September 28, 2023 • 30 mins
PLEASE READ!
Please note that The Post Concussion Podcast has been closed for new episodes as of early 2024. Concussion Connect is also closed.
Thank you to everyone who was so supportive over the years and I hope these episodes continue to help others as they come across them!
I have set on a new venture (with a pen name - Izzy Barry) you can learn more about here
https://izzybarry.substack.com/
--
Have you ever wondered how a traumatic brain injury could reshape your life? Join us as we journey with mother and daughter, Roberta and Paige, through a world turned upside down by Paige's brain injury and the symptoms that followed.
Roberta opens up about her journey as a caregiver, transforming her struggles into knowledge as she researched to help her daughter, ultimately penning a book about their experiences; "She Looks Fine." Together, they shed light on this misunderstood condition, offering a beacon of hope to others facing similar challenges.
But it doesn't end there; adversity, as they say, often brings out the best in us. We touch upon how this life-altering experience led to personal growth and the pursuit of passions. Find out how supporting Paige's love for singing transformed their lives, and how they learned to respect each other's boundaries while cohabiting closely. This episode is a heartfelt narrative of resilience, recovery, and learning to thrive in the face of adversity.
Find Show Notes, Transcript & More: https://postconcussioninc.com
The Book: "She Looks Fine" by both Roberta & Paige: https://shelooksfinebook.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Bella (00:03):
Hi everyone.
I'm your host, bella Page, andafter suffering from post-
concussion syndrome for years,it was time to do something
about it.
So welcome to the postconcussion podcast, where we dig
deep into life when it doesn'tgo back to normal.
Be sure to share the podcastand join our support network,
Concussion Connect.
Let's make this invisibleinjury become visible.
(00:25):
The Post Concussion Podcast isstrictly an information podcast
about concussions and postconcussion syndrome.
It does not provide norsubstitute for professional
medical advice, diagnosis ortreatment.
Always seek the advice of yourphysician or another qualified
(00:46):
health provider with anyquestions you may have regarding
a medical condition.
Never disregard professionalmedical advice or delay in
seeking it because of somethingyou have heard on this podcast.
The opinions expressed in thispodcast are simply intended to
spark discussion aboutconcussions and post concussion
syndrome.
(01:06):
Welcome to episode number 117of the post concussion podcast
with my self-pill page andtoday's guests, Roberta Campbell
and Paige Knechtly.
Roberta is an entrepreneur andtwo-time author, international
best-selling author, acompassionate and empowering
life coach on a mission to helpothers embrace their true selves
and heal from past trauma.
(01:27):
She studies personaldevelopment and is passionate
about health and wellness.
This, along with her Christianfaith, helped her care for her
daughter, paige, after herhorrific accident.
She is a devoted mother of twoand enjoys traveling and is an
enthusiastic foodie.
Paige is an internationalbest-selling author, recording
artist and performer and publichealth advocate.
(01:47):
She spends her days continuingto excel in her music, book
haughty and read and it lookedgood merchandise.
Paige has built her businessesfrom the ground up in her
hometown, cincinnati, ohio.
Paige has a song outspecifically about her accident,
called Fearless.
Welcome to the show, Robertaand Paige.
Roberta (02:10):
Thank you so much for having us, bella.
Paige (02:13):
Thank you.
Bella (02:14):
So, to start, do you want to give us some background on
Paige's brain injury experience?
Yeah, absolutely.
Roberta (02:22):
Do you want to start?
So in September 9th of 2018,paige was hit by a car while
crossing the street in a crosswalk and I was 3,000 miles away,
and I had to come home notknowing what was happening, and
there's a lot like she doesn'tremember the accident and I
(02:42):
wasn't there, so a lot of thisis what we've been told from
others.
She suffered a traumatic braininjury and so, apparently, when
she was hit by this car, sheflew up and hit the front
frontal of her head onto thewindshield and it threw her back
(03:03):
and she cracked her skull inthe back of her head, and so I
had no knowledge of traumaticbrain injuries.
She was in the hospital when Igot here and I did not
understand what was going on.
She had more issues than that.
She has nerve damage on herleft foot and some other neck
(03:25):
and back issues as well, but itwas, of course, the brain that
was the most concerning.
I will tell you, when I arrivedat the hospital, she was acting
very adolescent, very childlike.
She was 22 years old at thetime, she was in college, she
had been on her own for a while,and so for me to walk in and to
(03:46):
see her this way.
It was very, it was unusual, itwas odd.
But I'll tell you what.
The next morning she woke up inexcruciating pain and from then
on it didn't stop.
I mean, we would laterunderstand that it was because
(04:08):
of the bleeding, bruising andswelling on the brain that
caused her migraine to worsenevery day.
And so this accident, which wasalmost five years ago now, I'm
going to tell you it took usyears.
I had no idea that it would bethat long in understanding
everything.
(04:28):
So prior to this, there was noknowledge of traumatic brain
injuries and that she has neverhad a head injury prior to this.
Paige (04:42):
It came as quite a shock because beforehand I was going
to school for public health andI was serving multiple jobs,
cocktail wagers, seeing anythingto pay my rent, help me get
through college.
I was active, I was on theboard of education for my major,
(05:04):
I was just a busy, busy girland then after that, to you know
, feel like I was dying, to bestuck in a hospital bed, not
knowing what tomorrow held forme, having to move back home
after the fact, leave college,start my life over and
completely lose my independenceand have this excruciating pain
(05:29):
that I still feel today,unfortunately.
But, at the time.
It was very detrimental and I,you know, had to get a hospital
help.
I had to rest or I definitelywould have had a stroke or
something like that.
I definitely would have lost mylife without that medical help.
So now it's more about meresting and understanding my
(05:52):
body and listening to my body.
It's so detrimental, for sure,but after the accident it was
definitely the scariest thingI've ever been through.
Roberta (06:03):
And I'll tell you two weeks.
This was two weeks and threehospitals.
So she was in one hospital andthey sent her home and I, you
know, they sent her back with meand I thought she's not okay.
