January 25, 2024 • 18 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/
--
When the cheers fall silent and the stadium lights dim, the struggle of athletes with concussions truly begins. Today, Isabel Dwyer, Miss Lilac State's Teen a fierce advocate for concussion awareness, bravely unpacks her journey through the murky waters of post-concussion syndrome.
Navigating the sidelines isn't just about physical recovery; it's an emotional marathon, especially for athletes. Isabel opens up about the isolating skepticism from teammates, the tug-of-war with her own eagerness to return to cheerleading, and the stark reality of mental health battles that loom over the healing process.
By amplifying stories like Isabel's we work for a future where athletes can chase their dreams without risking the sanctity of their minds and bodies.
Find Show Notes, Transcript, & More: https://postconcussioninc.com/podcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Bella Paige (00:02):
Hi everyone.
I'm your host, Bella Paige, andafter suffering from
post-concussion syndrome foryears, it was time to do
something about it.
So welcome to thePost-Concussion Podcast, where
we dig deep into life when itdoesn't go back to normal.
Be sure to share the podcastand join our support network,
Concussion Connect.
Let's make this invisibleinjury become visible.
(00:26):
The post-concussion podcast isstrictly an information podcast
about concussions andpost-concussion syndrome.
It does not provide norsubstitute for professional
medical advice, diagnosis ortreatment.
Always seek the advice of yourphysician or another qualified
health provider with anyquestions you may have regarding
a medical condition.
(00:47):
Never disregard professionalmedical advice or delay in
seeking it because of somethingyou've heard on this podcast.
The opinions expressed in thispodcast are simply intended to
spark discussion aboutconcussions and post-concussion
syndrome.
Welcome to episode number 129of the post-concussion podcast
(01:08):
with myself, Bella Paige andtoday's guest, Isabel Dwyer.
Isabel is currently Miss LilacState's teen and is running for
Miss New Hampshire's teen inFebruary of 2024.
Isabel's community serviceinitiative is one in doubt.
Sit them out awareness ofathletic concussions and she is
here to share her concussionstory and why awareness is so
(01:30):
essential for youth athletes.
Welcome, Isabel.
Hi, thank you for having me.
So to start.
Do you want to tell us a littlebit about your concussions that
you've had?
Isabel Dwyer (01:41):
Yes, well, I've had two so far and they've both
been related to athletics.
So my first one happened in gymclass when I was in sixth grade
and somebody threw the balllike they were shooting towards
the basket and it ended uphitting my head so that it was
(02:03):
pretty much a mild concussion.
So it occurred for a coupleweeks.
It wasn't too bad.
But then my second concussionwas significantly, much worse.
It happened at cheer practice.
We were stunting and I'm a backspot, so I'm the person in the
back and the flyer who's like uptop.
(02:25):
She lost her balance and shefell backwards and her tailbone
ended up hitting my forehead andthe impact was so strong that I
ended up falling backwards ontothe mat.
Bella Paige (02:41):
Ouch, definitely unique experiences, for sure.
Everybody's concussion, so manydifferent stories.
And so after your concussion,especially the second one, what
type of symptoms did you dealwith?
Isabel Dwyer (02:54):
I had such bad symptoms, so at a constant
headache, and the lights in myroom or even like the
fluorescent lights at schoolwere so much and the normal
sounds of like the TV, like mydog barking and just my family
(03:15):
talking were suddenly too much.
Bella Paige (03:17):
I always wonder why they put those bright
fluorescent lights in schools,because I'm pretty sure no one
likes them.
And then you have students withhead injuries and any type of
brain injury and they're way toomuch all the time In the
hallways, in the classroom.
You don't need that much lightto read any piece of paper.
Isabel Dwyer (03:38):
Yeah, no, they put it everywhere, and even some
people who just get migraines,it's a bother.
Bella Paige (03:46):
Yeah, it's really unnecessary, honestly.
Maybe one day we'll steer awayfrom that and see how it's going
to school.
Obviously, you had noisesensitivity and light
sensitivity, and so how is that?
Because you're in high schoolat the time.
