> Six years after my recovery, my memory overall is not as sharp as it was before my illness. I use to-do lists to keep myself on track. I triple-check the rehearsal dates on emails I send my students to make sure I haven’t listed the wrong day or month, although sometimes mistakes still slip through. I also sometimes struggle to remember how far back events in my past happened. I’ll catch myself wondering if I had the oil in my car changed three months ago or a year ago. But every time I take my viola out of its case, I feel grateful to be able to think like a musician again.

Probably a testament more to the savant like intelligence of a classically trained musician than an objective description of someone’s stunted recovery.

For me, I exercise the same extra work to keep up with my day to day, though to my knowledge, have never had a traumatic brain injury.