My Skull Fracture 67.5 Years Ago…

I fell down a flight of stairs at nearly 3 years old. The fall resulted in a skull fracture of front and left side of my head. I was in a coma for three days, and had 75 stitches. My skull is depressed in three different places (all on left side) from this fall.
And now .. nearly 68 years later, I am learning so much about my skull fracture.
The only physical impairments I had, were vision problems and mild coordination. Both were resolved soon after. However .. other problems were evident when I started school. I noticed that I could not remember things the way my peers did. I could never answer questions as fast as my peers did. I could not process information, the way my peers did. And this resulted in a very low self esteem, and eventually, depression.
I did not know what was wrong with me at such an early age, but I always felt sadness, too. And I did not understand why. And then insomnia came on…at a very early age. I worried a lot. I felt anxious a lot, and could not sleep well at night. Later in my life, I was diagnosed with clinical depression, anxiety, and borderline OCD. I realize now, all of this could be the result of a TBI. But back in 1955, this was not heard of, nor treated. Oh, I wish I knew then, what I know now! And I have dealt with this ‘TBI’ my entire life! I always knew there was something wrong with me; something different about me. And to this very day .. now 70 years of age, I still feel its effects. My short term memory is getting worse, and I will be on anti-depression and anxiety meds for the rest of my life. (But they do help me)!
So after all these many years later, I have ‘learned’ that I am NOT dumb. I am NOT stupid. (as I was sometimes called in school) I have a TBI that sometimes slows my thinking and processing information. But I am ok now. And I know that I am not alone. Thanks to the internet, and many stories told through YouTube (about TBI’s) I finally feel OK!