Taking My Brain for a Test Drive

Understanding Brain Symptoms: Like Test Driving a Damaged Car

As we shop for replacement vehicles for our vehicle with a faulty transmission, I can’t help but continue to think about the similarities between car problems and the issues I have experienced with brain injury recovery. Imagine you’ve just been handed the keys to a car that looks perfectly normal from the outside. It’s the same make and model you’ve driven for years. You slide into the driver’s seat, turn the key, and… something’s off. The engine starts, but it doesn’t purr like it used to. The steering feels loose in some spots and overly tight in others. The brakes work, but they hesitate for half a second too long. The radio keeps cutting out. Every little system that used to work seamlessly now has quirks, and you can’t quite explain why to the mechanic. The mechanic might even try convincing you nothing is wrong. But the test drive experience shows there are things wrong - sometimes obvious - sometimes hard to explain.

That’s what living with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) often feels like.