Isabel Dwyer (03:59):
Yeah, so it was really difficult because some
teachers didn't understand whatit was like.
So they would give me like aweek's extension and they'd be
confused like why I couldn'tcomplete my work in a week's
extension, even though Iexplained to them that I just
couldn't do it.
Even with just like myclassmates.
(04:22):
You don't understand, becausewhen someone has a concussion
you can't see it, so it's likeinvisible.
Most of my classmates, or evenmy teammates, just assumed that
I was faking it and I wasn'texperiencing any of those
symptoms.
Bella Paige (04:42):
Yeah, though I had that problem too.
I had teachers that didn't getit, I had some that did and then
I had a concussion.
The opposite situation, becausefor me it affected me for so
long.
I was accused of like faking itor, you know, just needing
excuses not to do work or not doexams, and all these types of
accusations I dealt with andtrying to explain that, even
(05:04):
though I looked okay, like yousaid, that invisible aspect
didn't mean that I could, youknow, get work done on time, and
it's not like it's alwaysconsistent.
I would have a good day andmaybe I would make it through
school an entire day, but thenthe next three days I'd be in
bed.
So really trying to get thatacross when you're a teenager
(05:24):
and you know you're in school isreally hard to even explain it
to them.
Isabel Dwyer (05:29):
Yeah, especially since, like, having a concussion
is not just like a linear likeprocess, it's like up and down
like you can have.
I had my good days where Icould sit through school, school
and like do other things, butthen, like, the next day I'd be
in bed and I just couldn't evendeal with all the noise outside.
Bella Paige (05:53):
Yeah, it really is like that roller coaster of up
and down symptoms, or you know,you kind of push through and
then you're not okay and you payfor it later.
But the thing is is, you knowyour teachers, they don't see
that part, they don't see thatyou paying for it later, and
sometimes friends don't either.
And so how is that with friends?
Did you explain it to friends?
Did some of them get what wasgoing on with you?
(06:15):
How, what did you do about that?
Isabel Dwyer (06:17):
Yeah, the friends thing is so hard because in the
beginning my school year, beforeI got my concussion, I had so
many friends and my social lifewas really good and then, once I
got my concussion, it's likethey didn't like get it.
So I lost like a bunch offriendships because of it,
(06:38):
because they just assumed that Iwas faking it or that I was
just like acting weird all of asudden.
Because having a brain injurydoes kind of change your
personality.
Bella Paige (06:49):
Yeah, absolutely it does change you.
It can change you in a lot ofways and I think at any age,
like even older adults deal withit.
Teenagers, your age you knowpeople deal with after
concussion.
Sometimes you don't feel likethe same person and you know
maybe that old you kind of mixeswith the new you, but you're
still not exactly the same andso you know friendships.
(07:09):
Sometimes friends notice thatand they don't understand what's
going on with you or you knowthey think you're just weird.
Now.
Yeah, Things like that, Tryingto explain to them what's going
on when you don't evenunderstand it yourself is really
challenging.
Because I think that was thehardest thing for me is I
already didn't know what wasgoing on, so I couldn't explain
(07:31):
to others what was going on.
Isabel Dwyer (07:33):
Because before I had my concussions and obviously
concussions are definitely verycommon, like athletics and
sports, like I've heard of themand then your one year teammate
like has a concussion.
You don't really get it.
So even before I had myconcussion, like everyone is
always just like does she reallyhave one?
(07:55):
She's just faking it becausethat's just how it is.
I feel like just like theculture around it because people
aren't used to just what it'slike.
Then you have to have aconcussion to like understand,
just like the impact of it.
Bella Paige (08:12):
Yeah, that's very true.
A lot of people don'tunderstand, and they really have
a hard time understanding, thatyou're not okay when you're not
walking around school withcrutches or you know a cast
after surgery or you weren't outin the hospital for a week
because of another illness Likethey don't always understand
because it doesn't have thatdramatic emphasis on it that you
can see or that you can try tounderstand.
(08:34):
Oh, they were in the hospitalfor a week and they look really
sick.
