Scars

My husband had a brain injury 16 years ago.
He hasn't recovered.

You can't see it...he seems "normal" to most people.  But expect him to remember how you showed him to do that task yesterday, and you might assume he wasn't paying attention.  The next time you show him, you might be confused, wondering if you're not explaining it clearly enough.  The third time you have to explain the same thing, you're just downright frustrated, wondering why he's not taking this seriously and focusing on the task at hand.

He can't help it.

But he seems "normal".

Work has been a struggle since he started a new job almost 2 years ago.  Every day he would come home feeling inadequate, knowing his memory deficit causes frustration for his co-workers.  He felt incompetent and a burden to his co-workers, because, in so many words, they told him he was.

But then something happened.  He had a stroke, and after 3 months of physical and occupational rehab, he returned to work with a physical limp.  His legs don't work quite the same...and his arm is a little stiff when he goes to pull something off the shelf.  He's slower going down steps and  you can hear his "ga-lumph" as he walks awkwardly down the hall.

And his co-workers don't get as frustrated. They don't belittle him for forgetting things or treat him like a child when they need to explain something again.

His limp reminds them to be gentle.  To be patient. 

Wouldn't it be nice if we ALL had a scar to remind people to use caution when approaching?  A limp that says "there's a reason this is happening".