Lisa's Story
Hi, my name is Lisa Webb. I created this site along with Alisha Ball to provide information and resources for others recovering from concussion. I am sharing my experience today to offer solace for other survivors.
I was 58 years old at the time of the accident. I was a small business owner, a very driven person, I guess type A++ personality.
On January 30th, 2015, I fell and hit my head on a 100 year old concrete inclined driveway. I was moving a trashcan when my shoe got caught in the open lid and the momentum flipped me in the air and onto the driveway; I landed on the front left side of my head.
After rushing to the ER, my diagnosis was mTBI, otherwise known as concussion. I was stunned and had no idea what this truly meant for me. Perhaps this would mean a few days off and then back to my life. This didn’t happen. As the days progressed, I gradually felt worse.
The first month was very hard. I could not tolerate noise. Every sound seemed to be amplified tenfold and I had to wear earplugs almost full time. I was also extremely sensitive to light, staying in the dark with the shades drawn, wearing a black out mask. I had no appetite, but ate and drank water so my body could function. I felt lost emotionally and very scared because I couldn’t think. I could not recall things I had done: client work, family events, etc. I had headaches and my vision was “off.” I had no depth perception and no peripheral vision on the right side. My balance was off kilter and I felt as though my brain was about a foot above my body, attached to my head via a cord. My thoughts were sometimes frightening and other times my brain just felt numb.
After seeing a neurologist, having an EEG (to measure brain activity), MRI, and taking a Neuropsych test, I was 3 months into my recovery and was still not well. Every specialist I saw would tell me “Well, you’re better, but it may take 4-6 more weeks.” I was told 4-6 weeks many, many times throughout the 1st year of recovery.
Then I found a vestibular therapist who was fabulous and highly educated in concussion recovery. She was the most knowledgeable of anyone I had seen to date. With her guidance, my balance was improving and she referred me to a neuro-optometrist for my vision difficulties. The eye exam was different from my ophthalmologic exam, and it confirmed I had no depth perception and was experiencing eye tracking and peripheral problems. I started vision therapy immediately. Slowly, I was showing steady progress. It was very hard work, even grueling. My vision therapist was very cautious not to push me too far each week as overdoing could incapacitate me the next day. After 6 months, I saw a dramatic difference in my function and my stamina. Until this experience, I did not realize how much vision affects brain function, and how critical it was to my healing!
Today, my brain is not the same as it was prior to my concussion 2 years ago. I am not the same person, definitely not Type A ++ any longer. I still want things done well, but I admit I’m less driven. I’m slower, too: in movement, I’m more cautious of each step I take. Another change I have recognized is that I have fewer filters in my thoughts, which can cause problems, but can also be a good thing. Generally, my brain is good, actually better in some respects. Overall, there were many unexpected changes in my brain and my life from this is experience, even my professional interests have changed!
The most exciting thing about my life now is that I have a new interest which was never a part of my world before: art. A vision came to me one morning as I was waking up and I saw very clear, abstract art that was unbelievably vivid. After sharing my revelation with my neurotherapist, she insisted I take art lessons. Never before had I been so inclined, but I absolutely love oil painting. Alongside helping others going through concussion recovery, art is my new passion!
I don’t know who I will be this time next year. I do know that accepting my new self was the best gift I could give myself, and the best one you can give yourself.
Advice to Other Survivors:
Accept the new you
Don’t give up
Join or create a support group
Eat healthy
Take supplements
Get all the therapies you need
Have a great supportive team
Protect yourself
Learn to say “No, thanks, I can’t”
Be gentle with yourself, do not push yourself- you will pay dearly
Moderate exercise plan
If you have food cravings, give into them
Nurture your soul
Enjoy the New You!
I wanted to create this website to help others dealing with concussion and post-concussion syndrome. I hope this site is helpful to you all.
I am 60 years old now and have spent 2 years in recovery. I look forward to my future every day.
May you have a great recovery experience.
-Lisa
I was 58 years old at the time of the accident. I was a small business owner, a very driven person, I guess type A++ personality.