People can kind of try tounderstand it that way With a
concussion, your brain isinjured, which is very serious,
but without that visiblecomponent to it, it really makes
it really challenging forpeople to get it.
Isabel Dwyer (08:49):
Yeah, especially like I've seen like classmates
in the nurse's office when I hadmy concussion last year and
they've had it just for a longtime.
And then I've heard the rumorsthroughout the school like, oh,
they're faking it and that it'snot real and it's happened, for
(09:10):
it's been for months since theyhad it, so obviously they're
faking it right now.
Bella Paige (09:15):
Yeah, which is crazy to me because I deal with
survivors who are years outstill dealing with symptoms.
But I also understand that ifyou've never been around it, you
don't believe, like you know,year, two weeks, you hear maybe
a month but you don't realizethat there is individuals that
after one concussion sometimesafter multiple concussions you
know things change and sometimesthey change for a long time.
(09:37):
And so I really want to getinto kind of your experience of
taking a break from a sportcheerleading.
You know the importance ofsharing concussion education
with others that we've talkedabout before.
But before that we're going totake a quick break.
Do you struggle with your eyesor your vision?
And I'm not talking about 2020.
You can now get help onconcussion connect with our
(09:59):
vision course.
This course is now up andavailable, so make sure you
check it out and get help fromlight sensitivity, computer
sensitivity, dry eyes and somuch more.
All of this course can help you, so make sure you check it out.
If you've been having troublewith your eyes, all you have to
do is go into concussion connecttoday and check out courses.
(10:20):
Welcome back to the postconcussion podcast with myself,
Bella Paige and today's guest,Isabel Dwyer.
So we've been talking a littlebit about Isabel's experience in
, you know, school, taking astep back, dealing with symptoms
, dealing with friendships thatdefinitely can change.
And what I want to talk aboutnext is your experience with
cheerleading.
I know you took a break, so howdid it feel to take a break
(10:43):
from cheering?
Isabel Dwyer (10:44):
It was really hard because cheer is one of my
passions.
Thankfully I can still cheernow and currently cheering.
But before I had to take like acouple months break and it was
really hard because my teammatesdidn't understand like why I
was taking a break, andespecially since they accused me
(11:07):
of faking it was because it wasanything but the truth.
So I visited my pediatricianevery week to assess if I could
go back to cheering and it wasjust hard because the pressure
of my teammates and my coachpressured me to get back to
cheering so in time forcompetition season.
(11:30):
It was just a struggle becausethose girls who I made
connections with just suddenlyweren't there for me anymore,
because they didn't understandwhat it was like.
Bella Paige (11:44):
Yeah, I think you touched on a lot of important
things that you know.
Not believing in you same thingwith the friendships and the
pressure, the pressure to getback is something that a lot of
athletes feel and I think versusindividual and team sports, it
can be really different the typeof pressure that you deal with
when you add that team sportcomponent into it.
You know you get all thosepressures from not just your
(12:06):
coaches and not just yourself,which can be an immense amount
of pressure but your friends,the people that you spend all
your time with that are like whyaren't you back?
We need you, we need to getready, what are you doing?
Or in hockey, a lot of timemissing out on games that are
important on weekends and thingslike that, and it's like what
are you doing?
Where are you?
Or you try to participate andstill sit around and watch and
(12:30):
maybe sit on the bench or sit onthe sidelines and sit on the
mat and just participate.
That way then it can causeother issues where you deal with
the comments of aren't you fine?
And things like that, despitethe fact that you're not, you're
not okay and it's importantthat teammates and other
athletes are understanding that,but it's definitely something
(12:50):
that needs a lot of work.
I'd say, like you mentioned inthe culture of sports
specifically, that just becausesomebody doesn't look into it
doesn't mean that they are okayto get back into it.
Isabel Dwyer (13:01):
Yeah, I know I sat in for one of my practices
during practices when I had myconcussion and it was just so
hard.
The atmosphere was just toughto be in because you have
everyone, like the coaches,screaming at the team, the
counts or what we have to do,and that did not help with my
(13:24):
noise sensitivity.
And then you had thefluorescent lights in the gym
and your teammates going up toyou and being like why don't you
get to be back?
