A blog about my personal experience with Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS), a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Mine occurred in 2021, and my intention is to give hope and understanding to those who have been dealt a similar path in life.
People Who Showed Up, People Who Left
All the people who showed up to support me – or Jose and me – are people I will be eternally grateful to. This list starts and continues with Jose. As I told someone the other day, the biggest silver lining of this whole experience was really, I think for the first time, knowing in my flesh and ...
I’m Getting Better – Notes of Improvement
Saying “I can…”* has been helpful for me to realize that improvement WAS / IS happening. This is my list of things I became able to do again, a list that I continue to add to as I discover new moments that signify recovery for me. I've put in bold the milestones that felt most significant to me. * ...
Concussions Can Change Sense of Self and Worldview, and It Can Be Fixed
Getting a severe concussion threw my understanding of myself, as well as my worldview, out of whack. My brain's systems and balance were no longer running the way that the world and I had constructed them, and I was left continuing to live but with no firm ground of what reality was. Warped Sens ...
Do You Remember When…?
Yesterday, two specific moments in my day triggered brain injury memories that let me to say, “Do you remember when…?” It felt amazing to be able to phrase some of the persistent trials of my concussion in that sentence structure. Past. Memory. The first moment happened when I was walking upstai ...
Vision: A Road of Perseverance
A few days after the fall that caused my concussion/TBI, I was with my sisters at a family gathering. One looked at me and said bluntly, "Why are you staring at me like that?" I could tell that I was having difficulties focusing my gaze, but I didn't know that people would be able to tell. I told h ...
The Year Without Music
In a group I belong to for people who have suffered from Persistent Post Concussion Syndrome (PPCS, a form of TBI), there was a question from a member about whether we have a hard time listening to new music. Almost all of us in the group said yes - our brains no longer process the cacophony of new ...
Having Hyperacusis – I Couldn’t Stand Everyday Sounds (and the process of accepting the new self)
I sometimes feel over-stimulated - it can be emotionally, visually, intellectually and/or auditorily. The latter is one of the most frustrating symptoms. It's called phonophobia or hyperacusis. At first, I couldn't hear or participate in a conversation longer than 30 seconds. After a conversatio ...
Thank you for visiting. I hope this has helped you or your loved ones.