In 1988, Su Meck, a 22-year-old married mother of two, literally had her world come crashing down on her.
A ceiling collapsed on Meck’s head. After the accident, she took a terrible fall. She was then taken to the hospital badly injured. When she regained consciousness, Meck had lost all of her memories. While she could speak, words were limited and she drifted in and out of consciousness.
She couldn’t recognize her family. She couldn’t remember how to read, take a shower, brush her teeth or tie her shoes. All memories of things known and learned before the age of 22 were gone.
Meck, confused, scared and in pain, was released from the hospital a mere three weeks later to go home to care for her two toddler sons with no resources, support, tools or help. She literally didn’t know how her children, let alone how to care for them, feed them or supervise them.
Visits with neurologists left Meck feeling helpless and defeated. While her MRI’s didn’t “show” anything, she was suffering from painful headaches and the memory issues were debilitating.
While Meck’s body healed quickly, her brain did not. In fact, her experiences were nothing short of grueling and harrowing.
Today, at age 48, Meck has regained her life in many ways and is forging a new path for herself. She returned to college and also authored a memoir. Her book, “I Forgot to Remember: A Memoir of Amnesia” was just released earlier this month. Meck wrote the book for fellow TBI survivors and their families. She also wanted to tell the world that her symptoms were very real; she hopes with her book, that those in the medical community will understand what she endured.
In addition to the link noted above to learn more about the book, Meck was recently interviewed on “The Diane Rehm Show” (radio broadcast). Click HERE to hear the interview or read the interview transcript.
SOUND OFF: It’s now your turn. After checking out Meck’s book review and/or interview, what do you think? Have you or a family member or friend experienced something similar? What was that like? If you could ask Meck a question or share a comment, what would you say?