I mean I didn't know what to do.
She was still in excruciatingpain and so I actually got her
(06:25):
back to another emergency roomat a different hospital and then
they sent her to anotherhospital.
So it was two weeks of completechaos and confusion.
Bella (06:38):
Absolutely.
It's the lack of understandingand knowledge and all these
things.
It's really tough because wereally don't know.
Unless you've been around it,you don't get it.
I don't.
It doesn't matter what anyonesays.
It's really hard to understandthis until you've gone through
(06:59):
it, whether as a caregiver, afriend, a partner or as a
survivor yourself, because itreally changes so much about you
.
I don't think you can reallycomprehend how much it's going
to change your life, even whenit happens, because it does take
time to get to that part.
And you know Pajum kind ofmentions the thing about it
(07:20):
being terrified, and that'stotally valid and normal.
I think you know people getreally scared because we don't
know what's going on.
And, roberto, you went tomultiple hospitals trying to get
help with something more severelike a TBI.
It is scary because you can'tsee it.
You know Pajum is in a ton ofpain, but that's all you know.
(07:43):
You can see it in your daughter, but you don't have much else
to go off of other than someonetelling you that they're in
excruciating pain.
And you listed some of thesymptoms.
A lot of people listening tothe show know the very large
amount of symptoms that comewith this.
But so what has helped youthrough this, all of it?
Paige (08:03):
To touch on that, like I feel like no one will really
understand unless they'veactually had a traumatic brain
injury.
I talk to people every singleday about TBI.
Yesterday I was selling books,selling our books.
She looks fine and a woman youknow came up and said what's a
(08:23):
TBI?
I said a traumatic brain injury.
The more I keep talking to her,all of a sudden she starts
crying.
This happens all the time.
This is so not out of theordinary.
She starts crying and explainshow she was walking outside
during winter one day with herdog, she slipped and fell, hit
(08:45):
her head.
You know her story goes on andon.
It's just how scary it is to gothrough that and how much pain
you feel and how likeeverything's spinning and you
don't understand, like what'sgoing on.
Like just having thatconversation with her, even
yesterday, really puts thingsinto perspective.
(09:06):
Like you are a survivor, a TBIsurvivor.
You're a warrior.
To go through something likethat is so hard.
So just to say my piece on thatyeah absolutely.
As for things that helped me,sleep is number one.
I did not get enough sleep lastnight.
I am very tired right now.
(09:28):
I have a long list of things Ihave to do today.
I'm going to have to drink alot of water, take cognitive
breaks, make sure I'm eatingnonstop all day long.
Definitely get a lot of sleeptonight.
I did a hard workout yesterday,so today I'll just go for a
walk, probably to move my body alittle bit.
(09:49):
Other things I use aromatherapyevery single day.
I take a bath with Epsom saltalmost every single day.
I eat very clean.
I use prayer and meditation astwo of my biggest cognitive
breaks and things like that too.
Just a lot of healthy decisionsin there throughout my day.
(10:12):
Obviously, I will still go outand have a drink with a friend,
maybe once a month, but I'm verystripped on my health and
putting my brain and body first.
Even four and a half years outand I think it's we know every
TBI is different.
(10:33):
Mine happened to be bleeding onthe brain, swelling, bruising.
It was a moderate to severe,mild, moderate to severe brain
injury.
So I'm still feeling theeffects today and just moving
forward as best as I can.
Bella (10:51):
And that's really the way to do it.
You really have to find, likeyou said, that balance of how
much sleep do you need and howmuch do you need to eat.
When do you need to eat allthese little things?
A lot of brain injury recoveryor brain management is daily
life things that people don'treally realize.
(11:11):
Sometimes you don't realizeyou're doing them because these
things become a habit, becauseyou're doing them every day for
so long.
But they are really essentialto find what works for you
because, like you said,everyone's different.
Everyone's experience isdifferent.
I know some people that dogreat gluten free.
I know some people that itdoesn't do anything.
Everyone is different.
Finding what works for you isalso a process that takes a lot
(11:35):
of trial and error.
You're not going to get itright the first time.
You probably won't get it rightthe 50th time.
So you have to kind of giveyourself some grace in trying to
figure it out and sometimesyou'll think you have it all
figured out and then your bodywill be like, actually we're
awful today, Everything ishaywire, our whole body, and
you're like, yeah, what did I do?
(11:56):
Where's the answer?
Paige (11:58):
Like that's how I feel today.
Like I am so off right now, Iliterally just want to go to
sleep, like I am 100% having abad day.
Yeah, I am having an awful daybut it's going to be okay, but
I'm just, I'm not feeling ittoday, yeah, yeah, so you
(12:19):
understand that.
That's so great to hear,because I think some people
would just be like what are youeven talking about?
Roberta (12:28):
Well, I mean we had to.
I mean we kind of canceled thisa few times.
I think you weren't feelingwell, and that's the thing is
that you have to listen to yourbody and listen to yourself, and
some days you just say, look, Ican't do it.
Bella (12:41):
Yeah, I think I had a POTS attack the one day we were
supposed to record this.
I was like, oh no, I don't doanything during POTS flare ups,
I'm like if I get up I had one afew weeks ago because I've been
figuring it out but sometimeswhen I go out in the heat all
day for a few days, I kind of Idon't have an internal
thermostat, so whole body goeshaywire.
(13:03):
So I ended up in bed.
Every time I got out of bedbecause you know, you try to
push yourself, like you'repushing yourself today and I'm
like I'm going to go makesomething to eat and I think I
made it to my kitchen and then Iwas like, no, I turned around
and went back to bed for sixhours.
I passed out.
For, you know, sometimes it'sjust, it becomes part of your
(13:27):
life.
And just the other day I postedabout.
People sometimes tell you thatyou're really strong and I
appreciate that.
But I also always like to tellthem that I don't have a choice.
Paige (13:39):
We saw your post and we talked about it.
Roberta (13:41):
actually, yeah, yes.
Paige (13:44):
And I feel like this has made me such a fighter, like
even today.
