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What It’s Like to be Trapped Inside a Concussed Brain
From the anchor desk to the darkest period of my life, how I’m finally finding the light again
From 12 months ago to today feels like whiplash. This time last year, I was in the thick of a severe concussion recovery — trying to find words; my sense of taste and smell gone; unable to handle light or sound; experiencing skull-splitting pain.
The accident happened at work, after I wrapped up our morning television newscast.
I had finished anchoring and was walking across the studio floor when my legs flew out from under me. Someone’s can of hair product had exploded, leaving a thick, slick, almost invisible coating on the ground. I fell backwards and the back of my head cracked on the concrete.
Twenty-four hours later, light was unbearable. I had blurry vision, couldn’t stop throwing up and was asking the same questions over and over again. In the emergency room, I was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, a serious concussion.
Everything about this period of time was dark.
My world was a cycle of retching nausea, double vision and the kind of headache I’d never experienced before, akin to an ice pick lodged in your forehead. My mind…
