Help Jen return to a whole life following TBI

In April of 2018, my beautiful wife Jen was the victim of a violent attack by an emotionally-disturbed stranger. The blow to her head was so vicious that isn’t caused five facial fractures. As she sat in the hospital, texting coworkers to find people to cover for her, she thought she was “lucky.” She had survived, and her face would heal. Jen could not have known that the trauma would have much more dire consequences in the future.

That blow to her head had also caused a concussion. Her doctors, coworkers, and loved ones all told her to take it easy for a while. But weeks of rest turned to months, and the concussive symptoms didn’t subside. Instead, they steadily increased in severity. Her brain cells were gradually dying, and no amount of “rest” would bring them back.

It’s been over 3 years, and we’ve lost count of the number of doctors and therapies Jen has tried. While some things helped more than others, Jen still lives in constant pain - suffering regularly from migraines, headaches, eye pain, nausea, dizziness, and crushing fatigue. It’s been nearly two years since she had a day without head pains, and— in a good spell— she might go a week before a migraine becomes so crippling that she is unable to even stand upright.

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) are still being studied, but they have real and lasting effects on the people who suffer them. Beyond the physical pain, Jen also struggles with concentration and comprehension, as her brain is unable to keep up with tasks that “used to be easy.” Tasks like reading, or keeping a list in her head. Even something as “simple” as emptying the dishwasher can become overwhelming and exhausting, as her brain struggles to remember which items belong where, and her body struggles to navigate her environment long enough to put each item away. The experience has been lonely and isolating for Jen, as she has learned that she cannot trust her own mind, that her body is weaker than it feels, and that her support system drains her of energy even as she is desperate for their companionship.

Jen keeps trying, though. She fought back the day of the attack, and she’s been fighting to keep her sense of self throughout this entire ordeal. Even when she feels so low that everything seems hopeless, she still shows up for vision therapy, neurology appointments, and anything else a doctor suggests. She’s determined to heal and to reestablish that trust between her self, her mind, and her body.

And that brings us to our campaign. We are trying to raise money to pay for a medical treatment that should help her return to a normal life. She currently has post-concussion syndrome (PCS), a type of TBI. PCS occurs when someone has sustained one or more concussions and does not recover within the "typical" time frame and continues to experience symptoms. Unfortunately, this happens for about 30% of people who sustain a concussion.

Most treatments for TBI involve symptom mitigation through medications that aren’t designed for or tested on people suffering from a TBI. A combination of migraine medications, anti-inflammatory drugs, antidepressants, anti-anxiety meds, sleep meds, attention deficit disorder drugs, and more lead to over-medication without much relief. For Jen, each new medication brings new side effects with little or no relief from symptoms. She is currently prescribed 10 different medications for her symptoms, but she still can’t function. She diligently completed vision therapy exercises to relearn vision skills, but a year and a half later, there has been minimal improvement.

TBI Therapy is a traumatic brain injury treatment center founded and managed by Dr. John Hughes, D.O. The center combines regenerative therapies – including hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), intranasal platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy, and intranasal stem cell therapy – with supplementary nutritional modalities.

The cost of the treatment is $9,500 and is not covered by insurance. In addition to the two-day treatment, Dr. Hughes recommends 20 hyperbaric oxygen treatment sessions before and 10 sessions after, totaling $1,380. Flights, transportation, and lodging cost $1,500.

While it's not guaranteed that Jen will experience a total reduction in her symptoms, she wants to try this treatment. She hopes this treatment will alleviate enough of her symptoms - if not the majority - to allow her to return to a normal and whole life. She hopes this proves to be an effective treatment - not only for her sake but for all those reading this who have suffered a concussion and still struggle with TBI or know someone who does. And she hopes that this can raise awareness as to how to treat TBI effectively - without the long and discouraging process of trial and error. Will you partner with us to help get Jen treatment that could help restore her health, raise awareness about TBI and treatment, and pave the way for so many others suffering like her?