I Have a What? A Guide for Coping with Moderate-to-Severe TBI

I Have a What?!:A Guide for Coping with Moderate-to-Severe TBIAn injury can also be judged by looking at what is called post-traumaticamnesia. People may be temporarily confused after a TBI or after waking up from acoma. They may not know where they are for minutes, hours, or even days. Duringthis time, people may be unable to make new memories. They may not remember thisperiod of time later. This may be why you do not remember the events right after yourinjury. This period of time is called “post-traumatic amnesia.” In general, the longerthe person is confused and not remembering information, the worse the injury.Generally, post-traumatic amnesia is considered to mean a moderate-to-severe injuryif it lasts greater than 24 hours. In addition, there is another type of amnesia thatmay occur due to a TBI. It causes people to be unable to remember the events rightbefore their injury. This is called retrograde amnesia.The Glasgow Coma Scale (Teasdale & Jennett, 1974) or “GCS” is a tool thatmeasures how bad an injury has been. It is often used in hospitals. It is a way tomeasure how a person responds to their environment. The GCS looks at three things:eye opening (do you open your eyes when you want to?), motor responses (do youmove when asked?), and verbal responses (can you tell the doctors where you are?).The GCS score can range from 3 to 15. Lower GCS score means more severe injuries.People with scores between 9 and 12 are considered to have a “moderate” TBI. Peoplewith scores between 3 and 8 are considered to have a “severe” TBI.If you are taken to the hospital by ambulance,the medical team usually completes this scaleright after your injury. Also, it is completedwhen you go to the emergency room. If you arein the hospital after your injury, the GCS willusually be conducted several times to measurehow you are doing.Page 6