[ad_1]
By Malayka Gormally. This text was initially revealed within the 1/11/24 version of our Concussion Replace publication; please take into account subscribing.
Annie Liontas sustained three concussions in a single 12 months in her mid-thirties, the primary from a bicycle crash and the opposite two from objects randomly falling on her head. She recovered from the primary concussion, however the second and third concussions precipitated a protracted journey with persisting signs after a concussion. A revered writer and a writing professor at George Washington College, Liontas has revealed a memoir, Intercourse with a Mind Damage: On Concussion and Restoration, obtainable on January 16. In a compelling NPR interview with the unmatched interviewer Terry Gross, Liontas, who’s genderqueer and makes use of they/them pronouns, tells how their accidents have affected each space of their lives, together with intercourse, marriage, work, and sense of self. Lots of our Concussion Replace readers will discover their journey resonates with their very own.
Liontas mentions doing a number of evidence-based therapies, together with vestibular remedy and ocular motor remedy, and so they have made enhancements. Nonetheless, they’re nonetheless dealing with an elevated vulnerability. “If I shake the orange juice too laborious, that might result in a migraine. If I faucet my head on a shelf — and I imply faucet — that may result in a migraine,” Liontas says.
On a constructive word, Liontas and their spouse have stayed collectively; they’re adjusting to the “new regular.” Liontas compares the shortage of cultural understanding of traumatic brain injury, and due to this fact help for many who have sustained TBIs, to the lack of know-how in regards to the risks of smoking in earlier a long time. Liontas is hopeful, nonetheless, that as a tradition, we’re about to show the nook to a extra full understanding of the seriousness and complexity of traumatic brain injury.
We wish to level out that whereas Liontas mentions {that a} “CAT scan” was used to diagnose their concussion, CT and MRI scans obtainable in hospitals and clinics usually are not able to diagnosing a concussion. Nonetheless, physicians will use a CT scan to establish what is known as a posh concussion, which includes bleeding within the mind. The interview additionally mentions that Liontas was not carrying a bicycle helmet after they crashed. We wish to level out that helmets, whereas stopping extra extreme head accidents, don’t forestall concussions. In response to the CDC, concussions are brought on by “A bump, blow, or jolt to the pinnacle, or by a success to the physique that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth.”
We extremely advocate listening to this 35-minute interview and the ebook
[ad_2]
Source link