How I was taken out by – and recovered from – a concussion

This past August, deep in the woods of Algonquin Park, my son challenged me to a race. After lounging most of the day and achieving my relaxed holiday mode I felt like this was a good way to get the blood pumping, so I accepted his challenge – and ran, at top speed, straight into a black tarp line on our campsite.

 The next thing I remember, I came to wondering ‘what happened?’, as my husband looked down at me with deep concern. The answer to my question is that I effectively ‘clothes-lined’ myself and fell straight backwards to the ground– which caused me to black out, and suffer both a hyperextended neck (essentially whiplash) and a pretty nasty concussion.

Of course our main concern was that my injury was more serious than a concussion – like sub-cranial bleeding – that would require immediate medical care. My husband pulled out the first aid book, played doctor and would not let me close my eyes!!

Initially my speech was slurred but quickly went back to normal. After about half an hour, my eyes which were fully dilated when I came to started to constrict as they should, which gave us reassurance that we were, in fact, dealing with a concussion and not something more serious.

After contemplating leaving the park, we decided to stick it out, and that I’d heal myself in the woods, surrounded by our best healer, nature, while the rest of the family made the most of our much-anticipated vacation.

 For about six days, I had a headache off and on and was unable to exert myself in any way. The thought of lifting a backpack felt like it would bring on a headache. About day 4 when I was feeling better, I tried blowing up my son’s beach ball and it threw me right back into a headache. Let me tell you, I did NOT like the feeling of being forced to rest, not be able to support the camp and help during the portages.  I actually like feeling like a pack horse, lugging heavy packs!

 So I listened to my body and stayed still and quiet. I slept a lot. Did a lot of grounding. Used my acupuncture needles. Avoided drinking wine (which I didn’t even feel like – a sure sign that I wasn’t well). My children sat with me and held my head, sending their positive, healing vibes my way.

 We returned to the city seven days later and, since I understand the importance of being treated following a neurological injury, I immediately began a treatment regime that included:

• Adjustments three times per week

• Massage once per week

• Found an Osteopath

• A nutritional regime as prescribed by Oma’s own naturopathic doctor, Dr. Lisa – which included extra omega 3s, resveratrol, and zinc to promote neurological healing

Within a few weeks, I slowly began to feel – and function – more like myself, which was a great relief. But my healing journey was (and is) still far from over – because I know that there’s much more to concussion recovery than feeling symptomatically better. Fully healing the brain can take six months to a full year. I know the stakes are high if you don’t allow it to heal fully - you’re at a greater risk of future concussion, for one thing, and also more likely to be affected by certain diseases later in life, including Alzheimer’s and depression.

So I will continue to seek treatments, and follow the advice I’ve been given for many months to come. Although the goal of this post was to share my story, I wanted to close out by passing on some words of advice based on my experience, in the event you – or a loved one – ever find yourself dealing with a concussion.

Dr. Adrienne’s concussion-recovery advice:

1.     Seek medical attention. While I don’t feel the traditional medical approach to treating concussions is enough (it focuses heavily on short-term symptoms without adequate regard for the long-term), I suggest you see your doctor so that the concussion is on record, and they can establish a baseline against which you can measure your progress and healing.   

2.     Understand that the brain is incredibly complex, and that healing for the long-term is as important as in the short-term.

3.     Rest, rest, rest. This can be hard if, like me, you’re used to being busy and you have people counting on you. But you have to find a way. It’s one of the most important things you can do for yourself – your brain desperately needs it.   I thankfully had the perfect backdrop for rest and was more likely to have rested more camping than I would have at home. 

4.     Prepare for unexpected triggers. Several weeks after my concussion, when I thought I was feeling better, I sat down to play a card game – Dutch Blitz – with a friend. It was fast moving and with a patterned tablecloth under the colourful cards, it was simply TOO much for my brain to process, even though I felt it was functioning mostly normally at that point.

5.     Give yourself a break. I had trouble doing really simple things – like basic math – in the weeks following my concussion.  It was as though the “tools” to calculate completely disappeared, but a sign that my brain was still healing.

Self-care for the stage you’re at

There is such buzz around the idea of self care. So what actually counts as self-care? Sometimes if it NOT what you think. How you practice self care often depends entirely on the stage of life you’re at.

For example, when you’re a new parent, it can be basic hygiene (I remember self care at that stage was a long warm shower and walking through grocery aisles REALLY slowly!) When time isn’t at such a premium, it can – and should – involve much more than that.

Here are some self-care recommendations that have worked for me at various stages of my own life. I’ve bundled them into three categories: basic, simple, and extreme.

·      BASIC: If you’re a new parent, just lost a loved one, or in the middle of major construction, go BASIC! Have a bath (throw in a bath bomb if you are feeling crazy),  invite a friend over to chat over a cup of tea, or get some fresh air and sunshine.

·      SIMPLE: If you aren’t up against any major stressors but self-care is a new idea for you, go simple. Examples of simple self-care might include:

• Moving for 10 minutes - which could include  dancing to a Beyonce video or doing a yoga video on YouTube.

• Finding opportunities to laugh during the day (cause those endorphins are awesome), and

• Engaging your senses (smelling orange essential oils is my favourite way for a quick feel good pick me up).

·     EXTREME: And if you’re already practicing self-care then the extreme suggestions are for you, my friend. This might include:

• Spending at least 10 minutes a day in contemplation

• Taking an online course on something you are passionate about, or

• Saying NO to things that please everyone around you, but don’t serve you.

What’s interesting about self care is that initially it may not always feel good - especially when you start going extreme. Growth is not always comfortable.  

Cheryl Richardson wrote a book exclusively about extreme care, in which she says: “the art of Extreme Self Care takes patience, commitment and practice. It initially requires a willingness to sit with some pretty uncomfortable feelings too, such as guilt – for putting your own needs first, fear – of being judged and critiqued by others, or anxiety – from challenging long-held beliefs and behaviours.”

As for where I am when it comes to self-care, I’m in a phase of life where my kids are becoming more self-sufficient by the day, I’ve found my groove with business ownership, and have been married 10 years.

So I’m working my way into the extreme self-care category. Here’s what I’m working on, in five key categories:

·      Physical: I strength train three times a week and do cardio two times.  

·      Spiritual: I meditate for 10 minutes most days, as a way to keep some mental space. I also practice mindfulness throughout the day (even while working on clients!)

·      Energy: I get one massage once a month and get adjusted once a week. I’ve found that if I let it go longer, I feel the build-up – like grime on the floors!

·      Mental: I am curious and look up information on a topic new to me at least once a week – and often pass it along to others.

·      Social: I add in wonderful, meaningful social gatherings (with my yoga mamas, with my mother/daughter group, on date nights with my husband, and through movie nights with my kids.

I am not perfect, but this is my plan at this particular point in time. Sometimes life gets in the way – babies might be coming or I may feel under the weather, or a leaky ceiling may derail my plansut I cut myself some slack, regroup quickly, and get back on-track. Because I feel better and I can give more when I do these things.

You may have heard the saying ‘you can’t draw from an empty well’ – and it’s 100% true. So if you haven’t spent time filling YOUR well lately, consider setting aside some time to put add some self care into your life. Work your way up slowly from your starting point, as life allows.

I can promise you, that setting aside some time for self-care will fill your well and the overflow will make you a better (and happier) mother, partner, and friend!!!