February 1, 2024 • 21 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/
--
As a speech-language pathologist, Ana knew the theory behind cognitive rehabilitation, but facing the reality post-surgery was a journey she hadn't anticipated. Join for an eye-opening conversation where Ana shares the nuances of her recovery, highlighting the shared struggles of those rebounding from traumatic brain injuries.
We discuss sound sensitivity and the challenges of determining how much to rest during brain recovery. Discover how the subtle aid of earplugs, can significantly enhance quality of life by tempering the barrage of auditory stimuli. And it's not just about the silence – it’s about understanding the full spectrum of rest, from the physical to the sensory, and learning how to truly disconnect in order to feel better. This episode is a treasure trove of strategies and heartfelt insights that anyone touched by brain health issues will find invaluable.
Find Show Notes, Transcript, & More: https://postconcussioninc.com/podcast
Follow Ana on IG: @adultstuttering
Learn more about Ana's work https://adultstuttering.com
Mark as Played
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 have heard on this podcast.
The opinions expressed in thispodcast are simply intended to
spark discussion aboutconcussions and post-concussion
syndrome.
Welcome to episode number 130of the Post-Concussion Podcast
(01:07):
with myself, Bella Paige andtoday's guest, Ana Hernandez.
Ana is a speech-languagepathologist of eight years who
provides personalized supportfor Adult Stuttering.
Ana grew passionate about thisarea after she recognized a gap
in dignified care, for Adeltondidn't fit into the typical box
of speech therapy targetpopulations.
(01:28):
This inspired her to establishher own private practice adult
stuttering in 2021.
In late 2022, Anna faced alife-altering challenge, with
the sudden diagnosis of a braintumor leading to a profound
shift in her perspective.
A survivor of brain surgery,Her recovery journey is uniquely
shaped by her expertise incognitive conditioning as a
(01:50):
speech therapist.
Beyond her professionalendeavors, Ana finds joy in
Pilates, classic books andexploring Chicago's various
restaurants.
She is also very often in Texasvisiting her family and
enjoying Texas queso.
Welcome Ana.
So, to start today, do you wantto tell us a little bit about
your background?
Ana Hernandez (02:10):
Yes, absolutely so.
I, about a year ago, had atraumatic brain injury.
I was diagnosed pretty suddenlywith a thankfully benign brain
tumor.
So everybody always asks mewhat it's called the central
neuropsytoma.
I didn't know anything aboutbrain tumor names before any of
(02:33):
this, but apparently people knowa lot.
So that's a specific braintumor that I had About a year
ago.
I walked into work one day, hada little bit of a stressful
morning, but nothing out of theordinary.
I had a lot of meetings toprepare for, so I started to
prepare for my meetings.
I had a headache, which was alittle bit unusual, but they'd
(02:57):
been going on for a couple ofmonths by that point and I went
upstairs.
Things started to go kind ofdark and I had a seizure and the
school that I was working incalled the ambulance.
They took me to the hospitaland they pretty quickly found a
golf ball sized brain tumor verymuch in the middle of my brain.
(03:20):
If you think of your brain andyou think of, like you know, the
fluffy pink stuff not fluffybut curly pink stuff and this is
under all of that, like right,really really deep under there,
I had a golf ball sized braintumor and something called my
brain ventricles and I don'tremember much of this week but I
(03:41):
was hospitalized for a week andwithin that week they, you know
, diagnosed the tumor, found outspecifically what it was,
operated and then on day seven Iwas discharged and because of
where the tumor was and the kindof surgery that they did, my
entire brain was wildly swollenin the MRIs, like immediately
(04:05):
post-op and even six monthsafterwards my brain was so
swollen.
So everything was affected andI'm about a year maybe 13, 14
months out of the brain surgeryand it's been a full year of
just managing what I can do,what I can't do.
(04:29):
It used to change all the time.
It's getting more stable now.
But just imagine, all of yoursenses were just completely
overstimulating, everything wasso overstimulating.
We don't realize how much ourbrain does until it can't do
those things and I'm sure a lotof people listening to this can
(04:52):
relate.
But yes, it's quite aconcussion.
But I think a brain injury is abrain injury is a brain injury
and when your brain is affectedwe probably all experience a lot
of differences but a lot ofsimilarities too.
It's a wild wild ride.
Bella Paige (05:11):
It is.
It's actually.
I think you're the firstindividual we've had actually on
the show in over a hundredepisodes that it wasn't
traumatic brain injury or we'vehad a few, I think, aneurysms
and things like that, but you'rethe first tumor actually, I
think.
Ana Hernandez (05:27):
Well, I'm honored .
Bella Paige (05:30):
You know, hey, it's important, I think, to address
everything and, like you saidand I always talk about that too
a lot of the time the initialpart of recovery after something
like that is much more severe,but the long-term effects a lot
of the time they're reallysimilar.
