It’s estimated that 1 in 3 people will experience an acquired brain injury in their lifetime, and the need for support, understanding, and better recovery resources is immense.

Hi, I’m Jessica, and this March I’m walking 31 kilometers as part of SameYou’s March for March challenge to help raise awareness and support recovery after brain injury.

I myself have experienced a traumatic brain injury. My injury occurred during a fainting episode related to a condition I live with called POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), when the back of my head met the ground before the rest of me. While I am incredibly fortunate that I’ve been able to mostly return to living my life as I did before, many people are not so lucky and require far more care, support, and rehabilitation.

Although I came away with relatively low support needs, my injury has still had significant physical, cognitive, and emotional impacts. Learning how to live with newly diagnosed POTS, alongside the physical and mental challenges that followed my brain injury and stroke, has made mobility much more difficult over time.

One of the hardest parts of my experience was what happened after leaving the hospital. After three days of treatment and learning that I had suffered a stroke and would likely need further imaging, I was discharged without meaningful follow-up care or guidance for recovery.

Recovery from brain injury doesn’t end when you leave the hospital, but for many people it can suddenly feel like you’re expected to navigate everything alone. Even having a place to go for emotional support and understanding during that time would have made a huge difference.

That gap in care is something many people recovering from brain injury experience, and it’s exactly why organizations like SameYou are so important.

SameYou works to improve emotional, social, and physical recovery after brain injury by supporting rehabilitation programs, clinical research, specialist training, and advocacy for better care. Their mission is to help ensure that people recovering from brain injury don’t have to face that journey alone.

Living with a brain injury can be deeply isolating in many different ways, and the feeling of being alone may be one of the hardest parts of the journey. That’s why the work SameYou is doing resonated with me so deeply.

I want to do what I can to help raise awareness and support their mission.

Because I walk everywhere and rely on public transportation, moving through the world isn’t as easy as it once was and has unfortunately continued to become more challenging.

Because of that, this challenge is personal in more ways than one. It’s not only about raising money and awareness, but also about pushing myself to rebuild strength and take steps toward regaining as much of my physical ability as I can.

If you’re able to donate, any contribution helps support recovery resources and research for people navigating life after brain injury. Even a small donation helps move this mission forward.

Thank you for supporting this cause and walking alongside me