Between Two Brains

On the morning of November 13, 2018, I looked both ways before crossing the street as I entered a pedestrian crosswalk on my two-block walk to work. My memory gets dodgy from here but my brain still holds a few snippets: a quarter of the way across the street I watched the fender of an SUV hit my knee, I slammed onto its hood, and then my head quickly hit the pavement. Hard. I was rushed to the hospital, put in a medically-induced coma, and, when I came to in the ICU at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, was told my 34-year-old body was not how I last remembered it. I’ll spare you the details of the insane list of diagnoses I was given- some knee, neck, and brain-related- but the most important one to know about is that I had an acute subdural hematoma.

I am a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, and a business owner. It has taken a long time to even begin to process the accident (and may take my whole life) but, looking at my life and how close I was to slipping away lends serious perspective. During the months after my accident, I struggled with feelings of loneliness and depression and did not realize at the time that they were direct results of my brain injury. If I can help others feel less alone during their recovery journey, I feel that some good will have come from the trauma that changed my life.

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The podcast by survivors, for survivors about survivors.

Our hosts take a candid and fearless dive into brain injury and the world of invisible disability. Brain injury is the #1 killer and disabler of people under 40. A brain injury can change everything in an instant. Forever.

Largely invisible, isolated and stigmatized, this community is also where the most incredible comeback stories of resilience, recovery and reinvention live. We shed light on this community’s silent determination to survive with compassion (and a little irreverence).

Let’s talk about life beyond brain injury, celebrate neurodiversity and make the invisible visible together.

Chloe Luckett In 2016 Chloe Luckett sustained a traumatic brain injury in Halifax while cycling. She was hit by a car and taken to the hospital where they identified that she had broken her neck in two places and sustained brain bleeds. After spending the next two months in the hospital and rehab, she moved home with her family, and that’s when the real hard work began.

Over the last 4 years Chloe has navigated and experienced what it means to live with a brain injury and has a new appreciation for what matters most in life. It has taught her the importance of community and family, knowing when to ask for help and that it’s always ok, and how to be proactive when it comes to caring for yourself.

Although traumatic, she is grateful for the experience at times as it has given her a new path and outlook on life. With the new perspective she’s gained, she has found a sense of purpose working with and for the brain injury community and feels grateful sharing other’s experiences and doing anything she can to foster further recovery.

As Chloe puts it, “I have truly gotten to experience the sense of ‘community’, as I saw how the city of Halifax came together to support me and help me expand my dream of working within this sphere. I’ve seen so much growth just since being involved over the last few years, and I look forward to continue sharing the experiences and seeing the recovery that happens within these people!"

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In today's conversation, we talk with Halifax NS based emergency physician Dr. Jen McVey about the confluence between Covid-19, returning to work after battling with a complicated recovery from 4 concussions. and lessons we can take from brain injury recovery and those living with brain injuries to help us through these uncertain times.

About Today's Guest

Dr. Jen McVey is an emergency physician based in Halifax NS, is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, who also works alongside the Halifax Mooseheads hockey team in sports medicine amongst other amazing things. Jen’s story lends an unique perspective to these challenging times – returning to work after sustaining her 4th concussion since 2013 has coloured her experience with patients in the emergency room and changed her life in ways that had the side benefit of preparing her for work and life during our Coivd-19 crisis.

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Lauren Spear worked as a special education teacher in South Australia, when she was involved in a work place accident in 2018, whilst helping one of her struggling students off a piece of playground equipment.

For the last 2 and a half years she has been living with and working hard in her rehabilitation and recovery from a brain injury, supporting and advocating for the wider concussion and brain injury community along the way.

In 2019, she decided to begin her personal blog and organization called The Orange Butterfly, reminding all to embrace new life and challenges with hope, and dedicating herself to closing the often misunderstood gap between the brain injury community and the wider community by spreading education and awareness.

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Melanie Dunlop is originally from Nova Scotia, now a speciality nurse practitioner, specializing in brain injury. She works out of the rehab in Halifax Nova Scotia, as well as several other platforms which allow her to cater more towards individual’s needs.

She has been working in her field for seven years and has an experienced and insightful view as we talk about what brain injury looks like, and how it has evolved with medicine over the last decade. In addition, her experience in the field lends to her ability to touch on what practices can be helpful for recovery, and how to manage the everyday of living with a brain injury.

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