And it's just a lot with allthe lights and just the noise
especially.
Bella Paige (13:39):
Yeah, that's a really important point to talk
about that.
Your symptoms.
It's already a lot just beingthere, let alone actually
participating.
For myself I had a really hardtime.
I was okay going, so I showjumped on road horses, so I was
okay going to ride or go watchtraining rides and stuff, but
say horse shows, where I livedand breathed for it.
(14:00):
I had a really hard timementally with it for a long time
that when I went to theseevents I really felt like I was
missing out.
I'd be happy for friends, lovewatching, love helping out, but
when I'd leave I'd feel likethis missing out component that
was really hard on me mentally,really hard to get through.
That feeling would go away.
(14:21):
But those first few days for meit was really constant and it
was really hard to get over thatmissing out feeling of watching
others do something that youlove so much.
Isabel Dwyer (14:33):
Yeah, especially that happened to me.
It hit me hard because I wouldsee my teammates at competitions
or even just cheering at thefootball games and I so
desperately wanted to be rightnext to them cheering, because
it's something I love so muchand I definitely, I think,
during my concussion, experiencea little bit of just depression
(14:55):
, because you're kind ofisolated from everyone during it
.
Bella Paige (15:01):
Yeah, isolation is a huge component and you can be
isolated in so many ways andfrom feeling alone, having
people not understand, dealingwith the comments.
There's a lot of differentcomponents to it on how that
isolation can grow and grow andgrow.
And then you add a brain that'sinjured, that definitely has
some chemical changes going on.
That makes you feel like youreally are the only person on
(15:22):
the planet going through that,which is why we have the podcast
to try to help that feeling alittle bit.
You know, do you want to sharea little bit of why you wanted
to come on the podcast and whythe importance of education
about concussions is soimportant to you?
Isabel Dwyer (15:37):
Well, I wanted to come on to the podcast because
this is just one topic thatdeeply like I connect with,
because I had such a hard timegoing through school because
people just didn't understandand for me I couldn't find any
like resources how I wasexperiencing and it was just
(16:01):
very hard to find just likecontent of like what other
people went through with theirconcussion, especially since at
school I was dealing with thepressure to come back and cheer,
the pressure of getting all mywork in, and like the pressure
with friends and especially withmy teammates, because I'd be in
(16:22):
the hall like just trying toget to my next class and be so
much, and then I would have todeal with their comments like
you're faking and stuff likethat.
And I still don't really get itbecause why would I be faking
something that it's so hard tofake?
Bella Paige (16:39):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's really hard to fake because
not even just like you couldlimp around and fake it.
It's really hard to fakebecause there's so many
different aspects to aconcussion, and so I really
loved what you said about notbeing able to find anything, and
you know.
That really just reminds methat anyone who is listening to
this share it, share it onsocial media, share it with your
(17:00):
friends, share it with yourmedical professionals, because
sometimes you don't realize whoneeds it.
A lot of the time we don't seeit.
You know that others don't seeyou suffering, so maybe others
around you are suffering too.
So by just sharing it on socialmedia or to friends and things
like that especially medicalprofessionals who can share it
outwards as well to theirpatients it really helps get it
out, because I felt the same waythat you did Trying to find
(17:24):
someone to understand or relateto was nearly impossible, and
sometimes you come across theright thing, but it's really
hard to find in general, and sotaking the time to share can
make a really big difference,and so thank you everyone that
does that, and so.
Is there anything else you wouldlike to add before we end
today's episode?
Isabel Dwyer (17:44):
Yeah, what you were saying about the sharing is
so important because before Icouldn't find anything, but now,
since I'm doing like pageantsand you have to have a community
service initiative, and mine is, when in doubt, sit them out.
Awareness of AthleticConcussions.
I'm finding all these likecontent about concussions that I
(18:07):
wish I had and now I'm using,like my title as Ms Lilac
State's Teen, just to bringawareness of surrounding
concussions and changing theculture around it and having
people understand what it's liketo have a concussion Absolutely
.
Bella Paige (18:27):
Well, I want to thank you so much for joining.
