Alex W. Transcript
Hello, my name is Alexandra, and I’m a 19 year old university student who’s suffered from four concussions. My first two concussions were when I was around the age of 13. And my most recent two concussions were a lot worse than the other two.
Since I sustained my third injury at around the age of 17, I’ve pretty much– to give you an idea– had to wear earplugs for two to three years now during big events like concerts and social gatherings. The most recent one I sustained was the worst injury I’ve had. I was in my first month of university, and I was hit in the back of the head by an object that was thrown across the hallway I was walking down. I hadn’t seen what had happened, but I felt the impact as it hit the back of my head.
It’s been almost a year since my injury, and I have not recovered. For the first two weeks after my last injury, I couldn’t read or look at a phone. I couldn’t hold conversation or write anything really. I somehow forced myself to finish my first year with all of my credits, which cost me in the long run health-wise. I did really well in all my courses, and that kind of just goes to show the type of person that I really want to be and strive to be, but it really cost me health-wise.
I’ve been through concussion rehabilitation, relapses of my symptoms, moments where I felt like I was back to day one of being concussed. There are days when I honestly don’t remember what it’s like to not feel concussed or be in a state of having a concussion. I, in high school, I didn’t really– I tried to stay away from super loud parties or places where I thought I could be hit or re-injured. There have been a lot of times when I think a lot of concussion patients wonder, “Why me?” You know, that’s a very common thing to feel, and it’s very valid.
All of my injuries were caused by accidents that weren’t supposed to happen. The unlikeliness of how they happened was astounding. I wasn’t doing anything particularly dangerous. But I think what I got out of this was that it’s important to acknowledge that traumatic brain injuries are not just physical injuries. There’s a science behind the psychological effects of having one, and my injuries left me worried about the unlikeliness of it happening again. And I acknowledged that there was such a small likelihood of any of these injuries happening to me, and yet it still happened. And that, you know, scared me. But, one of my mentors who I really appreciate and look up to told me something that will always stick with me, which is that it’s something that somebody told her, which is that in order to recover your health, recognizing that there can be an emotional and psychological implication of your concussion can be really important. And she also put into context for me how important rest and recovery is.
I say this little phrase that my dad told me whenever I find I need to lighten my workload or postpone extracurriculars I would have otherwise handled well with a healthy brain. And it’s that you really need to lose this small battle in order to win the overall war of your overall recovery. And, you know, I had a lot of plans for the summer after I had gotten hit in the head, all of which needed to be put on hold for me to recover.
As a 19 year old, it’s difficult to recognize how okay that is because we think we’re invincible and can power through anything. But in reality, it’s it’s so important to tackle your health before you move on to more larger and better things. I’m starting this semester at university this September, and I’m doing things to immerse myself in the brain injury community. I have found people who are so supportive, and I’m so so grateful for everybody that is around me.
And I actually started an initiative with one of my classmates and friends. It’s running independently right now. And it’s called Buddies for Brain Injuries. I spoke to Sofia about it, and she said that she would kindly include the link below, but we have a peer mentorship program that connects people who have had similar experiences in traumatic brain injuries and really just creates this community of like minded people to share their stories and learn more about other people who’ve had similar stories. So yes, she’s going to attach that link to our signup form below.
As for the symptoms that I’ve been experiencing, I, I feel like it’s important to acknowledge some of them because they are very prominent and a lot of people with concussions can can maybe relate to them and it makes you feel like you’re not alone.
After my concussions, I’ve had a lot of dizziness, a lot of brain fog, a lot of sensitivity to light and noise, mainly noise. There are times when if I socialize too much I can overexert myself, and I need to go and rest which sometimes is hard as somebody who’s in university to be okay with taking a break and prioritizing, resting my head. I actually found certain things that I was really passionate about that helped me with my recovery. Chess being one of them, which is, which is really interesting. I wanted to find a cognitive exercise to help with my recovery. And I joined a chess club over the summer. I also practice violin, I started to learn violin at the age of 17, which is fairly recently, and so I had played other instruments before so I knew how to read sheet music, but this was really a challenge that I think helped me a lot and was a great exercise for my head.
And, yeah, I just want anybody out there to know that they are not alone. And we will get through this one step at a time. And your health is so important. And I think that’s, that’s all.
For more information on Buddies for Brain Injuries:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/buddies-for-brain-injuries/