On January 30th, 2015, I fell and hit my head on a 100 year old concrete inclined driveway. I was moving a trashcan when my shoe got caught in the open lid and the momentum flipped me in the air and onto the driveway; I landed on the front left side of my head.
After rushing to the ER, my diagnosis was mTBI, otherwise known as concussion. I was stunned and had no idea what this truly meant for me. Perhaps this would mean a few days off and then back to my life. This didn’t happen. As the days progressed, I gradually felt worse.
The first month was very hard. I could not tolerate noise. Every sound seemed to be amplified tenfold and I had to wear earplugs almost full time. I was also extremely sensitive to light, staying in the dark with the shades drawn, wearing a black out mask. I had no appetite, but ate and drank water so my body could function. I felt lost emotionally and very scared because I couldn’t think. I could not recall things I had done: client work, family events, etc. I had headaches and my vision was “off.” I had no depth perception and no peripheral vision on the right side. My balance was off kilter and I felt as though my brain was about a foot above my body, attached to my head via a cord. My thoughts were sometimes frightening and other times my brain just felt numb.
After seeing a neurologist, having an EEG (to measure brain activity), MRI, and taking a Neuropsych test, I was 3 months into my recovery and was still not well. Every specialist I saw would tell me “Well, you’re better, but it may take 4-6 more weeks.” I was told 4-6 weeks many, many times throughout the 1st year of recovery.
Then I found a vestibular therapist who was fabulous and highly educated in concussion recovery. She was the most knowledgeable of anyone I had seen to date. With her guidance, my balance was improving and she referred me to a neuro-optometrist for my vision difficulties. The eye exam was different from my ophthalmologic exam, and it confirmed I had no depth perception and was experiencing eye tracking and peripheral problems. I started vision therapy immediately. Slowly, I was showing steady progress. It was very hard work, even grueling. My vision therapist was very cautious not to push me too far each week as overdoing could incapacitate me the next day. After 6 months, I saw a dramatic difference in my function and my stamina. Until this experience, I did not realize how much vision affects brain function, and how critical it was to my healing!
Today, my brain is not the same as it was prior to my concussion 2 years ago. I am not the same person, definitely not Type A ++ any longer. I still want things done well, but I admit I’m less driven. I’m slower, too: in movement, I’m more cautious of each step I take. Another change I have recognized is that I have fewer filters in my thoughts, which can cause problems, but can also be a good thing. Generally, my brain is good, actually better in some respects. Overall, there were many unexpected changes in my brain and my life from this is experience, even my professional interests have changed!
The most exciting thing about my life now is that I have a new interest which was never a part of my world before: art. A vision came to me one morning as I was waking up and I saw very clear, abstract art that was unbelievably vivid. After sharing my revelation with my neurotherapist, she insisted I take art lessons. Never before had I been so inclined, but I absolutely love oil painting. Alongside helping others going through concussion recovery, art is my new passion!
I don’t know who I will be this time next year. I do know that accepting my new self was the best gift I could give myself, and the best one you can give yourself.
Advice to Other Survivors:
Accept the new you
Don’t give up
Join or create a support group
Eat healthy
Take supplements
Get all the therapies you need
Have a great supportive team
Protect yourself
Learn to say “No, thanks, I can’t”
Be gentle with yourself, do not push yourself- you will pay dearly
Moderate exercise plan
If you have food cravings, give into them
Nurture your soul
Enjoy the New You!
I wanted to create this website to help others dealing with concussion and post-concussion syndrome. I hope this site is helpful to you all.
I am 60 years old now and have spent 2 years in recovery. I look forward to my future every day.
May you have a great recovery experience.
-Lisa
Alisha's Story
By 2020, traumatic brain injury (TBI) will be the largest public health problem in the world (World Health Organization). The CDC estimates than more that 2.5 million people experience traumatic brain injury each year and more than 5.3 million live with TBI in the US alone; multitudes of cases of TBI remain undiagnosed.
Like so many others, I was living a shared experience in the invisible epidemic facing our nation.
I just didn’t know it at the time!
