Hali Richardson

On May 3, 2023 I was walking my dog before work, when a truck left the road, and stuck me pushing me into a telephone pole. The driver left the scene of the accident and I laid there for 45 minutes before a woman found me and called 911. I was life flighted to a trauma unit in Phoenix AZ, where I had brain surgery to remove a portion of my skull that had been damaged, and to relieve the pressure from the brain swelling. My injuries included a broken pelvis, broken ribs, a lacerated spleen, and a crushed left hand. I had several surgeries a few days after the accident to repair those. My brain injury is called a Severe diffuse axonal injury (3/3). I spent 2 months in Phoenix and never came out of my coma, so my family flew me to Chicago to the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. After 2 months there, in that hospital, they were able to wake me up from my coma, but basically I woke up with no skills at all. I was like a new born baby. I was released from the hospital on August 31, 2023 but continued extensive day rehab at Shirley Ryan. My mom is my full time care giver, and I have two sisters that help. My step father is also helping me daily. I had to learn to swallow, eat, hold a spoon and a cup, talk, and even how to hold my own head up. I relearned the alphabet, colors, numbers, how to read and my aphasia has gone from severe to mild. I still can’t walk without help but I work hard every day to achieve my goals of being independent again and being able to walk.

I was an RN, that worked in the Critical Care Cardiac Unit, and I won’t ever be a nurse again, but I will find a way to help people once I’ve recovered. If I had to describe TBI in one one word it would be: DEVASTATING. I lost my job, my house, my dog, my boyfriend and my independence. I can’t drive, or vote. II was a marathon runner, hiker and I used to teach yoga. I’m just now able to get down on my mat and do yoga and it is helping me heal every day. I may never run another marathon, but I will walk someday.

The doctors in AZ told my family that my injury was so serious that I would need to go to a nursing home. But luckily I have a fantastic family/friend community that has spent the past 20 months making sure I would recover to the best of my ability. I continue to improve every day. I appreciate the little things I can do each day and even though this is going to be a very long recovery for me, I see myself recovered and helping others with a TBI someday to get well too.

My best advise to anyone with a TBI is to NEVER GIVE UP. Never listen to anyone telling you that you “won’t be able to do something”. I’m walking with a walker and a cane, (with help), I am playing my guitar again, I’m writing a book, keeping a daily journal, making my own coffee, and talking to my friends daily on the phone.
I have a tremendous amount of pain daily, but I use meditation and keep busy to not think about it.

I’d be happy to talk to anyone about their recovery, I want to help people, in any way I can, recover from this devastating, life changing injury.