Welcome back to our featured monthly articles! Each month, we feature a Brain Buddies member and their empowering story. Meet Julie, a brain injury survivor with an incredible story:
Hi, I’m Julie, a brain injury survivor. My life changed on 10/31/2010.
I was having a pretty normal day, until I had a severe headache come on rather quickly in the evening. It felt like someone had hit me on the back of my head with a hammer, so I knew something was wrong. Since I hadn’t been in any recent accidents, or bumped my head, I called 911. Once I was put in the back of the ambulance, I don’t remember what happened after that.
It wasn’t until about a month later that my family had told me I had a brain aneurysm that was about to burst. After that blurry ambulance ride, I had been rushed into surgery to repair the aneurysm, which ended in a medically induced coma. During the coma, I unfortunately suffered from a stroke.
Three weeks later, I woke up to find myself unable to walk, talk, eat, think, or care for myself. I was admitted into a rehabilitation hospital to relearn everything through physical, occupational and speech therapy. On 12/10/10, I was released from the rehabilitation hospital, but had to spend another five months living with my parents. It took nine more months before I was able to relearn to drive and return to my office job.
It was a breath of fresh air to enjoy having fun at events that I would never even think about attending by myself before the Brain Buddies family. We attended things like Star Wars at the Symphony, musicals, bowling, Grizzly Bear baseball games, or just meeting up with others who share similar stories and challenges to my own.
Attending these events made me more open to share my story and to be an advocate for educating the public about TBIs. I want people to understand that although we may look the same, or even different, we still strive to have fun after our brain injuries. We do our best to live in the now with joy and gratitude for our survival.
TBI survivors need to know that you are not alone. Spending time with others who share similar situations is a great way to accept your new life and enjoy it. That’s the main goal of Brain Buddies! We look forward to meeting more people who can benefit from our group, and encourage you to learn more about our upcoming events. Come join this great group of strong, empowering survivors!