My journey began one evening in October of 2010 when I walked away from a car accident. To this day, the crash plays like a film reel in my mind: the car slamming into the concrete wall, the buckling screech of the passenger’s side crumpling in, dust expelling forth from the airbag. Then black out. Somehow, I could hear the clicking of the demolished engine trying to turn as the car careened across 4 lanes of highway to a final stop.
I awoke in frantic disbelief, extending my hands and feet to see if I could still move them, to know if I was still alive. I remember slowly emerging from the vehicle, dazed but overwhelmingly happy to be in one piece. Feeling a bit foggy and seemingly unscathed, I decided to return to class the next day. I remember laughing with some friends and classmates about the car accident, “I’m so lucky! I only have a few scratches and ‘a little whiplash.’”
At the time, I was a 20 year old college student. The semester before the accident, several of my professors used to say that I was “destined to be a Fulbright student;” I don't like to brag, but I made high grades, and was generally described as a great combination of extroversion and intellect. All of that changed just a few weeks after the accident. Emergent problems with memory, concentration, fatigue, vertigo and extreme, persistent migraines began to take a toll on my school, work and personal life.
3 weeks after my accident, I realized I couldn’t remember anything I was reading. I would lose my place on the page and would be completely unable to retain any context. Then the migraines began. I thought I knew the pain of migraines as I had experienced a few of them as a teenager, but they paled in comparison. These made me feel as though my eyes were coming loose from my face and my skull was about to rip down the middle. It was the most excrutiating pain I had ever felt.
My days were spent in class under grueling florescent lights, my nights sitting inside my bathtub in complete darkness, cradling my face and praying for the pain to subside. It felt as though anything could trigger the migraines and I could not escape the pain.
Many times in class, I would find myself staring blankly past the professor or aimlessly down at my notepad. Becoming more unable to concentrate on the material, I would try to sit in the dimmest portion of the class, making a concerted effort to avoid computer screens and the brightness of the ceiling lights. Between classes I would seek the dark solace of a back corner in the library to avoid the light and the shrill sound of printers and conversation.
One of the most unsettling experiences was that I recognized I was becoming more easily upset, often crying and sometimes aggressive during situations which normally would not ignite me. I began to feel intense anxiety and found it difficult to stop myself from expressing strong and rapidly changing emotions. The consequence of my emotional instability was arriving at a place of isolation: I lost many of my long-standing friendships and held a strained relationship with my family. When depression set in, I decided to seek medical help.
After frequently consulting with my general physician, I lived under a diagnosis of ‘severe migraines,’ taking prescribed medications (Amitriptyline and Imitrex) to control my debilitating headaches without recourse or improvement in my condition. In less than a year, I gained more than 30 pounds and began sleeping excessively. I felt constantly tired and fatigued, and had no motivation to go out or do anything that used to make me happy. Many days, I didn’t even want to get out of bed. My head was hurting so profusely that I sometimes couldn’t see to drive. I started to become more forgetful and even started missing assignments and classes. I applied for medical aid in school which allowed me to take more time on tests and offered me a little more leniency with course attendance. On some rare days I felt pretty good, but most of the time I was fighting through the pain. I was pushing myself through coursework, attending class and going to work in the evenings all while enduring the unrelenting migraines. Several times, I saw this accusatory look from other students and even a few professors when I used my medical documentation, as though I were faking my migraines. Their expressions made me feel so anxious and guilty that I started feeling like I was doing something wrong. I often wanted to cry because I felt so weak and alone.
I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me. I thought I was doing everything I was supposed to do- working, studying, taking my medication, avoiding my migraine triggers. Hey, even as a vegetarian I had a generally healthy diet. Still, my head was aching on an almost daily basis. I began to have intense sweet cravings and mood swings followed by more fatigue and upset. To make matters worse, others began telling me that I was “crazy and being overly dramatic.” I honestly began to feel as though I were losing my mind.
I came to my lowest point when my doctor could not provide any further assistance or resolution to my migraines, and I accepted the possibility that I may be in pain every day for the rest of my life. I continued to experience my debilitating symptoms throughout college. I had few, if any, friends and relied heavily on the kindness and support of my grandmother. She was my true friend and supporter throughout that difficult part of my life.
