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Here’s a brief look at the journey that inspired me to continue my mission and create this website – a mission that began decades ago as I worked to survive my own injuries, care for my family, and help clients (during my 40-year career as a paralegal) who didn’t yet realize their symptoms were signs of a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Early Injuries & Missed Signs
My first TBIs happened long before anyone recognized what they were.
Symptoms appeared – confusion, memory slips, emotional changes – but no one connected them to brain injury. Not even the doctors.
The Crash That Changed Everything
During my senior year at Indiana University (Biology major, for pre-med), I was hit from behind at 60–70 mph. For nearly a year afterward, I lived with:
• disorientation
• memory collapse
• hallucinations
• cognitive fog
• emotional instability
• difficulty studying or retaining information
This wasn’t “giving up.” It was a brain injury dismantling the skills required to continue my education – 4 months before graduation.
Finding a New Path
Almost ten years later, I entered the legal field – not by planning, but by a tap on the shoulder that changed everything. My own life experiences, injuries, and challenges became the foundation of a 40‑year career helping clients who were living with symptoms they didn’t understand. Many were embarrassed, afraid, or convinced they were “going crazy.”
I recognized what others dismissed – because I had lived it too.
Electrocution at Work – and Starting Over Again
One of my most severe injuries happened decades later, when I was electrocuted by my VOIP phone at work. The shock wiped out my short‑term memory overnight. Doctors again told me to “just rest,” even when I couldn’t remember a conversation after turning around.
So…I had to rebuild my brain myself – one exercise, one note, one new neural pathway at a time.
Rebuilding My Brain
I discovered cognitive exercises online that helped restore my memory and other brain functions. I tracked my progress, improved, and eventually shared those same tools with clients who desperately needed them.
Those simple exercises became the beginning of my own healing – and later, the foundation for helping others heal too.
Three Common Ways TBI Survivors Get Dismissed
Over 40 years, I heard the same responses from doctors, again and again – in my own life and in my clients’ lives:
“Just rest.”
The universal non‑treatment.
“It’s all in your head.”
A phrase that creates fear, shame, and silence.
“What do you want me to do?”
Why I Built This Website
On Christmas Eve 2024, I prayed for a direction – after many disappointments…what was I supposed to do?! At 3 a.m. on Christmas morning, I woke with a clear message, which made me sit up before I received it! Do.What.You.Do!
For 40 years, what I “did” was help people recognize the symptoms of a TBI, understand what was happening to them, and find the right care.
So on Christmas Day, I researched common and less common TBI symptoms. Then, on New Year’s Day, I began building the TBIQ (51-symptom questionnaire) and then reserved the website name and started to slowly build my new website,TBI‑ID.com.
This website is the continuation of a mission I’ve lived for decades: To help anyone recognize the signs of a traumatic brain injury, seek proper evaluation, and begin their healing journey with tools, resources, and hope.
- No one should feel dismissed, confused, or alone after a brain injury.
- You deserve answers. You deserve validation. You deserve support.
- NOT….The shrug. The dismissal. The abandonment.
These responses leave survivors confused, isolated, and without guidance — when what they need most is understanding and support.