Where, you know, we have issueswith noise and light and
speaking to others and thingslike that.
So that is actually somethingwe're going to talk about today.
And so you mentioned the senses.
Ana Hernandez (05:53):
Yes, do you want to kind of dive into that and if
there's something else going on, right and so I think part of
something important to share islike I'm a speech therapist and
you know people don't reallypeople assume that speech
therapy is like either forlittle kids or for people with
Alzheimer's, but really itencompasses a lot.
(06:16):
I specifically a really bigspecial interest of mine is like
I'm not just studying and it'spart of like a neurodiversity.
But why I bring up that I'm aspeech therapist is I, as I've
been going through my recovery,I've like been through such
different stages of differentbrain abilities and not
(06:39):
abilities and it was.
There was so much that I'dlearned about in grad school
that I never thought I would.
I didn't I didn't really expectto work with it and I really
never expected to experience it,especially not in my 30s, like
maybe once I'd gotten a lotolder.
But I was watching myself gothrough what I'd learned about
(07:03):
in schooling and it was.
It was definitely unreal, tosay the least.
It was like watching yourtextbooks in a movie in a really
weird way.
Bella Paige (07:15):
Yeah, that'd be definitely a unique experience
for me.
It started when I was reallyyoung, but there was no like, no
reference, no idea, like Ididn't know what it was like to
not have a memory.
I didn't know what it was liketo not be able to talk to people
or, you know, have a headacheevery day.
I think as a kid I had probablyexperienced headaches a few
(07:37):
times.
So it's definitely interestingwhen people is like you know,
your career path intercrosseswith something that you get hurt
with.
Like we have a few there's afew especially on social media
where they're big into physicaltherapy and things like that but
they have had concussions, sonow they talk about it and it's
interesting watching them fromlike a different perspective.
(07:57):
Like I didn't even learn aboutthis in school and now they're
learning about it.
They're like why didn't I, whydidn't I learn about this in
school?
Crosses their mind too right.
So it's always interesting.
Ana Hernandez (08:08):
Of course, zero out of 10 recommend having a
brain tumor and having brainsurgery.
But I'm very thankful to havebeen a speech therapist when it
did happen, because there was alot that I kind of I was like,
okay, this is happening, I kindof understand it, even though I
was very impaired.
Bella Paige (08:29):
I like the zero out of 10.
Yeah, I'm like negative 100.
I don't recommend a concussionat all or brain injury, brain
tumor.
No, just you know, if you cannot injure yourself, I recommend
that.
But so I want to go back tothose six senses.
You kind of mentioned some.
You know how the senses weredefinitely affected.
So do you want to kind of walkus through on how that helped
(08:51):
your recovery in general?
Ana Hernandez (08:53):
Yes, so we have to think of our brain as, like I
mean, your brain is in thisdark box and it's only access to
the outside world are yoursenses?
And I know I mentioned when wewere on the phone planning this,
I mentioned six senses, butactually once I did some digging
, there are more, it's closer tolike nine.
(09:15):
So we know the usual five, youknow seeing, hearing, tasting,
smelling, touching.
But there's also kind of yoursense, like your sense of
balance and like spinning, solike To imagine this being very
severely affected.
Think of someone with a vertigo.
Their sense of balance is likefully, fully out.
There's also your sense of likeinterception, kind of internal
(09:40):
feelings, like hunger, needingto go to the bathroom, pain.
There's your sense ofproprioception, or your
orientation and space, like thatalso includes kind of like
pressure, pressure on your body,like imagine giving someone a
hug, how do you sense how muchyou're squeezing them, or how do
(10:00):
you sense how much you pushagainst a wall, for example.
And then there's also yoursense of emotions, which we'll
talk about it a bit more later.
But emotions are actually very,very complicated and it's not
just, you know, happy, sad, okay, easier, but once things get
(10:21):
really involved and complicated.
That I'm sure anyone with abrain injury can relate to like
having a really emotionalconversation or where you're
having to kind of guess theemotions of others.
That takes up so much morebrain energy than a more simple
conversation that isn't asemotionally involved.
Bella Paige (10:43):
Oh yeah, I can just think of, even if I've gotten
like heated I had a lot of angerissues during all this or if
I'm upset talking to someone,there's times where I can't find
the words there's no words,like nothing comes out.
Like if I get really upset,like it's like you become tongue
tied, like there's nothingcoming out.
I'm just like I, you know, likein, like the, you can just like
(11:07):
picture it in my mind wherelike nothing comes out, no
matter how much is floodingthrough my brain.
And you know it really ispowerful, cause when I was angry
it was the opposite.
It's like a river flowing.
I love words, yeah, so it'sdefinitely really interesting.
And so how did, like you knowyou knew about these senses?
