Christina Scheltema

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Every 9 seconds, someone in the U.S. sustains a brain injury. I became one of these people in November 2019, when I had a really bad fall, hitting my head in 4 places and passing out briefly. I was diagnosed with a concussion, a “mild” traumatic brain injury. Trust me, there was nothing mild about it: I lived in my very own private special effects world for months with changes to my vision and hearing.

Recovery was incredibly slow, with visits to specialists I didn’t know existed and months of speech therapy, vestibular therapy, and vision therapy. That said, I am feeling much better, like my old self. Although I still tire easily, I can now do almost everything I did before my injury. Along the way, I’ve encountered many blessings, including an incredibly kind and supportive brain injury community.