During the winter of 2015, I sustained a brain injury during a power lift in the gym. Too few calories during a weight cut, too much coffee, total fluke; whatever the case, I blacked out mid back squat, falling backwards and slamming my head and neck across the bar and onto the floor.
Different Diagnoses, But Still No Help
I visited a general practitioner, who said it was probably vertigo. She sent me to a physical therapist, who said it’s not vertigo, it’s a pinched nerve. The PT sent me to a chiropractor, whose treatment made things “feel better,” but really only for a few days. So I moved on to a more specialized chiropractor. I sat crying in her office as I told her about chronic dizziness that made it hard to focus while driving and also made me wobble when I stood up from playing on the floor with the kids. I also told her about the frequent confusion that sometimes left me unsure of which shoe belonged on which foot.
That chiropractor asked me, “do you want to feel better now, or do you want to cure the problem?” She suggested I go see Dr. Schmoe at TheFNC. She assured me of how amazed I’d be by his seemingly simple treatments. After nearly a year of suffering, I decided to try one last doctor.
One Last Doctor
After bad diagnoses and ineffective treatment, I had very few expectations for my visit. Dr. Schmoe and his staff reassured me and listened patiently as we went through diagnostic testing. As I sat on the table being observed, Dr. Schmoe said he’d place a bet that if I took off my shoe, based on what he’d observed so far, my left foot was likely purple. Sure enough, there was my purple left foot.
I eagerly stepped up to the D2 in treatment sessions, feeling excited to feel better. And at the end of every visit, I felt better. Not only better but confident that I’d continue to improve and could trust The Functional Neurology Center with the long-term care of a serious, life-changing injury.
Not only was help offered in the office, but Dr. Schmoe shared simple at-home exercises I could do every day to keep my body and my mind strong and focused. He followed up after sessions and clearly communicated information about what, why, and how we would proceed forward. From simple head adjustments to tennis ball exercises and some funky eye goggles, everything we did had a purpose and an outcome.
A brain injury is a scary, vulnerable injury. It’s not a broken bone you can show people as proof of your pain, or a blood test that verifies what you’re feeling.
After a variety of other medical professionals couldn’t help me, Dr. Schmoe assured me that he could and would. Because of TheFNC, I can do a floor puzzle with the kids and not be scared to stand up, and I can confidently put a long bar across my back to lift. I didn’t think that day would come again, but it did and I am so very thankful.
Megan J.
