Avery Transcript

Okay, I’m recording I’m good?

Yeah.

So I guess I’ll just start. Yeah. So I got my concussion– It was literally I had just gotten back from spring break back my apartment, I live on the second floor of a three floor walk up. And I like, like literally just got back to my apartment and all that. And I was going downstairs to check the mail from the mailbox. And I was wearing, like, socks on the stairs. Like, I always wish that I, like, got a concussion like a cool way like if I got into like a fight or something like that. But no, I literally just slipped, hit like the back of my head on the back of the stairs. And just like fell down all the stairs, like just like hitting my head back in my head the whole time. So I was like, so I got to the end of the stairs. And I was like, “Okay, I feel like so horrific. I feel like nauseous like disoriented” — all of this stuff. But I was home alone. So I was like, I just got like, an like, it was more like a lot of pain in my body. So I just thought that I just like bruised myself really badly. Blah, blah, blah. So I was like, “I’m fine.” You know, “I’ll just be fine. I have to like pull myself up and get back.”

And I know that I felt like really dizzy and really horrible the whole night. But I was like, whenever I’m like dehydrated, I was just like talked myself out of it. And so I didn’t think I could get like a concussion from something like that. I had gotten one concussion before when I was in high school. And it was from like a sport. So that was just kind of like what I assumed, like, how it worked. And then the next couple of days, I went back to class and everything. And I was in school for almost a full week. Just feeling like so off but didn’t really couldn’t really pinpoint why. Like, I kept falling down by accident. Like, I didn’t have any balance. And I’m not like typically a clumsy person. And there was one time I like walked right into a wall like just totally by accident and like broke my glasses and needed to get them fixed. And everything.

So I just kept doing that I like was in my classes, but I felt just like so off. But I thought I was like, “Oh, just because I’m back from spring break. I’m not used to like school right now.” I just like kept constantly coming up with excuses of why I didn’t feel right. And then I was like, I think it was Thursday. So I’m at school. I did Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. And then on Thursday, I was like It’s Thursday, and I still don’t feel better. I still feel horrible. I’m just gonna like, go to Student Health Services. Like and just be like, “What’s up?” So I went, and then they’re like, “Oh, we can’t like schedule for appointment till later in the day.” So I went to like more classes and all that stuff. Just feeling so bad. And then I went to Student Health Services and she was like, “Yeah, you definitely had a concussion.” And I was like, “Oh, okay, well, I’m supposed to be acting my friends student film on Saturday, which is like something I’ve agreed to do for like months now. Do you think I’ll be better by then?” And the student health people were like, “Yeah, but just like, don’t go on screens for the next few days and just rest, and you should be fine to do the film.” So I was like, “Okay, cool.” So I went home, and I got my bed. And I was like, “Oh, my God, I like totally had a concussion.” Like, I should not have to go to class this whole week. I’ve been like, doing like, all of my normal stuff. Like, what the hell, and I like called my mom, and my mom was like, “why didn’t you telling me that this was happening?!” And I was like, “I don’t know, I didn’t think it was anything. Bla bla bla.”

So I just like, basically laid in bed the rest of the day. And I’m a film and TV major. So basically, my entire life is me, like watching TV. And like being on my screen. So even just like, one day was so hard. But like little did I know that like, that was gonna be like my week because like, I did not get better.

So that I like, stayed in bed. And then on Friday, I was like, in bed all day, I’m trying to like go back and like Camera Roll to see like, the exact time period. So okay, then like, my, I forgot, like, check, like the calendar. I forgot, like the exact days obviously, also, like, my memory was pretty bad as well, like on top of me. So I got back from spring break on. Like, again, this whole time period was just like so fuzzy, in my mind. But I got back from spring break. Yeah, on the 12th. And then that’s when I fell, and then blah, blah, blah. And then basically, I spent from the 18th to our– Yeah, so I spent from the 16th to the 22nd in bed– and basically, the– Okay, so then my boyfriend came over on the night of the 16th. And I was like, just feeling like so sad. And so out of it. And his dad is a neurologist. So his dad was like, saying all this stuff like “She has to get a CT scan. Right? Keep in mind, like, I don’t know anything about medicine or like any of that stuff. But he’s like the dad like Southern and the mom is to like peaceful South Carolina anyway. So the parents were like, the mom was like, if she was my daughter, how would take her to the hospital, like right now, and all this stuff. And I was like, I like was like, “I really don’t want to go to the hospital right now. Like, that sounds horrible.” And whatever. She was like, “you have to go, you have to go.” My boyfriend’s like texting my mom for me because I was supposed to go on screens, whatever.

Basically, we came to the conclusion that we would go to the hospital on Friday morning. So I went to the hospital, the emergency room on Friday morning. And it like, sucked so much like, lights were bright, everything was just like, so horrible. And then I was like, this sucks. And then essentially, in the ER, they were like, “We’re not giving you a CT scan. Because we would only take the CT scan if you if we thought that you were like bleeding in your brain.” And they were like, “If you were bleeding in your brain, like, you’d be dead right now. So you’re probably fine.” And I was like, “Okay, that’s great.” So that, like, totally sucked. They were like “Just go home and rest.” So then I went home and rested.