You know you shared a lot ofthings that are definitely a
vulnerable thing to share and itdefinitely makes a huge
difference for others who canrelate to you.
So thank you.
Isabel Dwyer (18:39):
Thank you so much for having me.
Bella Paige (18:41):
Need more than just this podcast.
Be sure to check out ourwebsite postconcussioninc.
com to see how we can help youin your post concussion life.
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 Paige, andafter suffering from
post-concussion syndrome foryears, it was time to do
something about it.
So welcome to thePost-Concussion Podcast, where
we dig deep into life when itdoesn't go back to normal.
Be sure to share the podcastand join our support network,
Concussion Connect.
Let's make this invisibleinjury become visible.
(00:26):
The post-concussion podcast isstrictly an information podcast
about concussions andpost-concussion syndrome.
It does not provide norsubstitute for professional
medical advice, diagnosis ortreatment.
Always seek the advice of yourphysician or another qualified
health provider with anyquestions you may have regarding
a medical condition.
(00:47):
Never disregard professionalmedical advice or delay in
seeking it because of somethingyou've heard on this podcast.
The opinions expressed in thispodcast are simply intended to
spark discussion aboutconcussions and post-concussion
syndrome.
Welcome to episode number 129of the post-concussion podcast
(01:08):
with myself, Bella Paige andtoday's guest, Isabel Dwyer.
Isabel is currently Miss LilacState's teen and is running for
Miss New Hampshire's teen inFebruary of 2024.
Isabel's community serviceinitiative is one in doubt.
Sit them out awareness ofathletic concussions and she is
here to share her concussionstory and why awareness is so
(01:30):
essential for youth athletes.
Welcome, Isabel.
Hi, thank you for having me.
So to start.
Do you want to tell us a littlebit about your concussions that
you've had?
Isabel Dwyer (01:41):
Yes, well, I've had two so far and they've both
been related to athletics.
So my first one happened in gymclass when I was in sixth grade
and somebody threw the balllike they were shooting towards
the basket and it ended uphitting my head so that it was
(02:03):
pretty much a mild concussion.
So it occurred for a coupleweeks.
It wasn't too bad.
But then my second concussionwas significantly, much worse.
It happened at cheer practice.
We were stunting and I'm a backspot, so I'm the person in the
back and the flyer who's like uptop.
(02:25):
She lost her balance and shefell backwards and her tailbone
ended up hitting my forehead andthe impact was so strong that I
ended up falling backwards ontothe mat.
Bella Paige (02:41):
Ouch, definitely unique experiences, for sure.
Everybody's concussion, so manydifferent stories.
And so after your concussion,especially the second one, what
type of symptoms did you dealwith?
Isabel Dwyer (02:54):
I had such bad symptoms, so at a constant
headache, and the lights in myroom or even like the
fluorescent lights at schoolwere so much and the normal
sounds of like the TV, like mydog barking and just my family
(03:15):
talking were suddenly too much.
Bella Paige (03:17):
I always wonder why they put those bright
fluorescent lights in schools,because I'm pretty sure no one
likes them.
And then you have students withhead injuries and any type of
brain injury and they're way toomuch all the time In the
hallways, in the classroom.
You don't need that much lightto read any piece of paper.
Isabel Dwyer (03:38):
Yeah, no, they put it everywhere, and even some
people who just get migraines,it's a bother.
Bella Paige (03:46):
Yeah, it's really unnecessary, honestly.
Maybe one day we'll steer awayfrom that and see how it's going
to school.
Obviously, you had noisesensitivity and light
sensitivity, and so how is that?
Because you're in high schoolat the time.
Isabel Dwyer (03:59):
Yeah, so it was really difficult because some
teachers didn't understand whatit was like.
So they would give me like aweek's extension and they'd be
confused like why I couldn'tcomplete my work in a week's
extension, even though Iexplained to them that I just
couldn't do it.
Even with just like myclassmates.
(04:22):
You don't understand, becausewhen someone has a concussion
you can't see it, so it's likeinvisible.
Most of my classmates, or evenmy teammates, just assumed that
I was faking it and I wasn'texperiencing any of those
symptoms.
