The brain does so many things. It works so well that our experiences of sound, light, balance, thought, motor skills and feelings are seamless. That’s by design. It’s astonishing how much we take for granted.

I learned this the hard way on June 23rd, 2024 when a car hit my stopped car. They were going about 25 mph. Simply put, my car stopped their car because I kept my foot on the brake of mine when I saw them speeding towards me without slowing down. It bent the frame of my car, airbags deployed…and I swear that I felt my brain smack into the back of my cranium right after my skull whipped backwards into the headrest of the driver’s seat.

Over the last month I have learned what it’s like:

1. to not be able to walk in a straight line.
2. to not be able to keep my balance.
3. to have headaches nearly every hour of the day.
4. to have my left eye no longer tracking correctly with my right eye.
5. to have my mind not know how to set the volume on sound, so it was all too loud.
6. to become afraid of sunlight and pretty much all projected light because it hurts to view.
7. to live like a vampire in the dark for a full week, only going out at night when the sun was down.
8. to forget conversations right after they happened and who I even spoke with.
9. to wonder if all these symptoms will become a part of my life moving forward as my new norm.

I also learned about cutting edge treatments for severe concussions. Within a week of my accident I learned about a clinic near my home in Iowa City. It’s a humble practice. They don’t brag about what they do. But wow, what they do is amazing. And getting access to treatment right after a concussion is definitely the way to go about it. I am so lucky that I live near the facility and that I knew about it. No one locally told me about it. Not the Emergency docs after my two visits. It was a friend on the East Coast who had heard about “Dr. Fitz”. Syntonic Light Therapy…holy shit. I literally walked in wincing in pain, off balance, blocking out light and sounds, a mess…and after my first SLT treatment I experienced immediate relief. The thing is that they didn’t tell me a thing. Not one. There was no planting of ideas. They literally were like “we’re going to stick you in this room now and show you some light…hang out for a bit til we return”. The point being, they didn’t set me up with preconceived ideas of how to feel after the treatment. They only asked afterwards. And when I walked out and had my balance and the sun wasn’t like a laser into my brain pain centers…I was amazed.

That isn’t to say that this was without frustrations, plenty of setbacks and fears of not getting better. That first treatment lasted for about 3 hours til the symptoms returned. My brain needed time to heal. My accident was on June 23 and I only was cleared to drive late last week. I have had moments of feeling like I was totally fine…for a few hours. Thinking I was done. Then crushing headaches and memory loss and 3 hour naps and fatigue for whole days. It’s not a linear healing track. It’s not like a broken bone. Concussion healing is absolutely nonsensical and not predictable. Again and again I would be tricked by feeling good for a few hours, only to be thrown back under the wheels again.

I am writing today because I have felt good for 3 days in a row…a first in the whole month. I am still taking everything slowly but it’s amazing to feel this normal again. I still can’t work full time. I don’t have that kind of energy yet. Oh…I lost a steady job I had landed, unfortunately. Too much time missed due to the concussion. Luckily I do have some sweet part time work irons in the fire that I hope work out. I will be easing back into the working world slowly for sure.

I have been very lucky to have my son to drive me places and support from both of my kids and friendly check in calls from friends and family around the world. Good stuff.

I think (I hope) that I am getting back to real recovery now. I will even remember that I posted this blog writing lol!

Meanwhile…The Last Shark premiered online on youtube. In 12 days this movie has received 21,000 views. With a marketing budget of zero. Not too shabby. It also screened on TV in South Africa to the tune of 158K viewers. Again…well done to everyone who made this happen.

And below is a hint of the European Premiere to come!