I mean, sometimes I choose notto fight the battle, but like I
have to, like I have to getthings done today, and I just do
it with the smile on my faceand I know I'm going to pass out
later and I know it would bebetter for me to go lay down,
(14:06):
but I like I don't know, it'sjust crazy, it's just like fight
mode, it's absolute fight mode,and I know here soon I'm gonna
have more time to rest, butright now I just have a lot of
things going on with the bookand our podcast and and I was
definitely ready to do thispodcast with you today so I made
(14:29):
that a priority.
I have a lot going on with mymusic, so even the doctor
prescribed me 10 hours of sleepa night a few weeks ago, so that
was a new recommendation and Ijust need to like stick to that
and actually get that done everyday, every night?
Bella (14:49):
For sure it is.
It's ongoing and of course, youknow that and I've been around
this for almost 11 years now, soit's been a long, a long road
for sure, and so I do want totalk about the book.
I want to talk about yourpodcast and kind of what led you
to writing the book and allthat, but before that we are
(15:10):
going to take a quick break.
Did you want to createawareness about concussions?
You can check out our entireclothing line through the link
in the episode description or goto our website,
postconcussioninkcom and clickawareness merch from t-shirts,
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(15:30):
Nothing Mild About a Concussionand more.
Make sure to pause this episoderight now and order yours before
you forget.
Just like I would Welcome backto the post concussion podcast
with myself, bella Page andtoday's guest, roberta Campbell
Paige, did have to run out justbecause of you know, health and
(15:51):
work, so it'll just be the twoof us for now.
But what I really wanted totalk about was what led you to
reading the book or writing thebook.
I read the book.
She looks fine.
Roberta (16:05):
Yeah.
So I'll tell you what it wasabout.
A year or so after her accidentand I just thought that's when
I just had to start doing somuch research and I was in the.
Both of us were in supportgroup and I could see that
others were struggling the sameas she was and or else I might
(16:30):
not have understood this as well, because it was very confusing.
I didn't understand it, andseeing others that were going
through the same thing hashelped so so much.
But I thought this can't be it.
This can't be what we're goingto deal with for the rest of our
lives.
So I started digging in.
(16:50):
I thought what can we do?
What can I do as a caregiver?
Is there, what can I do to helpher?
And it would just was like onething after the other which
she's always been not always,but been very healthy.
The last few years she was inhealth education and so and she
(17:14):
was very, very healthy right upto her accident and actually
right after the accident shejust wasn't, she just wanted
pizza and milkshakes and justwhatever.
So I had been on a healthjourney myself and I had made
little changes, but then thisopened up.
I was like, all right, we gotto figure this out.
So I became she's vegetarianand so I became more.
(17:44):
No, I'm not total vegetarian,but I do eat a plant based diet
and I do eat some some freshseafood and I will have a little
bit of chicken, and it's beenyears since I've had red meat.
So so there's.
I made the changes and Istarted seeing all of these
things that we were doingactually started helping her a
little bit.
(18:07):
Like I had to have that betterunderstanding of everything, and
I was like I have to tell mystory, I have to tell people
Like I didn't understand thisand they don't understand it.
People didn't understand itbecause people don't understand
it, because people would.
They would look at her and theythey said she looks fine, she
(18:31):
looks fine, you know, she shouldbe able to go right back to
school.
And I was like oh my gosh.
And like she said I don't thinkanyone can understand that.
And at this time I had beenjournaling the whole time, not
thinking I was going to write abook, until a year or so into it
(18:53):
.
And yeah, it was probably gosh,it was at least two years into
it.
And so then I started readingevery book I could get my hand
on too, because I wanted to seeand understand it.
And I was like this, is it?
Like maybe, maybe I can write abook, one others to understand?
(19:15):
So what's interesting is that Ididn't tell a lot of people
about it because I mean, I'm nota writer and so and actually I
didn't even go to college.
I've been a hairstylist forover 30 years, and so me writing
a book sounded kind of crazy.
And I mentioned it to a coupleof people and they're like
(19:37):
really, but I mentioned it tothe, I shared it with a very
close friend of mine and sheintroduced me to an editor of a
publishing company.
And I know that everythinghappened exactly how it was
supposed to, and so that is howthis became about.
And I started writing the bookand in the process I was like
look, paige, do you think thereis any way that you could tell
(19:58):
your story?
Because I think it would be sogood if people could see,
because I could see some booksout there, but they weren't from
both sides, they weren't fromthe caregiver and the patient,
and so I was like let's, if youcan do this, let's do it.
And I'm going to tell you.
She was like yeah, yeah, yeah,okay, okay, absolutely.
(20:19):
And then, when it came down tolike the end, when she had to
have all of her stuff in, I wasa little concerned.
I mean, I was a little worriedit didn't look.
It wasn't looking so good, Ithought, oh my gosh, I don't
know if she's going to be ableto do this.
And because I saw, like hernotes and how everything looked,
and she, somehow, she pulled itthrough at the very end.
(20:41):
And that's kind of how I thinkher brain has changed too with
things, and so we, we put thistogether as a team effort and
that's how it's been now for thepast few years.
So on September 9th of 2022, wereleased the book.
(21:03):
So that was four years afterher accident.
We didn't know what was reallygoing to come of this and you
know, I expected everything tohappen so quickly and it didn't.
And now things, everything justkeeps opening up, and we've
actually been asked to bekeynote speakers at the
(21:24):
University of Dayton here inCincinnati, ohio, and it's
actually next month now.
So, and and I have actuallybeen a keynote speaker at our
publishers event and a women'sconference that I just attended
in New York City, and so it'sreally opened up a world that I
(21:48):
didn't even see come in.
Bella (21:51):
I like the perspective that it comes from both of you,
because I read the book the yearperspective reminded me a lot
of my own mom, because shereally was the one that was
around me the most.
She was the one dealing with myanger lash outs, my like
goaways leave me alone.
She dealt with a lot of that,more than anyone out of my
(22:13):
entire family, including mypartner, and you know it's
different looking back on it, onhow hard it was, but I couldn't
imagine going through itbecause it was so hard on me.