As I entered the second year of living with migraines, I struggled making rent and continued coming to terms with my previous high standards of schooling. Almost everyday I wanted to give up at life: I was overweight, depressed and my migraines were dull at best. There were some days that I felt nearly normal, and others I felt crippled.
Over the course of three years, my symptoms gradually lessened. I cut ties with my doctor and removed myself from medications. I immediately began losing weight and started experiencing more prolonged wakeful hours. Somehow, I graduated from university and spent two years thereafter jumping from job to job, continuing to experience migraines, forgetfulness and fatigue somewhat commonly.
After university, my aunt became a saving grace for me. She was always checking on me and helping me link up with odd jobs. One day in mid-February 2015, she introduced me to an amazing concussion survivor named Lisa who was in serious need of an assistant. Lisa gave me an opportunity to aid her while she recuperated and we set off into what we thought would be an expedient recovery. I ran errands and helped around her home, organized medical files and drove her to doctors’ appointments. Together, we slowly scaled the formidable process of finding various specialists to help her recover.
From the beginning, we thought it would only be a few short weeks, perhaps a few months at the most. As time went on, nearly every doctor had the same prognosis, 'a few more weeks of rest and then everything should come back to normal.' Still, her symptoms prevailed.
Early summer arrived and Lisa was still in pain. After several second opinions, we sat before a prominent local physician who declared that Lisa didn't even have a concussion because "she did not pass out at the time of her fall." Jarred by this encounter, Lisa decided to pursue a specialist. To this day, I am so glad she did.
It was an afternoon in July of 2015 when the specialist’s office sent over some patient forms in preparation for her upcoming appointment. Lisa was having a terrible headache and wanted to stay in the dark of her room. Probably against our better judgment, we attempted to fill out the forms anyway. As I was reading the questions aloud to Lisa, filling in her responses, I came to a portion listing common symptoms of concussion. I began to feel nauseous with each line that I read. Of 41 symptoms listed, Lisa had 31; I had 37.
I was suddenly sucked back into my time in university and the car accident veered before me. As I relived every second in striking color, Lisa peaked out from under her sleep mask to see my face drenched in horror and epiphany. She asked what was wrong and I responded, “I think I had a concussion.”
For the first time in over 5 years, I finally knew what caused my migraines, the isolation and bouts of sadness, my prolonged deficits of memory and focus. Unable to contain my shock, I started crying.
The car accident was the common denominator for all of my symptoms: none had occurred previous to this event, and they began to emerge several weeks after the accident, something I learned later is quite common among survivors of concussion. I realized that I, too, was one among many undiagnosed survivors.
It still amazes me how such a simple checklist made me question my entire medical history from the last half decade of my life. That evening, I poured over my home medical file, reading back on each visit to the doctors’ office. I reflected back to the first visit to my physician and remembered telling her about the crash; I asked myself why she had not contributed that event to my unrelenting head pain? Better yet, why hadn't I connected it before??
From that time on, Lisa and I began to research concussion extensively. We scoured the internet, books, and newspaper articles, attended conferences and interviewed an array of specialists and survivors. We learned an incredible amount about concussion and traumatic brain injury. Right from the start, we learned that mTBI is something that our society tends to affiliate almost exclusively with sports concussion injury, thus it appears few people know the reality of this sometimes debilitating condition nor recognize its powerful consequences on the general population. mTBI can affect anyone, at any age and can be missed by the most seasoned physicians. In fact, concussion is one of the most common yet frequently misdiagnosed conditions in the world today. It took Lisa and I nearly 9 months to find a doctor who was highly knowledgeable on symptomology and treatment of concussion and post concussion syndrome; it took me 5 years to figure it out on my own!
Today, I continue to have minor difficulty thinking clearly and remembering important information. I still experience ‘neurofatigue’ when I am stressed or push myself too far. Thankfully, I hardly ever have migraines or head pain anymore. Overall, I am healthy and am more conscious of my limitations. I am also constantly building up my strength and endurance. I admit: my life now was hard-won, but I feel so blessed for everything I have today! I am happy and look forward to a great life ahead.
