Welcome to Concussion Talk!
Concussion Talk began in 2010 after I returned home to St. John’s, NL, Canada. In 2003 I had been doing my Master’s of Public Administration (MPA) at the University of Victoria (UVic) in British Columbia, and I decided to start triathlons – I had been playing water polo for nine years and upon graduation from Queen’s University in Kingston in 2002, I, along with two friends, biked across Canada – which was a natural fit. I was on a bike ride with three or four friends when I swerved to avoid an oncoming rider, crashed into a tree and shattered my helmet, resulting in a two week-coma, and a traumatic brain injury (TBI). I had to learn to walk, speak coherently, and adjust to my double vision – which I’ve had since my bike crash.
Two short – arguably much too short – years after the crash, I returned to UVic to complete my MPA. I then worked in Ottawa for three years before returning to St. John’s to work for the Provincial Government. That is when I decided that I wanted to write more and discuss my experience with a traumatic brain injury. So I started this website.
I have written many posts in the past eight years and in 2015 I began Concussion Talk Podcast in which I interview doctors, researchers, physiotherapists, and others in the field of brain injury. In the past year I have also connected with Lauren Ziaks, ATC, PT, of Phoenix Concussion Recovery. We’ve been doing podcasts about concussion, CTE, nutrition, work/school accommodations, exercise and more. We have also done a podcast about yoga and brain injury – there is still so much to learn/do with this!
Having written an e-book, Detour – about my cross Canada bike trip and brain injury the following year – I am doing Biking Across Canada Podcast. It recounts the 2002, 66 day trip with short readings (generally 2-4 minutes) from my daily journal.
I have also been speaking publicly and I’d like to speak more! Not only about brain injury, but now also about cancer and chemotherapy!