Through all the frustrations, all the hard work, all the difficulties, there has always been one constant. I continually receive comments, tweets, DMs, Facebook posts, Facebook private messages, and emails from people who let me know how I helped them, or what difficulties they were facing and looking to me for help. I’ve heard from concussees, parents, friends, family members – everyone, basically. This is what has kept me going. This is what brought me back to this work time and time and time again. Some things I hear are very serious and I know I have to continue. I also hear about the gaps. That enables me to identify issues needing more focus, and are topics I commonly discuss to try and get that needed focus. Or, at least get some awareness of what the issues and needs are for those reaching out via social media.
All of this combined has affected me deeply. I’m truly honored to have been able to help people through such difficult times, and to provide information they were seeking. It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m thankful to everyone for all your input and everything, and the opportunity to help out.
Here are some examples of the things I hear. These items are all public on my site, but are not to be copied anywhere or posted on another site. I will not divulge anything sent to me privately.
Thanks, everyone!
Concussion Fatigue: It’s Different
This was one of the first posts I wrote. It was back in 2011. It has been one of my Top 5 posts every year.
“I got tears just hearing someone else say concussion fatigue is like no other.”
“Thank you so much for all the information you post – I wish I had found your sites sooner. I am suffering from PCS now for 13 months and counting. One of the hardest things to deal with was my first doctor – I would come home and cry after every visit – she did not get it.”
“I am glad I found this website because now I understand what I am feeling is not crazy!!!! Cant keep looking at the screen so I leave you with a great big hug and thank you!!!!”
5 Stages of Concussion Recovery
Far and away my most popular post, this one really connects to PCSers and concussees at a level only someone going through it can understand. The comments are incredible and I think helpful to many.
“First and foremost thank you very much for taking the time to produce this website, it has acted as a life saver for me over the last several months.”
“… I’m grateful to have found this site though, it is extremely hard to find stories about PCS that are actually positive. There is a lot of gloom and doom out there.”
“Dear Julie, You are a breath of fresh air, thank you for sharing your story and wise words.”
“Hi. Was crying while reading this. I sustained an mTBI from a motor vehicle accident in 2004. <…> And I’m not an athlete. I wish they’d study the rest of us. If I have to go through all this I wish it could be used to help others. Thanks for your writing.”
“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for a having a place for anyone having known someone dealing with a concussion, and giving us the hope that we sometimes don’t believe is there.”
“I hope that you can continue to have a great influence in the field of concussion awareness and also in helping out people like us. Thank you for everything that you are doing.”
“WOW! Thank you so much for this post. … Thank you for giving me a spark of hope again.”
Concussions, Females, Hormones, and Migraines: A Connection?
I originally wrote this in June, 2012 and have updated it continually since that time. At the time, there really was noone else working on this topic of whom I was aware. This coincided with the 40-year anniversary of Title IX, which sparked and initiated my work on female concussions. I have a post about that, too. The comments on this post show the types of issues that females have to address. Because of the comments I received and my realization that more was needed, particularly regarding endocrine issues, I created HerConcussion.com to expand these efforts. You can see more information there.
Because of the unique topic, there are other comments related to troubling menstrual irregularities and headaches that I didn’t want to include here. I suggest that you review the comments in the post, and you’ll see some of the issues. In the meantime, here’s one comment.
“This is important work you’re doing Julie – exposing the endocrine connection. Kudos to you and your efforts.”
Update 3/3/21: Comments are turned off, so it’s not possible to see them at this time.
Tweets
Gosh, I have so many tweets. I could go back years. I’ve picked just a few recent ones.
One day recently, I received a (public) @ mention tweet telling me about a teen acquaintance who attempted suicide due to their concussion. I’m not going to post that here. It’s not unusual for me to hear comments such as this, or hear from people struggling mightily. It’s why I made my giant spreadsheet of support resources. I share that when I receive tweets such as that. I also share it periodically just because I think it’s needed.
At other times, I’ll post a general comment and others jump in and share their experiences. Those result in great conversations. Two of my favorites were a recent discussion about sources of concussion other than through sports. Several years back, there was one about riding in a car with a concussion and what that is like. Because of that, I ended up writing a post about it.
I’ve also received tweets complimenting my HerConcussion site content. That’s primarily a reference site, so it’s nice to hear comments such as that.
That’s all for now! If you’d like to see other comments and such, just review them on any of my posts. And check items in tweets and on my Facebook pages. These comments are amazing, and I’m so grateful for them. They’ll stay with me forever.