Bella Paige (04:42):
Yeah, though I had that problem too.
I had teachers that didn't getit, I had some that did and then
I had a concussion.
The opposite situation, becausefor me it affected me for so
long.
I was accused of like faking itor, you know, just needing
excuses not to do work or not doexams, and all these types of
accusations I dealt with andtrying to explain that, even
(05:04):
though I looked okay, like yousaid, that invisible aspect
didn't mean that I could, youknow, get work done on time, and
it's not like it's alwaysconsistent.
I would have a good day andmaybe I would make it through
school an entire day, but thenthe next three days I'd be in
bed.
So really trying to get thatacross when you're a teenager
(05:24):
and you know you're in school isreally hard to even explain it
to them.
Isabel Dwyer (05:29):
Yeah, especially since, like, having a concussion
is not just like a linear likeprocess, it's like up and down
like you can have.
I had my good days where Icould sit through school, school
and like do other things, butthen, like, the next day I'd be
in bed and I just couldn't evendeal with all the noise outside.
Bella Paige (05:53):
Yeah, it really is like that roller coaster of up
and down symptoms, or you know,you kind of push through and
then you're not okay and you payfor it later.
But the thing is is, you knowyour teachers, they don't see
that part, they don't see thatyou paying for it later, and
sometimes friends don't either.
And so how is that with friends?
Did you explain it to friends?
Did some of them get what wasgoing on with you?
(06:15):
How, what did you do about that?
Isabel Dwyer (06:17):
Yeah, the friends thing is so hard because in the
beginning my school year, beforeI got my concussion, I had so
many friends and my social lifewas really good and then, once I
got my concussion, it's likethey didn't like get it.
So I lost like a bunch offriendships because of it,
(06:38):
because they just assumed that Iwas faking it or that I was
just like acting weird all of asudden.
Because having a brain injurydoes kind of change your
personality.
Bella Paige (06:49):
Yeah, absolutely it does change you.
It can change you in a lot ofways and I think at any age,
like even older adults deal withit.
Teenagers, your age you knowpeople deal with after
concussion.
Sometimes you don't feel likethe same person and you know
maybe that old you kind of mixeswith the new you, but you're
still not exactly the same andso you know friendships.
(07:09):
Sometimes friends notice thatand they don't understand what's
going on with you or you knowthey think you're just weird.
Now.
Yeah, Things like that, Tryingto explain to them what's going
on when you don't evenunderstand it yourself is really
challenging.
Because I think that was thehardest thing for me is I
already didn't know what wasgoing on, so I couldn't explain
(07:31):
to others what was going on.
Isabel Dwyer (07:33):
Because before I had my concussions and obviously
concussions are definitely verycommon, like athletics and
sports, like I've heard of themand then your one year teammate
like has a concussion.
You don't really get it.
So even before I had myconcussion, like everyone is
always just like does she reallyhave one?
(07:55):
She's just faking it becausethat's just how it is.
I feel like just like theculture around it because people
aren't used to just what it'slike.
Then you have to have aconcussion to like understand,
just like the impact of it.
Bella Paige (08:12):
Yeah, that's very true.
A lot of people don'tunderstand, and they really have
a hard time understanding, thatyou're not okay when you're not
walking around school withcrutches or you know a cast
after surgery or you weren't outin the hospital for a week
because of another illness Likethey don't always understand
because it doesn't have thatdramatic emphasis on it that you
can see or that you can try tounderstand.
(08:34):
Oh, they were in the hospitalfor a week and they look really
sick.
People can kind of try tounderstand it that way With a
concussion, your brain isinjured, which is very serious,
but without that visiblecomponent to it, it really makes
it really challenging forpeople to get it.
Isabel Dwyer (08:49):
Yeah, especially like I've seen like classmates
in the nurse's office when I hadmy concussion last year and
they've had it just for a longtime.
And then I've heard the rumorsthroughout the school like, oh,
they're faking it and that it'snot real and it's happened, for
(09:10):
it's been for months since theyhad it, so obviously they're
faking it right now.
