ago. I'm still suffering from memory loss and fatigue. I had another seizure, started on seizure meds, and was unable to drive for 6 months last December. I have just gone back to my job 3 weeks ago. All of this is considered "minor." I am wondering if Bernie was diagnosed with Epilepsy? I was, possibly caused by head trauma at some point in my life. Since he is a cyclist, one that did not wear a helmet, he may have fallen before and hit his head, but not quite as bad. Or maybe his family may have seizure disorders or epilepsy as does mine. It is inspiring to know that he could overcome such obstacles as relearning speech, reading and his job, etc. Great story.

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Posted By: forgetful in atlanta @ 11/01/2008 3:21:42 PM

I'm not a cyclist, but had the misfortune to suffer from a congenital defect called an arteriovenous malformation. Mine was what my neurosurgeon described as a "bleeder." My choices were to treat "conservatively" by doing nothing, treat agressively with surgery, or treat with radiation. In the case of radiation, I would have to wait 2 to 3 years to discover if the treatment worked. During those couple of years, my chances of hemoraghing again were substantially increased. (I also suffered from a seizure disorder to to the irritating nature of blood on neural connections). I chose surgery. I know it was the correct choice for me. It was the most logical choice if I didn't want to take the chance of dying before age 30.

My recovery was long, physically instead of the relearning that Bernie went through. I first made the mistake at returning to my commision salary job only 6 weeks after surgery during the holiday season. After that, I was out for a month and a half and returned at reduced hours. I am quite sure that I had some of the same problems that Bernie endured. Mine still persist because they weren't obvious to my physicians. My ability to remember names, books that I have read, selective memory of my past. Sometimes memories will return to me temporarily but when I try to retreive the information later, it is lost again. It has been 13 years since my surgery and I doubt that I will ever fully recover. My symptoms seem normal to anyone but me. (Anyone can forget what they went into a room for, or a name - I never did before).
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Posted By: skatergirl @ 07/23/2008 8:08:28 PM

I can relate to Bernie's whole story. I'm a 55 year old female. I had been a cyclist since I was in my early 30's. I was struck by a car on my bike (wearing a helmet) flew over the top of the car landing in the middle of the street on my head. That was 25 years ago. I have had many falls in the past 25 years always wearing a helmet. I've been having seizures for 5 years but not diagnosed until this past December. I had a seizure and fell in my empty concrete swimming pool resulting in a severe concussion 2 years ago. I'm still suffering from memory loss and fatigue. I had another seizure, started on seizure meds, and was unable to drive for 6 months last December. I have just gone back to my job 3 weeks ago. All of this is considered "minor." I am wondering if Bernie was diagnosed with Epilepsy? I was, possibly caused by head trauma at some point in my life. Since he is a cyclist, one that did not wear a helmet, he may have fallen before and hit his head, but not quite as bad. Or maybe his family may have seizure disorders or epilepsy as does mine. It is inspiring to know that he could overcome such obstacles as relearning speech, reading and his job, etc. Great story.