It was the 18th, the 19th, the 20th, the 21st. I was literally just laying in bed, and I’m, like, typically very active, very social. Like, I was so sad. The whole time. Like, I could not do anything I missed like St. Patrick’s Day weekend, which sounds like ridiculous, but it was like, you know, it’s like I go to school and I go to school in Boston. So it’s like a big deal. I like wasn’t able to be my friends movie. I’d like email, all my teachers that was just like, whole thing. So, I just basically stayed in bed my mom like bought me a bunch of fidget toys. My mom was like, “Can I come to Boston? Like, let me come to Boston.” And I was like, “No, it’s fine.” And my mom’s like Jewish so she’s, like, really protective. And she was also like, yes, sending me fidget toys, you’re sending me like foods that you heard were good for your brain like fish oil, and like, pumpkin seeds, like all this random stuff, but I just like, was not feeling better. And I feel like every day I woke up, like, still feeling bad.

And there were days and they were like, “You should go on walks.” I’d like try and go on a walk. And I just felt like so dizzy. And I was just like, feeling like, I’m literally never gonna get better like this, the rest of my life college is over this my senior year, like totally catastrophizing, because I was just like, so sad. Like, even like reading was hard. I felt like I couldn’t do anything. And like, I’m just used to like so much stimulation in my life. So it was just like, really hard. And my boyfriend was coming over. But that was like, I feel bad. Because I’m like, not like really fun right now to be honest. I’m just laying in bed and like complaining. So it was just like, it was definitely like, so tough. And then on the 21st, my mom made me an appointment at Mass Gen with a concussion doctor. And I went, and the doctor was like, “You can go to class.”

And the doctor basically said, like, the only way it’s gonna get better is if you like, do stuff and it’s gonna like suck and you’re gonna have a headache. But like, that’s the only way it will get better. I was like, okay, but I was just like crazy to hear that because I was like, okay, I’ve been trying to do stuff and like, it literally is debilitating. So like, how do you expect me to go to class and they were like, “Just do it. Take a lot of Advil. But also, we’re gonna give you the number of a physical therapist.” And I didn’t even know that physical therapy was like a thing for concussions. You know, I just thought it was like, for like, okay, I broke my ankle, I had to get physical therapy, but it was like, I didn’t think there was like something like that for your brain. But I like made an appointment with the physical therapist, I went to class the next day– this was now the 22nd– keep mine I got my concussion on the whatever day I like mentioned you the day after spring break? Yeah. I got my concussion on the 12. It took till the 22nd for me to be like, “I’m going back to class.” Which is like, so many days. And also, when I had my concussion in high school, I was like, “Oh, it only took I felt like better in a couple of days.” So I was like, “Why is this taking so long?”

So anyway, I went back to class on the 22nd. The only problem is a lot of my classes involve me looking at a really big screen. So it was just like, really hard at first and like, some of my professors were definitely more understanding than others, which was kind of like, annoying, because some of my professors were like, “Don’t worry about anything, you don’t have to do a homework, just like do what you can.” Some professors were like, “You have so much to make up.” And like, the second I was back in class, I don’t think they understood that I still wasn’t better. And I felt bad because I already, like, missing three classes when you’re in college is like, it’s like a lot of classes. So I just felt like so behind and then also didn’t feel 100% still. So I was like, I’m totally drowning. I’m never gonna, like, make all this work because I still like, it’s still so hard for me to–it was still so hard for me to, like, think critically to I just felt like my brain was like really foggy, even if like I was able to walk to class, it was so hard for me to sit in a class and be like, “Oh, I can put these pieces of information together that I normally could have.” But I did start to like, get better, you know, and I wasn’t able to like party, I guess really. But I was able to like go to social events. I remember like the worst part was if I would be talking with two of my friends and they’d be sitting on like opposite ends of a table having to like look at one friend and look at the other friend and like go back and forth with just give me like the worst headache.

But I did obviously get better and like physical therapy helped so much. Like I do not think I would have gotten better without physical therapy because I would just do like all these exercises. And weirdly, I learned like a lot of my headache that I that then had like later in the concussion was not really from the concussion but just like my neck was so sore. Because, like, that’s kind of where I fell. So it was like, I had a headache because I like wasn’t moving my head. So I had to do like all these neck exercises. I had to do, like eye-push ups, where I had to, like, look at different beads on a string. And I was like, “This is so stupid,” but it helped so much. And like, my PT doctor was amazing. She was like, so cool. I ended up having like, a parasocial relationship with her where I was, like, so sad when PT ended because I like, liked hanging out with her every week, and it was like a fun part of my routine, like, go to the hospital, like, whatever. Even though obviously, it sucked, but it was like fun at the same time. So then I just like got better. It took like, so much more time than I thought it would. I feel like I wasn’t like truly the same until like three weeks after the concussion. And like, I even had physical therapy for like, an entire month after.

So it was just like, so much time, so much more than I thought it was going to be given like what it was. But now I’m like, completely back to normal and like I am in finals week, and I’m fine. So it’s like, great now, but it was like, it was so hard going through that like it was not easy at all. And I did like my friends were obviously really supportive. Like my boyfriend was so supportive. My parents were so supportive, but it’s still just like really sucked especially being used to so much stimulation– having to stop completely.

And I just like– if I could have like gone back in time and giving myself advice I would have like, treated it earlier and not like spent days convincing myself that I was okay when I like knew in my heart of hearts that I wasn’t, just because I was like “I’m so busy. I am literally a second semester senior. I, like, cannot take a break right now from life. There’s so much stuff I have to do.” So I just wished that I like treated it earlier. So I feel like it would have taken less time to recover.

And that was super long, but that was like the whole concussion story.