I need some suggestions....Doctor's orders.
a bit of background first. Sorry for the book - sometimes ya need to vent a bit....
I have been in IT since 1985.
I found myself with some pretty specific WAN skills, and a whole whack of outdated stills, and no job.
Back to school we go. (yet again)
Was about 7 weeks from graduation, (June 2013) when on the way home I had a gentleman turn left in front of me. I T-boned him at about 95kmph. Result was I walked away from a totaled car. Airbag goes off, no memories of going unconscious, and was aware when people came up beside the car. Got checked out, and was back at at school the following week. Found I could not focus, concentrate, comprehend or remember. Struggled for a month, went from a 94 average to the low 60's - Doc checked me out some more, diagnosed a concussion, ordered me to take a month off school, rest bla bla bla. School was very good, did some juggling and was able to come up with a course outline that would have me graduate the following March 2014, restarting in Sept 2013.
Back to school, definitely not as sharp, but at least I'm now pulling mid 80's.
Forward to the end of October, and on the way home from school, after dark on a country road, in a snow squall, I find the farmers lost black and white Holstein cow. Result - same as before totaled car, and no memory of going out. One thing I can confirm - Cows are HEAVY!!.
Same routine as before, went back and tried to pick up where I left off, same problems as before, except this time worse. Take time off over Christmas break then try again - fail badly - Doc says 3 months off - School is torpedoed.
Another concussion.
MRI's and CAT scans have shown nothing really abnormal - a very small area they want to re-check in a few months, but otherwise - good to go. Did a few rounds with the Acquired Brain Injury clinic in London Ontario - that really helped with understanding what was going on, developing coping skills, finding my new normal etc etc.
The last year and whatever months have been a total hell. Focus, concentration are not bad...comprehension is not very good and memory is toast. I was one of the lucky ones that could read something once or twice, understand and remember the gist of it. Not so much now.
Now I have to look up basic things I have known for years, can not find the words to speak about things I should know intimately, and in general conversation search for words and quite often loose a thought - to the point of forgetting what we were talking about as I search for the missing thought. In addition to the mental stuff I now have the pleasure of suffering from bouts of lethargy - kind of how it feels when you try to run in a dream. But the worst is headaches - mid right side. Based upon my log, about 70% of days I have one of one strength or another. I do suffer from migraines - was diagnosed when I was 12 - now 50, so head pain is nothing new, but the frequency is brutal, and they are often strong enough that I need to retire to a cool dark room. Grand result is that I have not been cleared to go back to any type of work or school.
Doctor says I have plateaued, and now wants me to again try reading and see how it goes. Last time I tried it ended up triggering headaches. Now I seem to be pretty good, as I can do a couple hours on the computer on days me head is not trying to evict my brain.
So, what I am looking for is some mid-level Sci-Fi.
I'm thinking Space-Opera or some such.
My usual is a tend toward hard sci-fi, with lots of tech.
I'm not up to something too cerebral like Bear / Brin / Vinge.
But I don't want fluff, as the really lightweight stuff drives me nuts.
Also not too fond of overly political / alternate history stuff.
Aliens / galactic civilization are cool.
I can even get into a bit of fantasy tinged such as the P.E.R.N stuff by McCaffrey.
Do you have any suggestions on some titles that may be of interest to the brain damaged?
Thank-you.
a bit of background first. Sorry for the book - sometimes ya need to vent a bit....
I have been in IT since 1985.
I found myself with some pretty specific WAN skills, and a whole whack of outdated stills, and no job.
Back to school we go. (yet again)
Was about 7 weeks from graduation, (June 2013) when on the way home I had a gentleman turn left in front of me. I T-boned him at about 95kmph. Result was I walked away from a totaled car. Airbag goes off, no memories of going unconscious, and was aware when people came up beside the car. Got checked out, and was back at at school the following week. Found I could not focus, concentrate, comprehend or remember. Struggled for a month, went from a 94 average to the low 60's - Doc checked me out some more, diagnosed a concussion, ordered me to take a month off school, rest bla bla bla. School was very good, did some juggling and was able to come up with a course outline that would have me graduate the following March 2014, restarting in Sept 2013.
Back to school, definitely not as sharp, but at least I'm now pulling mid 80's.
Forward to the end of October, and on the way home from school, after dark on a country road, in a snow squall, I find the farmers lost black and white Holstein cow. Result - same as before totaled car, and no memory of going out. One thing I can confirm - Cows are HEAVY!!.
Same routine as before, went back and tried to pick up where I left off, same problems as before, except this time worse. Take time off over Christmas break then try again - fail badly - Doc says 3 months off - School is torpedoed.
Another concussion.
MRI's and CAT scans have shown nothing really abnormal - a very small area they want to re-check in a few months, but otherwise - good to go. Did a few rounds with the Acquired Brain Injury clinic in London Ontario - that really helped with understanding what was going on, developing coping skills, finding my new normal etc etc.
The last year and whatever months have been a total hell. Focus, concentration are not bad...comprehension is not very good and memory is toast. I was one of the lucky ones that could read something once or twice, understand and remember the gist of it. Not so much now.
Now I have to look up basic things I have known for years, can not find the words to speak about things I should know intimately, and in general conversation search for words and quite often loose a thought - to the point of forgetting what we were talking about as I search for the missing thought. In addition to the mental stuff I now have the pleasure of suffering from bouts of lethargy - kind of how it feels when you try to run in a dream. But the worst is headaches - mid right side. Based upon my log, about 70% of days I have one of one strength or another. I do suffer from migraines - was diagnosed when I was 12 - now 50, so head pain is nothing new, but the frequency is brutal, and they are often strong enough that I need to retire to a cool dark room. Grand result is that I have not been cleared to go back to any type of work or school.
Doctor says I have plateaued, and now wants me to again try reading and see how it goes. Last time I tried it ended up triggering headaches. Now I seem to be pretty good, as I can do a couple hours on the computer on days me head is not trying to evict my brain.
So, what I am looking for is some mid-level Sci-Fi.
I'm thinking Space-Opera or some such.
My usual is a tend toward hard sci-fi, with lots of tech.
I'm not up to something too cerebral like Bear / Brin / Vinge.
But I don't want fluff, as the really lightweight stuff drives me nuts.
Also not too fond of overly political / alternate history stuff.
Aliens / galactic civilization are cool.
I can even get into a bit of fantasy tinged such as the P.E.R.N stuff by McCaffrey.
Do you have any suggestions on some titles that may be of interest to the brain damaged?
Thank-you.
stuff. I picked up the first 6 books of the "