If you haven’t seen or heard much from Michaela over the last few months, it is because she has been recovering from a concussion sustained when professionally dancing in June. If you or someone you know has had a concussion, then you know that they can have consequences that impact all aspects of life. Michaela has been experiencing intense headaches, nausea, difficulty processing sensory information (vision and auditory), dizziness, tinnitus, sleep and visual disturbances, memory issues, and significant overwhelm. Needless to say, it has affected her ability to work, dance, create, interact, and carry out daily tasks.

For the first few months, she focused on identifying her challenges and finding ways to do basic activities. This sounds easier said than done, as the nature of concussion symptoms can be delayed, intense, and nuanced. As you can imagine, this is incredibly difficult and can be frustrating and disheartening at times.

Michaela has been working with a dance-specific concussion sports doctor and physiotherapist to provide her with medical direction. She is finding their direction and assistance to be incredibly helpful, providing her with much-needed support. She is paying out of pocket for therapy services, while unable to work due to her symptoms. The sports doctor recommended Michaela consider neuro-optometry, to help with some of her sight-related symptoms. At this time, she has looked into pricing, but not yet been able to afford the initial assessment or subsequent sessions necessary.

Grocery shopping and food preparation has also been a significant challenge. Difficulty navigating busy spaces, the longer walking distances required, carrying groceries, and energy to prepare meals is limited. As such, she has used food delivery services that bring meals or food, and found them to be incredibly helpful in this stage of her recovery.

Michaela is working to make a full recovery and return to her life, dance, and art. At this time, screen time and social stimulation can trigger symptoms. This will change through her recovery journey, but currently the best way to support Michaela would be:

This gofundme aims to financially assist Michaela with her ongoing concussion-specific therapy and food to support her full recovery. The breakdown of funding will be as follows:

- Concussion-specific physiotherapy:

- Neuro-Optometry for concussions:

- Food and supplement for 3 months:

= $6070