But I remember getting to thepoint where I was a little
better and I felt guilty.
I had a lot of guilt for my mom, for the people helping me,
because I always felt like I wassuch a burden on them and that
(22:36):
took me a long time to getthrough because I could always
see it in her face in adifferent way, like she'd always
try to hide it when I'd likecome down the stairs and
collapse.
But I know it's a lot harder todo than it actually.
I like had this issue where Icould only do about four steps
at a time.
So I'd like do four and laydown, do another four or five
and lay down, and so it kind ofworked directly across from
(23:00):
where the laundry room is, so Iwould come and lay on the stairs
while she would like be walkingaround the house doing things,
and I think it was hard for herbecause I really couldn't get up
.
It was just me like that was metrying to socialize as much as
I could, and so reading the bookand kind of getting your
perspective gave me a lot ofdifferent kind of memories came
(23:20):
up.
Some of it was actually hardbecause I was like, oh, I forgot
about my mom going through that, because I was very similar to
Paige in some ways.
I was in a room for about twoyears with headaches and things
like that.
So I definitely understand thatand I love that it's open up
doors.
I think sometimes when we try todo something like write a book,
we don't know what's going tohappen.
(23:41):
We don't know if it's going toexplode.
We don't know if it's going tobe like oh, we're going to be
doing this for the rest of ourlives.
You really don't know what pathyou're going to get put on.
And it's so much anticipationbecause it takes so much longer
than anybody realizes to getbooks out other than those, like
serial authors, who just pumpout a book every six months, but
everybody else it takes a lotlonger, and so the book is out.
(24:03):
I know Paige has been singing,so do you want to talk a little
bit about what's next for bothof you?
Roberta (24:10):
So it's interesting, people you know talk about like
her singing, and but I will tellyou Because, as you know, the
thing about that's the one thingthat she truly loved.
She's just like I love to sing,and so I'm like, okay.
And then you started right,yeah, yeah and so, and she had
(24:33):
been singing for a lot of herlife and I thought, well, if
this is the one thing that sheloves, I support her.
And Also, you were talkingabout being at home with your
mom and this and that, and we'vejust learned to be very
respectful of each other.
And it was very difficult forme because she sleeps later and
(24:54):
People don't understand that.
But I had to understand thatand I'm respectful of that and
I'm tried when we're in thislittle apartment.
But do you know what?
I looked back?
I mean, I was pissed off andshe was pissed off at where we
were.
But this journey has actuallythis has totally changed our
(25:16):
lives in so many ways for thebetter.
Now, I just think it's veryimportant.
Obviously, her health isimportant, my health and my
well-being and there were thingsthat I had to learn.
We respect each other, but tothe point to where we have to
say, look, you know theboundaries and and not in saying
(25:37):
you're not going to look, Idon't like it when you do this
and I can see you're havingAnxiety and these things.
So give her space, step backand whatever I needed to do, and
so I have supported her andwith her music and her singing
and just doing what she loved, Imean, and this for me, you know
(26:00):
, has turned into gosh.
I actually contributed toanother book and in this journey
I decided I invested in myselfand I hired a life coach and
mentor and went through theprocess and I'm telling you what
I Don't know, what I would havedone if I wouldn't have gone
through this, because I reallydug in and studied myself and
(26:25):
personal development andlearning to love myself and
accept myself, and so speakingengagements and More books
probably.
Bella (26:40):
I get it.
I grew.
I have the cookbook outpost-concussion lifetimes.
We've kind of changed the wayit's getting released now, but I
get it.
I got like a war.
I guess in total that will beout within the next 10 years,
hopefully so.
Yes, I definitely get it.
Roberta (26:55):
So amazing, but it's just opened up a world that we
both ever like.
There is a big world out thereand it's beautiful, and we know
that when what we're doing ishelping others and serving
others, but we, you don't giveevery bit of you.
I mean, the first thing thatyou do is take care of yourself
(27:15):
first.
You know that, and Myself andPaige especially, but taking
care of you, and then you haveenough to give and to help
others and letting these thingsjust kind of Kind of come, come
to you Absolutely.
Bella (27:31):
Yeah, I really like the boundaries part with Paige and
living together at the beginningand you know it's.
I think it was a littledifferent just for my mom and I,
because I was like 15, Haha,when all this started.
So it's not like I had.
I didn't even think I knew howto cook more than craft dinner
at the point, Maybe some pastaand soup.
But she was like, or still likeI hadn't moved out yet.
(27:55):
I had moved to show jump, butevery time I moved out to show
jump I still was living withparents or a coach that still
did a lot of that stuff likelaundry.
I hadn't adulted yet, as a lotof people use the word.
But there is a lot to gothrough and learning what to ask
when not to ask.
You know we definitely havemoments where my mom would ask
if I was okay and I'd be likeyou know I'm not okay, so stop
(28:18):
asking.
And you know we go throughthose moments and lots of things
like that and you and Paigehave shared quite a bit today.
But your journey and your storyand the book is truly wonderful
.
I highly recommend it and so isthere anything else you'd like
to add before we end today'sepisode?
Roberta (28:35):
You know, I guess my biggest message for people is
just, you know, don't wait.
If there's something that youwant to do, don't wait, because
we don't know.
We just we live our lives andwe don't know what tomorrow is
going to bring.
And if there's something thatyou love whether that's singing
(28:59):
or writing, or standing on astage or whatever it means,
whatever it may be, you know,pursue your dreams, figure out
what you love and pursue it.
Just take one step in front ofthe other, one day to the next
day, and really enjoy and loveyour life and just take care of
(29:21):
yourself the healthiest that youcan, because I'm going to tell
you, I'm healthier now than I'veever been.
Bella (29:28):
I feel younger and more vibrant and I'm telling you, if
I can do it, I know anybody cando it- I love that and I love
you know really enjoying yourlife and focusing on that, even
when ill Really changed my lifefor really, you know, refocusing
Okay, what am I doing that I'mnot loving and of course,
(29:49):
there's going to be aspects ofyour life that you don't always
enjoy Right, really focusing onthings that I love, like helping
people with all the concussionsand all that.
