Jim Towell
Traumatic Brain Injury
Jim was an avid golfer and active community member when his life changed drastically one fall day after finishing his usual round on the golf course. He went home to have lunch with his wife, as was his routine, however what happened next was anything but the usual.
As Jim was driving home he felt a little off. He is hypoglycemic so thought it was just a low blood-sugar episode, but upon arriving and stepping out of his car, he passed out. That is the last thing Jim remembers as he hit his head on the concrete and sustained a traumatic brain injury.
His wife, Glenda, rushed outside and called 911. He was taken to Texas Health Presbyterian in Plano where he was sedated for a week due to bleeding in his brain. Eventually, the bleeding resolved on its own but when Jim woke, his memory was completely gone.
After a month in the hospital, Jim was transferred to Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation – Frisco (BSWIR-Frisco) for intensive brain injury rehabilitation. At the beginning of his stay, Jim’s main deficit was extreme confusion and lack of memory recall. He believed that he was serving in the Army and stationed out of the country, even though Jim had never served in the military. He was upset that Glenda would never visit, yet she was there all the time. He had a lot of anger, but didn’t understand why.
Jim’s turning point came when he began to pray. This helped to alleviate the anger and frustration he was experiencing due to his memory loss and confusion. Praying also gave him peace with his situation allowing him to begin trusting the therapists and medical staff. Jim started to embrace his rehabilitation program, and the true healing began.
Jim’s team diligently worked to help him regain his memory. Through daily therapy with a speech-language pathologist, his mind began to rebuild the connections. Physical therapy, specifically balance training, enable Jim to gain control over extreme vertigo.
When it was time for discharge, Jim was faced with a new reality of adapting to life after a brain injury. He quickly realized that little everyday things that he once as routine activities such as paying bills, yard work and pool maintenance became much more complicated. That’s when he decided to continue his recovery and become a patient at the Day Neuro Program at BSWIR-Frisco.
Through that program, Jim continued his journey with continuous therapy focusing on his memory as well as his duties at home. Jim believes his strong faith and the love and resilience of Glenda got him through the toughest days of his long recovery road.
Grateful for his progress, Jim also wanted to give back and help others so he started a support group for patient’s recovering from a brain injury. During each meeting Jim shares his story, provides encouragement and reminds everyone to “just have faith!”