Bella Paige (09:15):
Yeah, which is crazy to me because I deal with
survivors who are years outstill dealing with symptoms.
But I also understand that ifyou've never been around it, you
don't believe, like you know,year, two weeks, you hear maybe
a month but you don't realizethat there is individuals that
after one concussion sometimesafter multiple concussions you
know things change and sometimesthey change for a long time.
(09:37):
And so I really want to getinto kind of your experience of
taking a break from a sportcheerleading.
You know the importance ofsharing concussion education
with others that we've talkedabout before.
But before that we're going totake a quick break.
Do you struggle with your eyesor your vision?
And I'm not talking about 2020.
You can now get help onconcussion connect with our
(09:59):
vision course.
This course is now up andavailable, so make sure you
check it out and get help fromlight sensitivity, computer
sensitivity, dry eyes and somuch more.
All of this course can help you, so make sure you check it out.
If you've been having troublewith your eyes, all you have to
do is go into concussion connecttoday and check out courses.
(10:20):
Welcome back to the postconcussion podcast with myself,
Bella Paige and today's guest,Isabel Dwyer.
So we've been talking a littlebit about Isabel's experience in
, you know, school, taking astep back, dealing with symptoms
, dealing with friendships thatdefinitely can change.
And what I want to talk aboutnext is your experience with
cheerleading.
I know you took a break, so howdid it feel to take a break
(10:43):
from cheering?
Isabel Dwyer (10:44):
It was really hard because cheer is one of my
passions.
Thankfully I can still cheernow and currently cheering.
But before I had to take like acouple months break and it was
really hard because my teammatesdidn't understand like why I
was taking a break, andespecially since they accused me
(11:07):
of faking it was because it wasanything but the truth.
So I visited my pediatricianevery week to assess if I could
go back to cheering and it wasjust hard because the pressure
of my teammates and my coachpressured me to get back to
cheering so in time forcompetition season.
(11:30):
It was just a struggle becausethose girls who I made
connections with just suddenlyweren't there for me anymore,
because they didn't understandwhat it was like.
Bella Paige (11:44):
Yeah, I think you touched on a lot of important
things that you know.
Not believing in you same thingwith the friendships and the
pressure, the pressure to getback is something that a lot of
athletes feel and I think versusindividual and team sports, it
can be really different the typeof pressure that you deal with
when you add that team sportcomponent into it.
You know you get all thosepressures from not just your
(12:06):
coaches and not just yourself,which can be an immense amount
of pressure but your friends,the people that you spend all
your time with that are like whyaren't you back?
We need you, we need to getready, what are you doing?
Or in hockey, a lot of timemissing out on games that are
important on weekends and thingslike that, and it's like what
are you doing?
Where are you?
Or you try to participate andstill sit around and watch and
(12:30):
maybe sit on the bench or sit onthe sidelines and sit on the
mat and just participate.
That way then it can causeother issues where you deal with
the comments of aren't you fine?
And things like that, despitethe fact that you're not, you're
not okay and it's importantthat teammates and other
athletes are understanding that,but it's definitely something
(12:50):
that needs a lot of work.
I'd say, like you mentioned inthe culture of sports
specifically, that just becausesomebody doesn't look into it
doesn't mean that they are okayto get back into it.
Isabel Dwyer (13:01):
Yeah, I know I sat in for one of my practices
during practices when I had myconcussion and it was just so
hard.
The atmosphere was just toughto be in because you have
everyone, like the coaches,screaming at the team, the
counts or what we have to do,and that did not help with my
(13:24):
noise sensitivity.
And then you had thefluorescent lights in the gym
and your teammates going up toyou and being like why don't you
get to be back?
And it's just a lot with allthe lights and just the noise
especially.
Bella Paige (13:39):
Yeah, that's a really important point to talk
about that.
Your symptoms.
It's already a lot just beingthere, let alone actually
participating.
For myself I had a really hardtime.
I was okay going, so I showjumped on road horses, so I was
okay going to ride or go watchtraining rides and stuff, but
say horse shows, where I livedand breathed for it.