It really has changed my life,and so I really want to thank
you for joining today and thankPaige, even though she's no
longer with us right now, forsharing some of your life after
Paige's brain injury.
Roberta (30:09):
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you so much for having us, Bella.
Bella (30:14):
Need more than just this podcast.
Be sure to check out ourwebsite postconcussioninccom To
see how we can help you in yourpost concussion life, From a
support network to one-on-onecoaching.
I believe life can get betterbecause I've lived through it.
Make sure you take it one dayat a time.
Hi everyone.
I'm your host, bella Page, andafter suffering from post-
concussion syndrome for years,it was time to do something
about it.
So welcome to the postconcussion podcast, where we dig
deep into life when it doesn'tgo back to normal.
Be sure to share the podcastand join our support network,
Concussion Connect.
Let's make this invisibleinjury become visible.
(00:25):
The Post Concussion Podcast isstrictly an information podcast
about concussions and postconcussion syndrome.
It does not provide norsubstitute for professional
medical advice, diagnosis ortreatment.
Always seek the advice of yourphysician or another qualified
(00:46):
health provider with anyquestions you may have regarding
a medical condition.
Never disregard professionalmedical advice or delay in
seeking it because of somethingyou have heard on this podcast.
The opinions expressed in thispodcast are simply intended to
spark discussion aboutconcussions and post concussion
syndrome.
(01:06):
Welcome to episode number 117of the post concussion podcast
with my self-pill page andtoday's guests, Roberta Campbell
and Paige Knechtly.
Roberta is an entrepreneur andtwo-time author, international
best-selling author, acompassionate and empowering
life coach on a mission to helpothers embrace their true selves
and heal from past trauma.
(01:27):
She studies personaldevelopment and is passionate
about health and wellness.
This, along with her Christianfaith, helped her care for her
daughter, paige, after herhorrific accident.
She is a devoted mother of twoand enjoys traveling and is an
enthusiastic foodie.
Paige is an internationalbest-selling author, recording
artist and performer and publichealth advocate.
(01:47):
She spends her days continuingto excel in her music, book
haughty and read and it lookedgood merchandise.
Paige has built her businessesfrom the ground up in her
hometown, cincinnati, ohio.
Paige has a song outspecifically about her accident,
called Fearless.
Welcome to the show, Robertaand Paige.
Roberta (02:10):
Thank you so much for having us, bella.
Paige (02:13):
Thank you.
Bella (02:14):
So, to start, do you want to give us some background on
Paige's brain injury experience?
Yeah, absolutely.
Roberta (02:22):
Do you want to start?
So in September 9th of 2018,paige was hit by a car while
crossing the street in a crosswalk and I was 3,000 miles away,
and I had to come home notknowing what was happening, and
there's a lot like she doesn'tremember the accident and I
(02:42):
wasn't there, so a lot of thisis what we've been told from
others.
She suffered a traumatic braininjury and so, apparently, when
she was hit by this car, sheflew up and hit the front
frontal of her head onto thewindshield and it threw her back
(03:03):
and she cracked her skull inthe back of her head, and so I
had no knowledge of traumaticbrain injuries.
She was in the hospital when Igot here and I did not
understand what was going on.
She had more issues than that.
She has nerve damage on herleft foot and some other neck
(03:25):
and back issues as well, but itwas, of course, the brain that
was the most concerning.
I will tell you, when I arrivedat the hospital, she was acting
very adolescent, very childlike.
She was 22 years old at thetime, she was in college, she
had been on her own for a while,and so for me to walk in and to
(03:46):
see her this way.
It was very, it was unusual, itwas odd.
But I'll tell you what.
The next morning she woke up inexcruciating pain and from then
on it didn't stop.
I mean, we would laterunderstand that it was because
(04:08):
of the bleeding, bruising andswelling on the brain that
caused her migraine to worsenevery day.
And so this accident, which wasalmost five years ago now, I'm
going to tell you it took usyears.
I had no idea that it would bethat long in understanding
everything.
(04:28):
So prior to this, there was noknowledge of traumatic brain
injuries and that she has neverhad a head injury prior to this.
Paige (04:42):
It came as quite a shock because beforehand I was going
to school for public health andI was serving multiple jobs,
cocktail wagers, seeing anythingto pay my rent, help me get
through college.
I was active, I was on theboard of education for my major,
(05:04):
I was just a busy, busy girland then after that, to you know
, feel like I was dying, to bestuck in a hospital bed, not
knowing what tomorrow held forme, having to move back home
after the fact, leave college,start my life over and
completely lose my independenceand have this excruciating pain
(05:29):
that I still feel today,unfortunately.
But, at the time.
It was very detrimental and I,you know, had to get a hospital
help.
I had to rest or I definitelywould have had a stroke or
something like that.
I definitely would have lost mylife without that medical help.
So now it's more about meresting and understanding my
(05:52):
body and listening to my body.
It's so detrimental, for sure,but after the accident it was
definitely the scariest thingI've ever been through.
Roberta (06:03):
And I'll tell you two weeks.
This was two weeks and threehospitals.
So she was in one hospital andthey sent her home and I, you
know, they sent her back with meand I thought she's not okay.
I mean I didn't know what to do.
She was still in excruciatingpain and so I actually got her
(06:25):
back to another emergency roomat a different hospital and then
they sent her to anotherhospital.
So it was two weeks of completechaos and confusion.
Bella (06:38):
Absolutely.
It's the lack of understandingand knowledge and all these
things.
It's really tough because wereally don't know.
Unless you've been around it,you don't get it.
I don't.
It doesn't matter what anyonesays.
It's really hard to understandthis until you've gone through
(06:59):
it, whether as a caregiver, afriend, a partner or as a
survivor yourself, because itreally changes so much about you
.
I don't think you can reallycomprehend how much it's going
to change your life, even whenit happens, because it does take
time to get to that part.
