Thursday, November 6, 2025
It has now been about 38 days since the crash, and Brennen continues to put in the work every single day. The schedule here has really ramped up, and most of his days are now packed with therapy sessions. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy keep him moving for much of the day.
The therapists here definitely do not take it easy on him. They push him hard, and he pushes right back. A lot of the work right now focuses on rebuilding strength, balance, coordination, and the little things we often take for granted such as movement, reaction time, and mental processing. Some days are easier than others, but overall he continues moving in the right direction. By the end of the day he is usually pretty exhausted, which is expected with the amount of work he is putting in.
One of the big things that happened during this time was Brennen completing his neuropsychological evaluation, which helps the medical team understand how his brain is functioning after the traumatic brain injury. The results were both encouraging and helpful in understanding where he is right now in the recovery process.
Overall, Brennen is demonstrating generally normal cognitive functioning compared to others his age and educational background. His working memory and several areas of executive functioning are performing well, and based on testing they believe his intellectual functioning before the crash was in the average range. Most importantly, the evaluation did not identify any significant global loss of brain function, which is a very positive sign.
There are, however, a few areas that are still being affected by the injury. The biggest challenge right now involves visual–spatial skills, particularly related to right-sided depth perception and spatial awareness. In simple terms, his brain is still relearning how to interpret where things are in space and how far away they are. This is something that can take time but often improves with therapy and continued healing.
Another area that showed some impact is processing speed. Brennen is sometimes slower than average when it comes to taking in information and responding to it. It does not mean he cannot understand things, it just means his brain may need a little more time to process what is happening.
The evaluation also showed that Brennen does best when information is structured and organized. When things are presented clearly or within a story or meaningful context, he actually performs in the high-average range for memory, which is a great sign. However, when information is random or lacks structure, he can have more difficulty retaining and recalling it. That simply means strategies like organization, repetition, and context will be helpful tools during recovery.
There were also some mild impacts in how he organizes verbal information, which speech and cognitive therapy will continue working on.
The overall clinical takeaway from the evaluation is that Brennen’s current challenges with organization, processing speed, and visual–spatial perception are consistent with what doctors often see following a traumatic brain injury. The encouraging part is that because of his young age, the brain has a strong ability to adapt and form new neural connections over time. That ability gives him a lot of potential for continued improvement as he keeps working through therapy.
As for next steps, the recommendations are fairly straightforward. Brennen will continue speech and cognitive therapy focusing on memory, organization, and language processing strategies. At home, he is expected to be able to function fairly independently, although it is recommended that someone be around more often during more complex activities or when he is out in the community.
One of the bigger restrictions right now is driving. Because of the slowed processing speed and visual–spatial issues, he will not be driving for the time being. That will be reevaluated later as his recovery continues.
He is also being advised to avoid alcohol or drugs completely, as those can interfere with the brain’s healing process.
As far as work and National Guard duties go, it is still too early to determine readiness from a cognitive standpoint. The focus right now remains on recovery and rehabilitation.
Doctors expect the most significant improvements in the next three to six months, with continued progress likely happening after that as well. A follow-up neuropsychological evaluation is recommended in about four to six months to track his progress and help guide future decisions.
All of that information may sound technical, but the overall message is positive. Brennen is doing well, and he has a lot of potential for continued improvement.
Most importantly, he continues to show the same determination we have seen from the beginning. Therapy is hard work, but he keeps pushing forward one step, one session, and one day at a time.
~ Dad