My one regret in this process of recovery is that I didn’t identify my condition sooner. Perhaps due to the naivety of my age, I didn’t know to search the way that Lisa did in finding a neurologist or specialist who was well-versed in concussion. I just trusted my doctor because of title, not knowledgeability.
If I could live the experience over again, I would have searched for another medical professional and gotten a second opinion. I would have tried to find a specialist!
The best thing that I have unearthed from this experience is that I have been able to heal and reconcile with some of my old wounds. Looking back, I recognize that I wasn't being ‘dramatic or crazy,’ I was merely unrecognized.
I am one of so many others surviving concussion across the US and the globe.
My hope in writing this letter and in creating Concussion Survival is to help others who have been questioning their sanity, their strength, their ability to continue forward...I have one thing to tell you: You are not alone.
If you are experiencing symptoms of concussion, if you think you can't hold on, you need to know that you can survive and even flourish. If you have, or suspect that you may have, sustained concussion or TBI, I encourage you to keep looking for the doctor, the specialists and the support groups who can help you overcome it. Don’t make the same mistakes that I did- Don’t give up!
The path before you may seem difficult, but you have a wonderful life ahead to look forward to. It will take time, but a little courage, patience and self-love will see you through.
I believe wholeheartedly that Lisa and I met for a reason, and in a way, she gifted me a new lease on life. She taught me to keep searching for empirical information, to keep looking for well-versed physicians and survivors who can help, and to embrace the changes and transformations that come with recovery. While concussion has irrevocably altered the course of both our lives, I feel blessed that we lived and can share our experiences today. Lisa has inspired me to continue forward with her persistence and her incredible gift of art, and I hope that our shared stories will encourage you to continue forward, too. You are not alone in this journey. There are others like you who have shared in this invisible epidemic, but together we are in unison as a movement of concussion survival.
With kindness, courage and love,
-Alisha
Like so many others, I was living a shared experience in the invisible epidemic facing our nation.
I just didn’t know it at the time!
My journey began one evening in October of 2010 when I walked away from a car accident. To this day, the crash plays like a film reel in my mind: the car slamming into the concrete wall, the buckling screech of the passenger’s side crumpling in, dust expelling forth from the airbag. Then black out. Somehow, I could hear the clicking of the demolished engine trying to turn as the car careened across 4 lanes of highway to a final stop.
I awoke in frantic disbelief, extending my hands and feet to see if I could still move them, to know if I was still alive. I remember slowly emerging from the vehicle, dazed but overwhelmingly happy to be in one piece. Feeling a bit foggy and seemingly unscathed, I decided to return to class the next day. I remember laughing with some friends and classmates about the car accident, “I’m so lucky! I only have a few scratches and ‘a little whiplash.’”
At the time, I was a 20 year old college student. The semester before the accident, several of my professors used to say that I was “destined to be a Fulbright student;” I don't like to brag, but I made high grades, and was generally described as a great combination of extroversion and intellect. All of that changed just a few weeks after the accident. Emergent problems with memory, concentration, fatigue, vertigo and extreme, persistent migraines began to take a toll on my school, work and personal life.
3 weeks after my accident, I realized I couldn’t remember anything I was reading. I would lose my place on the page and would be completely unable to retain any context. Then the migraines began. I thought I knew the pain of migraines as I had experienced a few of them as a teenager, but they paled in comparison. These made me feel as though my eyes were coming loose from my face and my skull was about to rip down the middle. It was the most excrutiating pain I had ever felt.
My days were spent in class under grueling florescent lights, my nights sitting inside my bathtub in complete darkness, cradling my face and praying for the pain to subside. It felt as though anything could trigger the migraines and I could not escape the pain.
Many times in class, I would find myself staring blankly past the professor or aimlessly down at my notepad. Becoming more unable to concentrate on the material, I would try to sit in the dimmest portion of the class, making a concerted effort to avoid computer screens and the brightness of the ceiling lights. Between classes I would seek the dark solace of a back corner in the library to avoid the light and the shrill sound of printers and conversation.
