Welcome to Caleb Electric Brain! I'm a traumatic brain injury survivor and this is my online journal where I document my journey with a TBI. I share how I've not only survived my challenges, but learned to thrive because of them.
Hey guys, I'm Caleb!
At age 1 my family was in a car accident and my parents didn't survive.
I suffered two skull fractures & miraculously survived...
I was left with a lifelong traumatic brain injury.
I was born a healthy baby.
My Story
My brain injury has taught me important lessons about how to live a full and happy life
1.
MY ACCIDENT
The story of how I got my traumatic brain injury...
3.
MY BRAIN
See which areas of my brain are injured and how it affects me...
2.
MY RESCUERS
See the video that led me to the people who saved my life...
4.
MY FAMILY
Meet my super big family and my caregivers...
A little more about me...
5.
COOL FACTS
I can solve a Rubik's Cube, and other cool facts about me...
6.
THE BLOG
Visit the blog. Life updates, games, brain health and more...
T-Boned By a Semi
On November 22, 2000 in McKinney, TX, the day before Thanksgiving, my family was driving to my aunt and uncle's house for the holidays.
My mom was driving and pulled out on a country road. Because a small hill blocked her view, she didn't see an 18-wheeler semi coming towards us at 60 mph.
The semi T-boned my family's van...
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My Accident
Two Skull Fractures
The impact from the semi caused my family's van to crush and spin across the road into a field of weeds. No one saw what happened to me, but our best guess is that my rear-facing car seat, secured with a lap belt, flipped up and my forehead hit the back of the seat so hard that it cracked the front of my skull. Then as I was whipped back, the back of my head hit the back of my car seat so hard that it cracked the back of my skull.
My head also whipped from side to side causing internal hematomas (blood clots) on the left and ride side of my brain. I was in trouble...
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My Accident
I Almost Died
The skull fractures and hematomas set off a chain of events that put my life in danger. I immediately went into a coma and I was going into respiratory failure. My vital systems were very unstable and large parts of my brain stopped working causing me to be paralyzed, blind, and deaf at the time. My medical team didn't know if I would ever move, see, or hear again! My injuries also caused diabetes insipidus and doctors were worried if I did survive I might get permanent type 1 diabetes (I didn't, luckily). Then I was having a lot of grand mal and subclinical seizures, I stopped making hormones, oh, and I got pneumonia. So...yeah. I wasn't doing too good...
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My Accident
I Needed an IV
The first responders stabilized me and rushed me to the closest hospital about 5 minutes away. Because I was going into respiratory failure I needed a breathing tube to be inserted down my throat and into my lungs to help me breathe, but in order for that to work I needed an IV to pump me full of the right meds. The problem was I was cold and my veins were clamped down. After several failed attempts to insert the IV the physician on duty suggested they try a thing called intraosseous infusion (IO) which basically means they stick the IV directly into the marrow of my ankle bone. It wasn't a common procedure in 2000 and there was only one nurse who had done it before...
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My Accident
The Nurse who Saved My Life
The only nurse at the hospital who had done an IO had only done it once before and she was nervous. The other nurses in the room cheered her on. She cut into my right ankle bone and tried to place the IV but it didn't work. So then she cut my left ankle. As she went to place the IV this second time she knew this might be my last chance to survive. She said a little prayer and...it worked! They pumped me full of meds and hooked up the breathing tube. But I wasn't out of the woods yet...
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My Accident
I Needed Brain Surgery
Even with my breathing tube I needed some serious help. My brain was swelling inside my skull and my hematomas needed to be removed fast before they caused more damage or killed me. I needed to be life-flighted to Dallas Children's Hospital for brain surgery ASAP. I was very unstable and my medical team wasn't sure if I would survive the 20 minute flight, but I made it! I was rushed into surgery. My neurosurgeons cut into my skull and relieved the pressure on my brain and removed my left hematoma. Then they gave me meds to dissolve my right hematoma. My neurosurgeons were amazing, but was it enough to save my life?...
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My Accident
I Survived!
After surgery my medical team kept close watch on me, but basically it was waiting game at that point to see if my brain and body would be able to keep fighting and stay alive.
Well...I'm here today so you know the ending. I survived! After a few days I started moving again and I was no longer paralyzed and I started to see and hear again. Some parts of my brain started working again, other parts of my brain died or were damaged beyond repair. To this day I still have a lot of brain damage and recovery has been a long road, but I'm alive! I'm so thankful for the people who saved my life and I'm dedicated to do amazing things with the life they saved!
