Despite this, TBI remains one of the country’s most under-discussed health challenges. While mortality rates for TBI remain relatively low due to advancements in the medical field, the long-term economic and social impact is significant.
Fortunately, the field of TBI rehabilitation has evolved significantly, moving from a one-size-fits-all approach to personalised, multidisciplinary care.
Today’s best practices recognise that brain injury recovery requires not just medical treatment but psychological support, occupational therapy, family education, and community integration – starting as early as the patient can tolerate and adapting them over time.
However, the reality of returning to daily activities presents unique challenges that extend far beyond physical limitations. “The biggest challenge is not physical disability but the mismatch between what the brain can realistically do during recovery and what society, family, or the patient expects,” consultant neurosurgeon Dr Low Siaw Nee noted.
“The gap narrows when patients learn compensatory strategies, families understand invisible deficits, and schools or workplaces adapt their expectations.”
Setting realistic goals in these situations becomes an art form that requires both medical expertise and deep empathy. “We help patients set realistic goals by linking them to what matters most, breaking them into achievable phases, and framing recovery as a long journey with ups, downs, and many small victories,” Low explained.
The role of family and community becomes the foundation upon which meaningful recovery is built beyond hospital walls. The brain’s remarkable ability to rebuild depends heavily on consistent stimulation and support from those closest to the survivor.
When families understand the invisible nature of brain injury and communities adapt their expectations, the environment for healing transforms dramatically.
Based on Low’s clinical experience, meaningful recovery occurs when survivors can safely participate in daily life, maintain relationships that matter to them, and rediscover a sense of purpose.
Malaysia’s healthcare system excels at saving lives in TBI emergencies, but the focus on acute care has at times taken the focus away from the equally important challenge of ensuring meaningful recovery. As survival rates improve, Low believes that the need for comprehensive, long-term TBI support becomes increasingly urgent.
“The biggest gap is not saving lives, that is something we can do fairly well already. What is essential is helping survivors live those lives meaningfully through accessible, sustained rehabilitation and social integration,” she said.
Low ultimately advocates for reframing TBI recovery as a two-step journey. The first step involves survival through hospital treatment, while the second encompasses rehabilitation, reintegration, and independence.
This second phase, often invisible to the public, must be valued and supported at every level through family, community, policy, and media. An ideal long-term support system would help patients transition from survival to meaningful, sustainable lives.
Low stressed: “Success should not be measured solely by empty ICU beds, but by survivors who return to work, maintain relationships, pursue passions, and contribute to their communities.
“When we commit to this broader definition of recovery, with patience, persistence and support, meaningful improvement is possible for all.”