Left behind

Life goes on for many
I am left behind
The car that hit me I don’t remember
Its impact for me will last forever

Last year in high school, graduating year
Instead of school, in hospital I spent my time
Serious damage to body and brain
I lie in a bed, and don’t understand

Nothing makes sense, I’m lost in time
Doctors and nurses, they’re now my world
Life goes on for all the others
Graduates all and off to new adventures

Wait for me! I scream, but no one hears
In a foreign land I am left behind
new classmates don’t know the old me
The one who was so smart and strong

Recovery is long, many months and years
Slowly I learn about the new me
High school I finish and university too
Eventually also a good enough job

It’s a new path I walk, but don’t accept
New life, new mates, new reality I didn’t choose
But life goes on and I adapt
A good life they say, but not my plan

Years go by and over my shoulder I often look
To picture the life I could have had
Sadness and anger over a life imagined
I am on the wrong path and am left behind

Then an idea begins to grow
Are there options maybe I didn’t see?
Maybe there’s a purpose on this different path
Connecting with others and spreading the word
Many who have left the path
Also need a beacon to help them navigate
This new reality thrust upon them
Perhaps it’s where my purpose lies?

Through this action, I come to terms
With this my life I didn’t choose
I have focus, and purpose and meaning now
I am no longer left behind

Cisela Thoren was involved in a serious car accident as an 18 yr old when she was struck by a vehicle as a pedestrian crossing the street while going to school. In the accident, she sustained a serious traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for a month. She also sustained several broken bones. Her rehabilitation involved many therapists, ranging from physio and occupational therapists, nurses, psychologists and a variety of specialist physicians. After a long year of inpatient and outpatient treatment and therapy, she was able to leave the hospital, learning to live with the many visible and invisible impairments and disabilities, some that would last a lifetime. Following “recovery” she was able to graduate from High School, and then went on to earn a BSc. in Biology and another one in Occupational Therapy. Cisela has practiced in Occupational Therapy for over 30 years in Disability Management and Work Place Mental Health. After a career in clinical work, she embarked on a Master’s of Science Degree, graduating in 2022 at the age of 57. Today, she continues to work in Disability Management and Occupational Therapy and is working on sharing with others the experiences she has lived as a brain injury survivor in the hopes that they will gain some hope from her journey, as well as to help clinicians and researchers understand a little more about the patients and individuals with whom they work.