Survivor Story: Turning Injury into Advocacy with Amy Zellmer

Faces of TBI, Huffington Post, Brain Health Magazine, author of multiple books, brain behind the scene of many advocacy events...what do all these things have in common, Amy Zellmer!  Amy used her experience as a concussion survivor to build community, share resources, and advocate for policy to benefit brain injury survivors across the country. If you’ve wondered how you can get more involved, listen here to get some ideas of where to go!   Topics covered:Amy’s Injury: a fall on the ice that led to concussionHelpful treatments: chiropractor, yoga, functional neurologyVision issues: nystagmus, trouble focusing Amy feels neurologists tend to focus more on managing long term neurologic diseases rather than brain injuryAmy’s injury taught her that there are resources available but they were hard to find.  This spurred her on to advocacy and education with a focus on making resources more readily available to all. Medical advances and technology had the unintended consequences of pulling medical doctors from the bedside doing thorough physical exams to an over reliance on imaging“You know your body best, don't ever let a doctor, friend or loved one tell you that that is not possible or can’t happen” (19:30)Amy’s Journey to Brain Injury LeaderHer goal has been to build community, share resources, and advocate.  Every 9 seconds someone in the US has a brain injury and they don’t know what to do or where to go.First Huffington Post articleFacebook group: Amy’s TBI TribeAuthor: Life with a Traumatic Brain Injury: Finding the Road Back to Normal by Amy Zellmer, a compilation of her articles early on; helps with understanding what it is like to have a brain injury and validates experienceSecond book came after she started getting better: Embracing the Journey: Moving Forward After Brain Injury by Amy ZellmerPodcast: Faces of TBI: features survivor and caregiver stories,Brain Injury Awareness Day in Washington D.C.Minnesota Brain Injury AllianceAdvice to others who want to help with advocacy and policyDon’t recreate the wheelConnect with your local brain injury alliance or brain injury associationReach out to Brain Injury Association of AmericaKnow your own limitations and where you are in your recoveryTake baby steps.  Maybe the first thing you do is write down your story and share it;  be a guest on a podcast.  You don’t have to do everything to have a ripple effect.   Be mindful of your energy reservesBe ok with your limitations.  Learn how to understand your energy and how much you have to give so you don’t crashContinue to be mindfulYou are a part of the brain injury community no matter where you are on the road of recoveryPoor experiences with brain injury resources may cause you to try to start from scratch.  Don’t recreate the wheel, join it and make it better.  MAny state alliances and associations only have 1 or 2...