Many of you have written to SameYou about your experience of brain injury and told us how you identified with Emilia's story. There was a common feeling of relief about hearing a familiar story from someone young, and speaking out to normalize the injury. People were comforted that Emilia had gone through something similar to them or to a family member or loved one.
The overwhelming emotion was of gratitude that Emilia was breaking her silence and that enabled and emboldened so many others to tell their brain injury story - some for the first time. It was as if people now have permission to speak out about their story.
I get days when I just want to give up. But after hearing your story it has made me realize, I'm not on my own!
You have told us that by sharing your stories, and reading other people's, offers hope, comfort and much needed peer-to-peer support that is often hard to find.
SameYou have created this support resource called Portraits to tell the untold story of brain injury. If you would like to share your story, you can submit your story via our Share your story page.
I experienced an ABI in October 2021. Following a successful donor stem cell transplant to cure Hodgkins Lymphoma, I developed an extraordinarily rare form of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) resulting in multiple brain lesions.
My name is Samantha. When I have to tell someone about my brain injury, I just say ‘I fell down’. My story is long and, quite frankly, traumatizing. So I say, ’I had a fall’. I do wish my story was cooler for you. I wish it involved sharks or crazy daredevil stunts.
My name is Juan Jose, I am 35 years old and I am a social worker from the Republic of Honduras, Central America. I want to share my experience as a survivor of a ruptured brain aneurysm and the challenges that followed in my recovery process.
My name is Chris and I’m here to tell my story after being inspired by other survivors who have already shared theirs. I don’t like to talk about myself, but I think I need to practice doing this, and, for some reason, I thought this would be a safe place to start.
My name is Eliana, and I live in Providence, Rhode Island, with my husband and two daughters. Although I was diagnosed with a hemorrhagic stroke on October 7, 2022, at the age of 40, receiving this diagnosis and timely medical care was more of a challenge than you’d think.
This is my story about an acquired neurological condition which was estimated to affect around 1 in 3 million people when I received my diagnosis in 2016. Now, current estimates suggest it could be much more prevalent and affect around 1 in 2000 people, which makes it a borderline rare disease in the United Kingdom.
I have suffered two traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s) in my life. The first was in 2002, when I sustained a serious TBI after being assaulted. The second was during my penultimate university summer holidays in 2008; after cycling into a wall at the end of a sloping decline and falling 20 feet...
On March 15th, 2016, I was involved in a single vehicle motorcycle crash. Both my brain and body went through severe trauma. I was wearing full protective gear but was massively concussed with a right-side brain bleed, a sub-dermal hematoma, and a crushed left orbital.
Ten years ago, I experienced weird symptoms where my hearing went funny; I could hear noise but couldn’t decipher the sound. My GP sent me for a scan and they diagnosed a cavernoma (a cluster of abnormal blood vessels) which had bled. My balance became very bad and I couldn’t stand if I closed my eyes...
My name is Grace and I am 32 years old. In 2020, I was 28 and living and teaching in Rarotonga with my partner, Theo. In April, I was feeling unwell and having some strange symptoms...