And you know Pajum kind ofmentions the thing about it
(07:20):
being terrified, and that'stotally valid and normal.
I think you know people getreally scared because we don't
know what's going on.
And, roberto, you went tomultiple hospitals trying to get
help with something more severelike a TBI.
It is scary because you can'tsee it.
You know Pajum is in a ton ofpain, but that's all you know.
(07:43):
You can see it in your daughter, but you don't have much else
to go off of other than someonetelling you that they're in
excruciating pain.
And you listed some of thesymptoms.
A lot of people listening tothe show know the very large
amount of symptoms that comewith this.
But so what has helped youthrough this, all of it?
Paige (08:03):
To touch on that, like I feel like no one will really
understand unless they'veactually had a traumatic brain
injury.
I talk to people every singleday about TBI.
Yesterday I was selling books,selling our books.
She looks fine and a woman youknow came up and said what's a
(08:23):
TBI?
I said a traumatic brain injury.
The more I keep talking to her,all of a sudden she starts
crying.
This happens all the time.
This is so not out of theordinary.
She starts crying and explainshow she was walking outside
during winter one day with herdog, she slipped and fell, hit
(08:45):
her head.
You know her story goes on andon.
It's just how scary it is to gothrough that and how much pain
you feel and how likeeverything's spinning and you
don't understand, like what'sgoing on.
Like just having thatconversation with her, even
yesterday, really puts thingsinto perspective.
(09:06):
Like you are a survivor, a TBIsurvivor.
You're a warrior.
To go through something likethat is so hard.
So just to say my piece on thatyeah absolutely.
As for things that helped me,sleep is number one.
I did not get enough sleep lastnight.
I am very tired right now.
(09:28):
I have a long list of things Ihave to do today.
I'm going to have to drink alot of water, take cognitive
breaks, make sure I'm eatingnonstop all day long.
Definitely get a lot of sleeptonight.
I did a hard workout yesterday,so today I'll just go for a
walk, probably to move my body alittle bit.
(09:49):
Other things I use aromatherapyevery single day.
I take a bath with Epsom saltalmost every single day.
I eat very clean.
I use prayer and meditation astwo of my biggest cognitive
breaks and things like that too.
Just a lot of healthy decisionsin there throughout my day.
(10:12):
Obviously, I will still go outand have a drink with a friend,
maybe once a month, but I'm verystripped on my health and
putting my brain and body first.
Even four and a half years outand I think it's we know every
TBI is different.
(10:33):
Mine happened to be bleeding onthe brain, swelling, bruising.
It was a moderate to severe,mild, moderate to severe brain
injury.
So I'm still feeling theeffects today and just moving
forward as best as I can.
Bella (10:51):
And that's really the way to do it.
You really have to find, likeyou said, that balance of how
much sleep do you need and howmuch do you need to eat.
When do you need to eat allthese little things?
A lot of brain injury recoveryor brain management is daily
life things that people don'treally realize.
(11:11):
Sometimes you don't realizeyou're doing them because these
things become a habit, becauseyou're doing them every day for
so long.
But they are really essentialto find what works for you
because, like you said,everyone's different.
Everyone's experience isdifferent.
I know some people that dogreat gluten free.
I know some people that itdoesn't do anything.
Everyone is different.
Finding what works for you isalso a process that takes a lot
(11:35):
of trial and error.
You're not going to get itright the first time.
You probably won't get it rightthe 50th time.
So you have to kind of giveyourself some grace in trying to
figure it out and sometimesyou'll think you have it all
figured out and then your bodywill be like, actually we're
awful today, Everything ishaywire, our whole body, and
you're like, yeah, what did I do?
(11:56):
Where's the answer?
Paige (11:58):
Like that's how I feel today.
Like I am so off right now, Iliterally just want to go to
sleep, like I am 100% having abad day.
Yeah, I am having an awful daybut it's going to be okay, but
I'm just, I'm not feeling ittoday, yeah, yeah, so you
(12:19):
understand that.
That's so great to hear,because I think some people
would just be like what are youeven talking about?
Roberta (12:28):
Well, I mean we had to.
I mean we kind of canceled thisa few times.
I think you weren't feelingwell, and that's the thing is
that you have to listen to yourbody and listen to yourself, and
some days you just say, look, Ican't do it.
Bella (12:41):
Yeah, I think I had a POTS attack the one day we were
supposed to record this.
I was like, oh no, I don't doanything during POTS flare ups,
I'm like if I get up I had one afew weeks ago because I've been
figuring it out but sometimeswhen I go out in the heat all
day for a few days, I kind of Idon't have an internal
thermostat, so whole body goeshaywire.
(13:03):
So I ended up in bed.
Every time I got out of bedbecause you know, you try to
push yourself, like you'repushing yourself today and I'm
like I'm going to go makesomething to eat and I think I
made it to my kitchen and then Iwas like, no, I turned around
and went back to bed for sixhours.
I passed out.
For, you know, sometimes it'sjust, it becomes part of your
(13:27):
life.
And just the other day I postedabout.
People sometimes tell you thatyou're really strong and I
appreciate that.
But I also always like to tellthem that I don't have a choice.
Paige (13:39):
We saw your post and we talked about it.
Roberta (13:41):
actually, yeah, yes.
Paige (13:44):
And I feel like this has made me such a fighter, like
even today.
I mean, sometimes I choose notto fight the battle, but like I
have to, like I have to getthings done today, and I just do
it with the smile on my faceand I know I'm going to pass out
later and I know it would bebetter for me to go lay down,
(14:06):
but I like I don't know, it'sjust crazy, it's just like fight
mode, it's absolute fight mode,and I know here soon I'm gonna
have more time to rest, butright now I just have a lot of
things going on with the bookand our podcast and and I was
definitely ready to do thispodcast with you today so I made
(14:29):
that a priority.
I have a lot going on with mymusic, so even the doctor
prescribed me 10 hours of sleepa night a few weeks ago, so that
was a new recommendation and Ijust need to like stick to that
and actually get that done everyday, every night?
