Life: So Fragile; Yet So Strong. Healing From a Brain Injury

Last weekend I attended a nutrition conference at the Boulderado hotel, in Boulder, Colorado.

During the morning break on Saturday, I rounded the corner from the bathroom and bumped into a long time colleague; dietitian, JoAnne (Jo) Phillips. I was absolutely thrilled to see her, I want to tell you her story…

This was Jo, at the conference, Sunday April 27, 2008

This was Jo, in the hospital one year earlier, April 2007

Last year Jo was in Denver’s Level 1 Trauma Hospital, in a coma, on a respirator. She suffered an open skull fracture to the frontal lobe of the brain which caused bleeding in and on the brain. She had a broken left femur, multi-ligament tears of the right knee, C5, C6 fractures of the neck, T1, T6 fractures of the spine and fractures on the left eye socket. She was resuscitated three times in the ER. A seven hour craniotomy was completed with the removal of part of her right skull to reduce the swelling. She was placed in a medically induced coma to rest the brain and decrease swelling.

I am constantly in awe of how resilient our body, mind, and spirit can be when pushed to the limit. Situations are different, we all have individual stories and healing takes many forms; but if you’re feeling like you can’t turn the corner with whatever you’re dealing with today (body, mind, spirit) I hope you can take some inspiration from Jo’s amazing healing and comeback.

On April 15th, 2007, Jo was out for an afternoon run along 6th Ave in Denver. As she was on the sidewalk waiting to cross the street, a car attempted to change lanes. The driver didn’t see the car in the next lane and subsequently hit that car, it then spun out of control onto the sidewalk where Jo was waiting to cross. She was hit at an estimated speed of 35 mile per hour. Her whole body slammed on top of the hood of the car and she was thrown ten feet.

The medical staff at Denver Health Medical Center called her the “Miracle Girl”. They couldn’t believe she survived such trauma to her brain and the magnitude of injuries to her body. Her family and friends kept a constant vigil at the SICU.

Doctors where unable to tell her family what to expect when she came out of the coma; all they could say was; “we have to wait and see”. The frontal lobe is responsible for our memory, speed of processing information, speech, as well as the location of the olfactory (sense of smell) nerves. Amazingly, when Jo finally came out of the coma she remembered everyone, and her memory of her whole life was in tact. Her speech was also normal, when I talked to her on the phone last June she sounded like her old self. However, this year she had to work on some short term memory, speed of processing information and at times thinking about which word she wants to use – she has made incredible progress!

Her recovery has not been easy; but what inspires me when I talk to Jo is that she doesn’t rise too high and she doesn’t fall too low – she simply lives. She puts one foot in front of the other and strives to be just a little stronger and better each day.

Jo is working hard to get out of chronic pain and her goal is to be running again next month. She works with a chiropractor for her rehab and a rolfer to break up the scar tissue from the impact of the car. She did bi-weekly hyperbaric oxygen chamber (HBC) treatments for months after leaving the hospital. HBC floods the body with oxygen and speeds up healing time to the trauma in the brain. She currently does cranial sacral work and cold laser therapy, this increases circulation and decreases inflammation. She participates in cognitive and visual therapy once a week, this re-trains the brain pathways for analyzing data, problem solving and logic. And of course, she takes ALOT of nutritional supplements which include; fish oils, acety L-carnitine, inositol, B-complex, phosphophatidylserine, ginkgo, glycerphosphocholine (GPC), B12, and antioxidants to name a few.

“If you would have told me a couple years ago I’d be a brain injury patient, in a coma, on a respirator, I would have told you that you were CRAZY!” says Jo. Yet, here she is and she has fought her way back every single day. One of Jo’s toughest obstacles, which cause some depression and frustration, was her sense of smell and taste was lost. Doctors say “if” it comes back it could take 1-2 years.

When I saw her last weekend, she was back to work at her booth, as a vendor at the conference. She was answering nutrition questions and handing out product samples during the breaks. As she interacted and talked with people no one would have guessed she was in a major accident one year ago.

She is now passionate about this organization. They are helping brain injury patients with personal care, meal preparation, money management, community navigation, problem solving, socialization and vocational assistance.

Jo gracefully balances accepting, doing and releasing, even during the bad times. She reminds me of how quickly life can change directions. None of us know how long we will live, or how long those around us will live. Jo is a living example of how fragile life can be; yet how strong and vibrantly we can all chose to live regardless of our circumstances!