On August 9th, 2017, I became ill to a viral brain infection called Meningo-Encephalitis which left me with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI).  Life as I knew it did a complete 180. If you are or know of a brain injury survivor, you know first hand the challenges that come along with the ABI survivor title. I was making good steady progress with my recovery when in April 2019, I was inflicted by a second brain insult. Following a General Anesthetic (GA), I went back 20 months in time in terms of recovery and had to start the journey all over again. This was truly devastating after all the effort invested the first time around. The second brain injury wasn't as clement and I didn't have "ignorance is a bliss" factor on my side anymore either when it came to brain injury recovery. 

 

It was mind defeating and crazy hard for me to accept, but in hoping to make sense of this senseless situation, I decided to go ahead with an idea of mine which was to document my personal recovery through a blog.  My blog is a honest, insightful, vulnerable and transparent account of my personal journey in navigating a range of challenges and topics which, until not so long ago, were completely foreign to me.

 

In writing my little heart away, I slowly started to rediscover myself, rebuild myself and love myself again. Little did I know then that so many others would relate to many of the topics addressed on my blog regardless of their personal health challenge. As progress is made with my brain injury recovery, you'll find that this blog is too constantly evolving, making room for more compassion and self-care.

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My hope in sharing my journey is that others don't feel as alone as I felt in the early days of recovery, that they find precious information that is not always conveyed by the health specialists and that it helps them find that little sparkle of hope that will lead them forward on their own recovery journey.

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When I'm not busy writing, you'll find me raising awareness in any way I can. I've contributed to various projects led by national and international brain injury associations such as Brain Injury NZ, Synapse, The Encephalitis Society, SameYou and the World Health Organization. I try to be a strong advocate for people living with invisible disabilities and mental health challenges. Through my advocacy work, I aspire to initiate changes that will allow for timely diagnosis, treatment and adequate support once the patients get to go back home. 

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I'd love to hear from your own experiences so please don't hesitate to send me an email or subscribe to my website as I'm very much looking forward to growing this community of readers to ultimately increase awareness around brain injuries and invisible disabilities.