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KristyRose Asked May 2015

Caring for my brother (34) who has a Traumatic Brain Injury and needs 24/7 assistance. Anyone else?

My brother is 7 years post injury but his progress has been extremely slow. He is unable to walk, has speech impediments and is unable to shower or toilet on his own. I love him dearly, my whole family does. We have chosen to keep him at home with us, however, we did not anticipate what it could do to our family. As a result, we are burnt out and divided.

pamstegma May 2015
He should be on Medical and SSDI already due to disability. There should be some sort of insurance settlement if he was hurt in an accident. And he should be living independently. I have a sister in a group home. She was born with brain damage (band heterotopia) in 1954. Trust me she is a lot happier with staff she can order around, than she would be here with us.

cwillie May 2015
I think it is admirable that your family has tried to keep your brother at home, however I think in the long run it is not necessarily the best option for him or you. You have given it 7 years, the possibility of any further progress seems remote. He is still a young man and could live a very long time, even with his limitations. You need to explore options that would give him a degree of independence and also provide continuing care for the future. Don't feel that you would be abandoning him, look at it as helping him move out and on with his life as any young man would, only with appropriate supports in place.

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