One of the most unsettling experiences was that I recognized I was becoming more easily upset, often crying and sometimes aggressive during situations which normally would not ignite me. I began to feel intense anxiety and found it difficult to stop myself from expressing strong and rapidly changing emotions. The consequence of my emotional instability was arriving at a place of isolation: I lost many of my long-standing friendships and held a strained relationship with my family. When depression set in, I decided to seek medical help.
After frequently consulting with my general physician, I lived under a diagnosis of ‘severe migraines,’ taking prescribed medications (Amitriptyline and Imitrex) to control my debilitating headaches without recourse or improvement in my condition. In less than a year, I gained more than 30 pounds and began sleeping excessively. I felt constantly tired and fatigued, and had no motivation to go out or do anything that used to make me happy. Many days, I didn’t even want to get out of bed. My head was hurting so profusely that I sometimes couldn’t see to drive. I started to become more forgetful and even started missing assignments and classes. I applied for medical aid in school which allowed me to take more time on tests and offered me a little more leniency with course attendance. On some rare days I felt pretty good, but most of the time I was fighting through the pain. I was pushing myself through coursework, attending class and going to work in the evenings all while enduring the unrelenting migraines. Several times, I saw this accusatory look from other students and even a few professors when I used my medical documentation, as though I were faking my migraines. Their expressions made me feel so anxious and guilty that I started feeling like I was doing something wrong. I often wanted to cry because I felt so weak and alone.
I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me. I thought I was doing everything I was supposed to do- working, studying, taking my medication, avoiding my migraine triggers. Hey, even as a vegetarian I had a generally healthy diet. Still, my head was aching on an almost daily basis. I began to have intense sweet cravings and mood swings followed by more fatigue and upset. To make matters worse, others began telling me that I was “crazy and being overly dramatic.” I honestly began to feel as though I were losing my mind.
I came to my lowest point when my doctor could not provide any further assistance or resolution to my migraines, and I accepted the possibility that I may be in pain every day for the rest of my life. I continued to experience my debilitating symptoms throughout college. I had few, if any, friends and relied heavily on the kindness and support of my grandmother. She was my true friend and supporter throughout that difficult part of my life.
As I entered the second year of living with migraines, I struggled making rent and continued coming to terms with my previous high standards of schooling. Almost everyday I wanted to give up at life: I was overweight, depressed and my migraines were dull at best. There were some days that I felt nearly normal, and others I felt crippled.
Over the course of three years, my symptoms gradually lessened. I cut ties with my doctor and removed myself from medications. I immediately began losing weight and started experiencing more prolonged wakeful hours. Somehow, I graduated from university and spent two years thereafter jumping from job to job, continuing to experience migraines, forgetfulness and fatigue somewhat commonly.
After university, my aunt became a saving grace for me. She was always checking on me and helping me link up with odd jobs. One day in mid-February 2015, she introduced me to an amazing concussion survivor named Lisa who was in serious need of an assistant. Lisa gave me an opportunity to aid her while she recuperated and we set off into what we thought would be an expedient recovery. I ran errands and helped around her home, organized medical files and drove her to doctors’ appointments. Together, we slowly scaled the formidable process of finding various specialists to help her recover.
From the beginning, we thought it would only be a few short weeks, perhaps a few months at the most. As time went on, nearly every doctor had the same prognosis, 'a few more weeks of rest and then everything should come back to normal.' Still, her symptoms prevailed.
Early summer arrived and Lisa was still in pain. After several second opinions, we sat before a prominent local physician who declared that Lisa didn't even have a concussion because "she did not pass out at the time of her fall." Jarred by this encounter, Lisa decided to pursue a specialist. To this day, I am so glad she did.
It was an afternoon in July of 2015 when the specialist’s office sent over some patient forms in preparation for her upcoming appointment. Lisa was having a terrible headache and wanted to stay in the dark of her room. Probably against our better judgment, we attempted to fill out the forms anyway. As I was reading the questions aloud to Lisa, filling in her responses, I came to a portion listing common symptoms of concussion. I began to feel nauseous with each line that I read. Of 41 symptoms listed, Lisa had 31; I had 37.
