After her
concussion,
Patricia has a
new outlook
Patricia Manchester, 56, was proud of being a type-A
superwoman— until a concussion forced her to look at
her life in a new way.
Patricia’s car was rear-ended twice by the same person,
while she was stopped at a light. She was on her way
to her grandson’s birthday party. “Afterwards, I was all
shook up, but my car was drivable, and the birthday
party was the priority, no matter what,” she said.
But the pain in her back got worse, and she couldn’t
focus at work. “Things weren’t connecting in my brain,”
she said. When the headaches and light sensitivity
became unbearable, her family doctor referred her to
AHN Neurology and Dr. Marco Alcala.
“He said, no work, no TV, no computer,” Patricia recalled.
“But I wouldn’t disconnect. It wasn’t until I admitted
defeat and put my health fi rst that I started to make
progress,” she said.
The AHN Concussion Center coordinated Patricia’s
appointments for physical, speech, cognitive, and vision
therapy. “My therapists truly cared about me and
personalized my treatment to apply to my job,” she said.
Patricia also got psychiatric help for depression and
saw a vision specialist for convergence insuffi ciency,
both tied to her concussion.
“I still have some symptoms, but now I’m a diff erent,
better, person,” Patricia said. “I take breaks, move
slower, and am present for my family. So, some good
came out of it.”
“My world was falling
apart, but they took
great care of me.”
PATRICIA MANCHESTER,
CONCUSSION PATIENT
48%
OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN
INJURIES ARE FROM FALLS*
* www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/
get_the_facts.html