(14:00):
I had a really hard timementally with it for a long time
that when I went to theseevents I really felt like I was
missing out.
I'd be happy for friends, lovewatching, love helping out, but
when I'd leave I'd feel likethis missing out component that
was really hard on me mentally,really hard to get through.
That feeling would go away.
(14:21):
But those first few days for meit was really constant and it
was really hard to get over thatmissing out feeling of watching
others do something that youlove so much.
Isabel Dwyer (14:33):
Yeah, especially that happened to me.
It hit me hard because I wouldsee my teammates at competitions
or even just cheering at thefootball games and I so
desperately wanted to be rightnext to them cheering, because
it's something I love so muchand I definitely, I think,
during my concussion, experiencea little bit of just depression
(14:55):
, because you're kind ofisolated from everyone during it
.
Bella Paige (15:01):
Yeah, isolation is a huge component and you can be
isolated in so many ways andfrom feeling alone, having
people not understand, dealingwith the comments.
There's a lot of differentcomponents to it on how that
isolation can grow and grow andgrow.
And then you add a brain that'sinjured, that definitely has
some chemical changes going on.
That makes you feel like youreally are the only person on
(15:22):
the planet going through that,which is why we have the podcast
to try to help that feeling alittle bit.
You know, do you want to sharea little bit of why you wanted
to come on the podcast and whythe importance of education
about concussions is soimportant to you?
Isabel Dwyer (15:37):
Well, I wanted to come on to the podcast because
this is just one topic thatdeeply like I connect with,
because I had such a hard timegoing through school because
people just didn't understandand for me I couldn't find any
like resources how I wasexperiencing and it was just
(16:01):
very hard to find just likecontent of like what other
people went through with theirconcussion, especially since at
school I was dealing with thepressure to come back and cheer,
the pressure of getting all mywork in, and like the pressure
with friends and especially withmy teammates, because I'd be in
(16:22):
the hall like just trying toget to my next class and be so
much, and then I would have todeal with their comments like
you're faking and stuff likethat.
And I still don't really get itbecause why would I be faking
something that it's so hard tofake?
Bella Paige (16:39):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's really hard to fake because
not even just like you couldlimp around and fake it.
It's really hard to fakebecause there's so many
different aspects to aconcussion, and so I really
loved what you said about notbeing able to find anything, and
you know.
That really just reminds methat anyone who is listening to
this share it, share it onsocial media, share it with your
(17:00):
friends, share it with yourmedical professionals, because
sometimes you don't realize whoneeds it.
A lot of the time we don't seeit.
You know that others don't seeyou suffering, so maybe others
around you are suffering too.
So by just sharing it on socialmedia or to friends and things
like that especially medicalprofessionals who can share it
outwards as well to theirpatients it really helps get it
out, because I felt the same waythat you did Trying to find
(17:24):
someone to understand or relateto was nearly impossible, and
sometimes you come across theright thing, but it's really
hard to find in general, and sotaking the time to share can
make a really big difference,and so thank you everyone that
does that, and so.
Is there anything else you wouldlike to add before we end
today's episode?
Isabel Dwyer (17:44):
Yeah, what you were saying about the sharing is
so important because before Icouldn't find anything, but now,
since I'm doing like pageantsand you have to have a community
service initiative, and mine is, when in doubt, sit them out.
Awareness of AthleticConcussions.
I'm finding all these likecontent about concussions that I
(18:07):
wish I had and now I'm using,like my title as Ms Lilac
State's Teen, just to bringawareness of surrounding
concussions and changing theculture around it and having
people understand what it's liketo have a concussion Absolutely
.
Bella Paige (18:27):
Well, I want to thank you so much for joining.
You know you shared a lot ofthings that are definitely a
vulnerable thing to share and itdefinitely makes a huge
difference for others who canrelate to you.
So thank you.
Isabel Dwyer (18:39):
Thank you so much for having me.
Bella Paige (18:41):
Need more than just this podcast.
Be sure to check out ourwebsite postconcussioninc.
com to see how we can help youin your post concussion life.
I believe life can get betterbecause I've lived through it.
Make sure you take it one dayat a time.
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