Bella (14:49):
For sure it is.
It's ongoing and of course, youknow that and I've been around
this for almost 11 years now, soit's been a long, a long road
for sure, and so I do want totalk about the book.
I want to talk about yourpodcast and kind of what led you
to writing the book and allthat, but before that we are
(15:10):
going to take a quick break.
Did you want to createawareness about concussions?
You can check out our entireclothing line through the link
in the episode description or goto our website,
postconcussioninkcom and clickawareness merch from t-shirts,
sweaters, tank tops and multipledesigns, including the podcast.
(15:30):
Nothing Mild About a Concussionand more.
Make sure to pause this episoderight now and order yours before
you forget.
Just like I would Welcome backto the post concussion podcast
with myself, bella Page andtoday's guest, roberta Campbell
Paige, did have to run out justbecause of you know, health and
(15:51):
work, so it'll just be the twoof us for now.
But what I really wanted totalk about was what led you to
reading the book or writing thebook.
I read the book.
She looks fine.
Roberta (16:05):
Yeah.
So I'll tell you what it wasabout.
A year or so after her accidentand I just thought that's when
I just had to start doing somuch research and I was in the.
Both of us were in supportgroup and I could see that
others were struggling the sameas she was and or else I might
(16:30):
not have understood this as well, because it was very confusing.
I didn't understand it, andseeing others that were going
through the same thing hashelped so so much.
But I thought this can't be it.
This can't be what we're goingto deal with for the rest of our
lives.
So I started digging in.
(16:50):
I thought what can we do?
What can I do as a caregiver?
Is there, what can I do to helpher?
And it would just was like onething after the other which
she's always been not always,but been very healthy.
The last few years she was inhealth education and so and she
(17:14):
was very, very healthy right upto her accident and actually
right after the accident shejust wasn't, she just wanted
pizza and milkshakes and justwhatever.
So I had been on a healthjourney myself and I had made
little changes, but then thisopened up.
I was like, all right, we gotto figure this out.
So I became she's vegetarianand so I became more.
(17:44):
No, I'm not total vegetarian,but I do eat a plant based diet
and I do eat some some freshseafood and I will have a little
bit of chicken, and it's beenyears since I've had red meat.
So so there's.
I made the changes and Istarted seeing all of these
things that we were doingactually started helping her a
little bit.
(18:07):
Like I had to have that betterunderstanding of everything, and
I was like I have to tell mystory, I have to tell people
Like I didn't understand thisand they don't understand it.
People didn't understand itbecause people don't understand
it, because people would.
They would look at her and theythey said she looks fine, she
(18:31):
looks fine, you know, she shouldbe able to go right back to
school.
And I was like oh my gosh.
And like she said I don't thinkanyone can understand that.
And at this time I had beenjournaling the whole time, not
thinking I was going to write abook, until a year or so into it
(18:53):
.
And yeah, it was probably gosh,it was at least two years into
it.
And so then I started readingevery book I could get my hand
on too, because I wanted to seeand understand it.
And I was like this, is it?
Like maybe, maybe I can write abook, one others to understand?
(19:15):
So what's interesting is that Ididn't tell a lot of people
about it because I mean, I'm nota writer and so and actually I
didn't even go to college.
I've been a hairstylist forover 30 years, and so me writing
a book sounded kind of crazy.
And I mentioned it to a coupleof people and they're like
(19:37):
really, but I mentioned it tothe, I shared it with a very
close friend of mine and sheintroduced me to an editor of a
publishing company.
And I know that everythinghappened exactly how it was
supposed to, and so that is howthis became about.
And I started writing the bookand in the process I was like
look, paige, do you think thereis any way that you could tell
(19:58):
your story?
Because I think it would be sogood if people could see,
because I could see some booksout there, but they weren't from
both sides, they weren't fromthe caregiver and the patient,
and so I was like let's, if youcan do this, let's do it.
And I'm going to tell you.
She was like yeah, yeah, yeah,okay, okay, absolutely.
(20:19):
And then, when it came down tolike the end, when she had to
have all of her stuff in, I wasa little concerned.
I mean, I was a little worriedit didn't look.
It wasn't looking so good, Ithought, oh my gosh, I don't
know if she's going to be ableto do this.
And because I saw, like hernotes and how everything looked,
and she, somehow, she pulled itthrough at the very end.
(20:41):
And that's kind of how I thinkher brain has changed too with
things, and so we, we put thistogether as a team effort and
that's how it's been now for thepast few years.
So on September 9th of 2022, wereleased the book.
(21:03):
So that was four years afterher accident.
We didn't know what was reallygoing to come of this and you
know, I expected everything tohappen so quickly and it didn't.
And now things, everything justkeeps opening up, and we've
actually been asked to bekeynote speakers at the
(21:24):
University of Dayton here inCincinnati, ohio, and it's
actually next month now.
So, and and I have actuallybeen a keynote speaker at our
publishers event and a women'sconference that I just attended
in New York City, and so it'sreally opened up a world that I
(21:48):
didn't even see come in.
Bella (21:51):
I like the perspective that it comes from both of you,
because I read the book the yearperspective reminded me a lot
of my own mom, because shereally was the one that was
around me the most.
She was the one dealing with myanger lash outs, my like
goaways leave me alone.
She dealt with a lot of that,more than anyone out of my
(22:13):
entire family, including mypartner, and you know it's
different looking back on it, onhow hard it was, but I couldn't
imagine going through itbecause it was so hard on me.
But I remember getting to thepoint where I was a little
better and I felt guilty.
I had a lot of guilt for my mom, for the people helping me,
because I always felt like I wassuch a burden on them and that
(22:36):
took me a long time to getthrough because I could always
see it in her face in adifferent way, like she'd always
try to hide it when I'd likecome down the stairs and
collapse.
But I know it's a lot harder todo than it actually.
I like had this issue where Icould only do about four steps
at a time.
So I'd like do four and laydown, do another four or five
and lay down, and so it kind ofworked directly across from
(23:00):
where the laundry room is, so Iwould come and lay on the stairs
while she would like be walkingaround the house doing things,
and I think it was hard for herbecause I really couldn't get up
.