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My Accident
I Found Her
Within hours of releasing the video I learned the name of the nurse who helped save me. Her name was Dennie Miller. She was a skilled nurse who impacted many lives. I wish I could have said thank you to her, but I was heartbroken to learn she passed away years ago. However, something completely unexpected happened because so many people shared my video...
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My Rescuers
I Found My Rescuers!
Dozens of nurses, practitioners, physicians, surgeons, and first responders reached out to me and said they remembered me and my family!
I knew saying "thank you" over social media wasn't enough. I had to tell them face to face. So I flew to Texas with my family to thank as many people as I could in person.
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My Rescuers
Read more about my trip to Texas to meet my rescuers
Left Frontal Lobe
My accident was in 2000. Here are the areas of my brain that are still affected by my injury.
The left side of my frontal lobe is damaged. The damage in this area makes it hard for me to understand social cues that everyone else around me picks up on naturally. I don't always understand the "right" way to act in social situations. The damage in this area also makes it hard for me to make plans and organize projects and schedules.
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My Brain
See which areas of my brain are injured and how my brain is overcoming those injuries.
Occipital Lobe
I also have damage in my occipital lobe. This is the area that affects vision. When I was younger I had nystagmus (my eyes would constantly shake back and forth) and it was really hard to read, write, and find stuff. My eyes couldn't track as good as other people's eyes. I've improved a lot in this area, but I still have trouble finding things and reading quickly.
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My Brain
I've got a lot brain damage, but I also have a lot of brain awesome!
See what my brain has overcome!
Left Posterior Temporal Lobe
The brain damage on my left posterior temporal lobe makes it hard for me to have conversations and tell stories. When someone asks me a question I need more time to process the question and to come up with a response. I used to have really long pauses in my conversations, sometimes taking me 30-45 seconds before I could respond to someone. Now I can speak a lot faster and my conversations are more smooth, but you can still notice I'm slower than most people.
Tour my brain
My Brain
I've got a lot brain damage, but I also have a lot of brain awesome!
See what my brain has overcome!
Cerebellum
My cerebellum is underdeveloped because of injuries from my accident. The cerebellum is what controls balance and motor skills. It took me a long time to learn how to walk and I would fall all the time as a kid. I still have trouble with movement and balance, but now I can walk, run, and ride a recumbent bike. I lose my balance more than most people, but I'm pretty proud of how far I've come.
Tour my brain
My Brain
I've got a lot brain damage, but I also have a lot of brain awesome!
See what my brain has overcome!
Basal Ganglia
The Basal Ganglia do a lot. They basically coordinate movement and help you form habits and skills. Because of damage in this area of my brain my movements aren't always smooth. It's also hard for me to learn skills and to form new habits.
Tour my brain
My Brain
I've got a lot brain damage, but I also have a lot of brain awesome!
See what my brain has overcome!
Thalamus
The thalamus is the part of the brain that processes information. Because of damage in this area of the brain it takes me longer than most people to catch what's going on around me. I will miss jokes, I have to ask people what's going on in a movie if something unexpected happens, and I don't always understand what people are trying to tell me.
Tour my brain
My Brain
I've got a lot brain damage, but I also have a lot of brain awesome!
See what my brain has overcome!
Pituitary Gland
Finally, my pituitary gland doesn't work. It's the thing that makes hormones. I have to take synthetic growth hormones so my body will grow and I have to take synthetic cortisol so that my body will make muscle. Even though the pituitary gland is small, this is one of my most life threatening injuries because when I get a fever my temperature will keep going up unless I get a cortisol shot! Scary. While I can improve the other areas of my brain, there's really nothing I can do to fix my pituitary gland.
Tour my brain
My Brain
I've got a lot brain damage, but I also have a lot of brain awesome!
See what my brain has overcome!
I was the youngest of 5 kids.
I'm told I inherited my upbeat personality from my mom and my love of games from my dad.
After the accident, my aunt and uncle invited me and my 4 other siblings to live with them along with their 6 kids.
I went from being the youngest of 5 to the youngest of 11!
Today my family is even bigger!
In addition to siblings, cousin-siblings, and in-law spouses, I now have 21 nieces and nephews!
My Family
My Caregivers
