Survivor Story: You Are Not Broken, You are You! with Sara Howe

Since brain injury is invisible, survivors are often left on their own to figure out their cognitive and mental health.After injury, it can be hard to recognize what is going on, realize that this is not how your brain would normally function, and that you need help. Survivor Sara Howe joins us in this episode to share her story and her realistic perspectives on recovery. She has found physical and mental fitness to be monumental to feeling well. Listen on to be encouraged.  We promise you’ll be nodding your head in agreement and leave feeling inspired. We know we did! In this episode:Sara tells her survivor storyPlaying hooky from college takes an unexpected turnFalling asleep behind the wheel led to a motor vehicle crash, many injuries (see below), an ICU stay, and moving back home with the parentsRight vertebral artery occlusion that led to a right cerebellar stroke and subdural hemorrhageCervical and thoracic spinal fractures, collar bone fracture, left arm and wrist fracture, right hand fracture, lacerationsPunctured lungCompartment syndromeOutpatient PT, OT, SpeechThe invisible brain injuryThe fractures are the easy thing to addressSara and her mom needed to advocate as they were told she was “neurologically sound” when she didn’t feel it and knew things were off.  Find a doctor that will listen to you!Stimulant medications post brain injury helped for years with attention deficit issues post brain injury.  It was very helpful, but she eventually wanted to wean off of themWays to cope with attention deficits without medicine: lists, to-do-lists, reminder app on your phone, take it day by day and be patient with yourselfSometimes you do need to be on medicine for a little bit; it’s ok to have help.  If the first med doesn’t work, work with your doctor to find something that doesSara’s experience rehabbing from multiple injuriesShe could walk post injury but needed to be cared for by her mom for 4 monthsPT/ OT for hand and neck. Speech therapy (SLP)-Sara was in denial that anything was wrong, “I can talk fine.”  Denial was very strongSpeech is more than talking. It's your organization and processing  4 Phases after trauma: denial, anger, depression, acceptance.  You cycle in and out of these throughout recovery.  It takes a long time to get through all of thesePhysical recovery was a lot shorter than mental recovery.  It took Sara a few years to recover mentally.  You never really get back to your preinjury self. Post injury Sara feels even stronger because she has a different perspective on life,  she doesn’t take things for granted, she has patience for people, and she’s learned so much through it.  She’s not the same but she ended up better. (14:07)Mental and cognitive health are often the hardest parts to get over. People assume that since you are physically fine you are also mentally fineSince brain injury is invisible, brain injury survivors are often left on their own to figure out the mental health piece.  It can be hard to recognize what is going on and realize that this is not how your brain would normally function and that you need help. (15:40-16:14)Mental health therapyPeople wait until something is wrong to go to therapy but “You go to the gym to keep your body in shape, You go to...