It was just me like that was metrying to socialize as much as
I could, and so reading the bookand kind of getting your
perspective gave me a lot ofdifferent kind of memories came
(23:20):
up.
Some of it was actually hardbecause I was like, oh, I forgot
about my mom going through that, because I was very similar to
Paige in some ways.
I was in a room for about twoyears with headaches and things
like that.
So I definitely understand thatand I love that it's open up
doors.
I think sometimes when we try todo something like write a book,
we don't know what's going tohappen.
(23:41):
We don't know if it's going toexplode.
We don't know if it's going tobe like oh, we're going to be
doing this for the rest of ourlives.
You really don't know what pathyou're going to get put on.
And it's so much anticipationbecause it takes so much longer
than anybody realizes to getbooks out other than those, like
serial authors, who just pumpout a book every six months, but
everybody else it takes a lotlonger, and so the book is out.
(24:03):
I know Paige has been singing,so do you want to talk a little
bit about what's next for bothof you?
Roberta (24:10):
So it's interesting, people you know talk about like
her singing, and but I will tellyou Because, as you know, the
thing about that's the one thingthat she truly loved.
She's just like I love to sing,and so I'm like, okay.
And then you started right,yeah, yeah and so, and she had
(24:33):
been singing for a lot of herlife and I thought, well, if
this is the one thing that sheloves, I support her.
And Also, you were talkingabout being at home with your
mom and this and that, and we'vejust learned to be very
respectful of each other.
And it was very difficult forme because she sleeps later and
(24:54):
People don't understand that.
But I had to understand thatand I'm respectful of that and
I'm tried when we're in thislittle apartment.
But do you know what?
I looked back?
I mean, I was pissed off andshe was pissed off at where we
were.
But this journey has actuallythis has totally changed our
(25:16):
lives in so many ways for thebetter.
Now, I just think it's veryimportant.
Obviously, her health isimportant, my health and my
well-being and there were thingsthat I had to learn.
We respect each other, but tothe point to where we have to
say, look, you know theboundaries and and not in saying
(25:37):
you're not going to look, Idon't like it when you do this
and I can see you're havingAnxiety and these things.
So give her space, step backand whatever I needed to do, and
so I have supported her andwith her music and her singing
and just doing what she loved, Imean, and this for me, you know
(26:00):
, has turned into gosh.
I actually contributed toanother book and in this journey
I decided I invested in myselfand I hired a life coach and
mentor and went through theprocess and I'm telling you what
I Don't know, what I would havedone if I wouldn't have gone
through this, because I reallydug in and studied myself and
(26:25):
personal development andlearning to love myself and
accept myself, and so speakingengagements and More books
probably.
Bella (26:40):
I get it.
I grew.
I have the cookbook outpost-concussion lifetimes.
We've kind of changed the wayit's getting released now, but I
get it.
I got like a war.
I guess in total that will beout within the next 10 years,
hopefully so.
Yes, I definitely get it.
Roberta (26:55):
So amazing, but it's just opened up a world that we
both ever like.
There is a big world out thereand it's beautiful, and we know
that when what we're doing ishelping others and serving
others, but we, you don't giveevery bit of you.
I mean, the first thing thatyou do is take care of yourself
(27:15):
first.
You know that, and Myself andPaige especially, but taking
care of you, and then you haveenough to give and to help
others and letting these thingsjust kind of Kind of come, come
to you Absolutely.
Bella (27:31):
Yeah, I really like the boundaries part with Paige and
living together at the beginningand you know it's.
I think it was a littledifferent just for my mom and I,
because I was like 15, Haha,when all this started.
So it's not like I had.
I didn't even think I knew howto cook more than craft dinner
at the point, Maybe some pastaand soup.
But she was like, or still likeI hadn't moved out yet.
(27:55):
I had moved to show jump, butevery time I moved out to show
jump I still was living withparents or a coach that still
did a lot of that stuff likelaundry.
I hadn't adulted yet, as a lotof people use the word.
But there is a lot to gothrough and learning what to ask
when not to ask.
You know we definitely havemoments where my mom would ask
if I was okay and I'd be likeyou know I'm not okay, so stop
(28:18):
asking.
And you know we go throughthose moments and lots of things
like that and you and Paigehave shared quite a bit today.
But your journey and your storyand the book is truly wonderful
.
I highly recommend it and so isthere anything else you'd like
to add before we end today'sepisode?
Roberta (28:35):
You know, I guess my biggest message for people is
just, you know, don't wait.
If there's something that youwant to do, don't wait, because
we don't know.
We just we live our lives andwe don't know what tomorrow is
going to bring.
And if there's something thatyou love whether that's singing
(28:59):
or writing, or standing on astage or whatever it means,
whatever it may be, you know,pursue your dreams, figure out
what you love and pursue it.
Just take one step in front ofthe other, one day to the next
day, and really enjoy and loveyour life and just take care of
(29:21):
yourself the healthiest that youcan, because I'm going to tell
you, I'm healthier now than I'veever been.
Bella (29:28):
I feel younger and more vibrant and I'm telling you, if
I can do it, I know anybody cando it- I love that and I love
you know really enjoying yourlife and focusing on that, even
when ill Really changed my lifefor really, you know, refocusing
Okay, what am I doing that I'mnot loving and of course,
(29:49):
there's going to be aspects ofyour life that you don't always
enjoy Right, really focusing onthings that I love, like helping
people with all the concussionsand all that.
It really has changed my life,and so I really want to thank
you for joining today and thankPaige, even though she's no
longer with us right now, forsharing some of your life after
Paige's brain injury.
Roberta (30:09):
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you so much for having us, Bella.
Bella (30:14):
Need more than just this podcast.
Be sure to check out ourwebsite postconcussioninccom To
see how we can help you in yourpost concussion life, From a
support network to one-on-onecoaching.
I believe life can get betterbecause I've lived through it.
Make sure you take it one dayat a time.
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