Survivor Stories

My TBI story began in 2018 with The Beast From The East. I fell at a train station as I was visiting my brother for a few days. I was discharged from A&E after a few hours, with a diagnosis and leaflet on concussion, as well as a diagnosis of whiplash. I was also advised to take paracetamol for any pain.

A warm hello from Germany. I'm Sina-Marie, 29 years old and a ruptured brain aneurysm survivor. Since I found out about SameYou, I've wished it would have existed back in 2015 and wanted to tell my story for anybody interested. So here it is...

My name is Julianne and at 18 weeks pregnant, I was diagnosed with a massive 15mm aneurysm near my occipital nerve. The last four years have been the biggest roller coaster of my life. I now have two sons, Aiden Grey who is three, and Sawyer John who is one, but it was a huge battle getting here.

My name is Kassandra and I suffer from chronic migraine with aura, resulting from two traumatic head injuries. When I was three years old, I fell off a bed and landed on the hardwood floor, on the top of my head. About six months later, I started getting terrible migraines constantly. I was diagnosed with chronic migraine at eight years old.

Emma's story highlights how, despite experiencing a stroke and facing multiple life-saving surgeries, she had the courage and determination to rebuild her life. 

11 years ago, I was a 38-year-old P.E. teacher and father of 2 young children when I collapsed in my bathroom early one morning while getting ready for work...

My story takes place back in May of 2000 when I was 10 years old. Around 5 pm on a Friday afternoon I started having a bad headache. I told my parents about it and they handed me some Tylenol, assuming it was just my allergies. That didn’t solve the problem.

I later found out that I was experiencing a brain AVM (arteriovenous malformation) - a tangle of blood vessels that connects arteries to veins. It had started to rupture on the left side of my brain causing the pain to get worse. I told my parents I was dying.  

In 2013, I suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm, like Emilia. It happened out of the blue, just 3 months after my baby was born. I had been experiencing what I would say was a very mild, dull headache for a few days. A bit like a hangover and I couldn’t shift it. 

7 years ago, on a Saturday after a night out, I felt unwell. I thought maybe it was a hangover. I went to bed early and woke the next morning with a terrible headache...

September 14, 2018, according to my MapMyRun, I was around 10 miles in a long run in Cambridge, MA USA when I was struck at a crosswalk by a car going 37 miles per hour.

In 2020, at only 13 years old, Rirhandzu was involved in a car accident and was diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury.

Mark and his wife were on a holiday of a lifetime, when the expression actually took on a whole new meaning for them.

Sarah had the first of two strokes on April 19, 2016, two days after her 30th birthday. She talks about the importance of raising awareness of stroke in young people and having access to more support to live a full life.

In this compelling survivor story, we meet Bethanne, a resilient individual whose life changed following a rapid decline in health and subsequent stroke.

Within 2 months, Ginger had 2 brain injury surgeries which would go on to change her life in ways she had never imagined. In her story, she addresses important concepts that many survivors have to navigate.

On December 23, 2022, when I was 36 years old, I was finishing up my workday and very much looking forward to the holiday weekend with my niece and nephew, brother, boyfriend, and parents when I felt a sudden whoosh while shoveling snow outside.

In his portrait, Matthew describes his first thoughts after waking up from a tragic car accident and the long recovery journey that ensued.

My daughter, Sarah, was 18 and a few months away from going to Uni to study biology. While at school, she suffered a stroke during her first lesson.

At age 27, a lightning strike reshaped Jennifer's world. After being paralyzed from the waist down and suffering from nerve problems, Jennifer embarked on a courageous journey to navigate life again.