I was suddenly sucked back into my time in university and the car accident veered before me. As I relived every second in striking color, Lisa peaked out from under her sleep mask to see my face drenched in horror and epiphany. She asked what was wrong and I responded, “I think I had a concussion.”
For the first time in over 5 years, I finally knew what caused my migraines, the isolation and bouts of sadness, my prolonged deficits of memory and focus. Unable to contain my shock, I started crying.
The car accident was the common denominator for all of my symptoms: none had occurred previous to this event, and they began to emerge several weeks after the accident, something I learned later is quite common among survivors of concussion. I realized that I, too, was one among many undiagnosed survivors.
It still amazes me how such a simple checklist made me question my entire medical history from the last half decade of my life. That evening, I poured over my home medical file, reading back on each visit to the doctors’ office. I reflected back to the first visit to my physician and remembered telling her about the crash; I asked myself why she had not contributed that event to my unrelenting head pain? Better yet, why hadn't I connected it before??
From that time on, Lisa and I began to research concussion extensively. We scoured the internet, books, and newspaper articles, attended conferences and interviewed an array of specialists and survivors. We learned an incredible amount about concussion and traumatic brain injury. Right from the start, we learned that mTBI is something that our society tends to affiliate almost exclusively with sports concussion injury, thus it appears few people know the reality of this sometimes debilitating condition nor recognize its powerful consequences on the general population. mTBI can affect anyone, at any age and can be missed by the most seasoned physicians. In fact, concussion is one of the most common yet frequently misdiagnosed conditions in the world today. It took Lisa and I nearly 9 months to find a doctor who was highly knowledgeable on symptomology and treatment of concussion and post concussion syndrome; it took me 5 years to figure it out on my own!
Today, I continue to have minor difficulty thinking clearly and remembering important information. I still experience ‘neurofatigue’ when I am stressed or push myself too far. Thankfully, I hardly ever have migraines or head pain anymore. Overall, I am healthy and am more conscious of my limitations. I am also constantly building up my strength and endurance. I admit: my life now was hard-won, but I feel so blessed for everything I have today! I am happy and look forward to a great life ahead.
My one regret in this process of recovery is that I didn’t identify my condition sooner. Perhaps due to the naivety of my age, I didn’t know to search the way that Lisa did in finding a neurologist or specialist who was well-versed in concussion. I just trusted my doctor because of title, not knowledgeability.
If I could live the experience over again, I would have searched for another medical professional and gotten a second opinion. I would have tried to find a specialist!
The best thing that I have unearthed from this experience is that I have been able to heal and reconcile with some of my old wounds. Looking back, I recognize that I wasn't being ‘dramatic or crazy,’ I was merely unrecognized.
I am one of so many others surviving concussion across the US and the globe.
My hope in writing this letter and in creating Concussion Survival is to help others who have been questioning their sanity, their strength, their ability to continue forward...I have one thing to tell you: You are not alone.
If you are experiencing symptoms of concussion, if you think you can't hold on, you need to know that you can survive and even flourish. If you have, or suspect that you may have, sustained concussion or TBI, I encourage you to keep looking for the doctor, the specialists and the support groups who can help you overcome it. Don’t make the same mistakes that I did- Don’t give up!
The path before you may seem difficult, but you have a wonderful life ahead to look forward to. It will take time, but a little courage, patience and self-love will see you through.
I believe wholeheartedly that Lisa and I met for a reason, and in a way, she gifted me a new lease on life. She taught me to keep searching for empirical information, to keep looking for well-versed physicians and survivors who can help, and to embrace the changes and transformations that come with recovery. While concussion has irrevocably altered the course of both our lives, I feel blessed that we lived and can share our experiences today. Lisa has inspired me to continue forward with her persistence and her incredible gift of art, and I hope that our shared stories will encourage you to continue forward, too. You are not alone in this journey. There are others like you who have shared in this invisible epidemic, but together we are in unison as a movement of concussion survival.
With kindness, courage and love,
-Alisha