My Concussed Brain
Before January 20, 2025, you'd usually find me on a basketball or volleyball court 15–20 hours a week, stacking my schedule with AP and dual enrollment classes, hanging with friends and family, traveling, hiking the local mountains, enjoying the beach, snapping sunset photos, cooking, or getting lost in a good book.
Then, in an instant, everything flipped.
I took a hard hit to the head from a basketball during varsity practice. I followed every protocol from my concussion clinic, expecting to bounce back like I did after a mild hit a year earlier. But weeks went by, and instead of recovering, things got scarier. The moment I realized I couldn't remember how to spell California — my own home state — I knew I was dealing with something way beyond a standard concussion.
Instead of getting cleared to play, my symptoms spiraled into Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS) — lingering symptoms that persist far beyond the typical 2–6 week recovery window. Daily chronic headaches, off-kilter balance, depth perception issues, brain fog, and relentless insomnia became my new reality, along with many other debilitating symptoms. When you're not sporting a cast or walking on crutches, people don't always understand why you can't just "snap back." My new game became how to make it through each day and night, and my game score was how severe my headache would be every single day.
Fast-forward through endless specialist appointments and deep dives into neuroscience: I'm still navigating my recovery and have a ways to go as healing isn't linear. But I've learned one massive lesson along the way: nobody should have to go through this alone. When you're sidelined by an invisible injury, having a community of peers who truly get it changes everything.
I built this platform because it's the exact space I desperately needed when my world turned upside down.
This is an interactive global space by teens, for teens, to share raw stories, showcase creative recovery journeys, and lean on each other.
Take a look around, jump into the conversation, and drop your story. If you have ideas for features or content you'd love to see here, shoot me an email — I'm all ears! Like all of us on this road, this site is a work in progress.
Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to drop back in anytime and give us a follow on social media, too: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook.
Cheers,
Evelina