Of course we always think ofthe five senses and you've done
(11:28):
a little bit more research.
So how did knowing about thesenses kind of help your
recovery approach?
Did you think about it a littledifferently?
Cause I don't think a lot ofpeople put senses and recovery
together.
You know, like they think theycan't see, but they think of it
separately.
They wouldn't put like, oh, allmy senses are off, like I don't
think that is something evenI've ever like put together
(11:49):
before and I kind of like it so.
Ana Hernandez (11:51):
I really do think I have a lot of history of like
working with, like neurodiversepopulations.
Neurodiverse just means thatyour brain works a little
differently or a lot differently.
It just works differently.
So the way that someoneprocesses senses might be
different.
I remember, especially in theearly days, some food would
(12:15):
taste a little different.
Sound was still to this day.
Sound is what I'm mostsensitive to and it's what I try
to control the most.
But if we try to controlwhatever senses we can and kind
of control how much comes intoour brain to keep it from
(12:40):
getting overworked,over-simulated, I am very big on
prevention.
For my day or for my week, Ithink I mentioned that sound to
me is the most exhausting.
Earplugs are everywhere.
If I am even driving home, wedon't realize how much extra
sound there is, even driving ina car.
Bella Paige (13:01):
Oh yeah.
Ana Hernandez (13:02):
So much more than you realize.
So I put my earplugs in, and ifI want to listen to music then
I'll just turn it up a littlebit louder.
But at least the outside noiseis muffled down, so there's a
little bit less input.
Bella Paige (13:15):
Yeah, that's interesting.
I think controlling the soundsometimes is weird.
I don't know if that's where Iknow, that's kind of where you
were going, but you mentionedalways having headphones.
First of all, I know all thatbecause I used to have.
They look like little tubecapsules, like almost like a
little lighter, and they wereattached to like my purses,
(13:36):
everything Cause like I didn'tgo anywhere without it and like
I've gotten better.
But I still think there'ssometimes where I'm out
somewhere.
Oh, I kind of wish I still hadthose with me, cause I could use
them.
Ana Hernandez (13:46):
Were yours, just out of curiosity.
Were they the loop?
Bella Paige (13:50):
earplugs.
So loops I don't know if theyexisted when I had brutally bad
noise sensitivity.
So I had something calledearpieces.
I really recommend them.
But then I also got somethingelse.
They were called vibes.
So the first ones I ever hadwere called vibes and they were
just for concerts I think it'swhere they were developed and so
(14:10):
I had those.
And then I had earpieces, whichare actually they have like a
special rating for like helpingpeople with sound and so they
have different inserts for whereyou are.
So I like those, cause I couldput different ones in if I
didn't really want to hearanything or if I wanted to like
have a conversation with them in.
But then I've heard of loops.
(14:31):
Loops have kind of gone alittle viral in like the cause
they look nice.
I think that's like theirbiggest selling feature.
Ana Hernandez (14:38):
I have.
I would just get whatever wasavailable at Target.
And then I found an Amazonbrand that I liked the most
because they're the squishiestand I think they block out the
most and everyone recommendslike a fancy brand and I'm like
guys, I have these in everypurse I own and I have them at
my full-time job, I have themhere at home, I have them in my
(14:59):
car.
They're littered everywhere sothat I can have them whenever I
want them.
So I stay with like very cheapones because I want them
everywhere.
I don't want them to plan forthem.
Bella Paige (15:11):
I don't know how expensive the loop ones are, but
the earpiece ones I think werelike around $20.
So like and I think they're alittle bit more, if you want
like the caps off, that's thepimples of that, could they go
in.
And it comes with like backupsand stuff and I still use them.
I use them for I go to racingfor like dirt bikes, car racing,
so like really loud things,where I believe everybody should
(15:32):
be wearing them.
But I wear them no matter what.
And it's really nice becauseI'm not wearing like those big
muffly headphones like everyoneelse.
I'm just wearing like theselittle ones.
I find they help me a lot so Ican walk around, I get to have a
conversation with them in andlike I recommend yeah, just have
them everywhere, because thenyou don't feel like you're
missing out.
Ana Hernandez (15:51):
If you don't have them, they're there when you
need them.
I fully agree.
I like to think about it asjust trying to control any of
your senses, like hearing, is alittle bit easy with like
headphones, headphones orearplugs, keeping them.
I keep them everywhere.
I literally buy a $5 thing thathas like 30 in there and I keep
(16:11):
them everywhere.
They're just easy to grab.
And then when we think of, Ifeel like I'm very preventative
with rest.
So, for example, this pastweekend I went to my very first
concert since my injury, becauseI'm still sensitive to sound
and I knew that would just beway too much.
So that was kind of the onlything I could do this weekend
(16:34):
and that's okay.
And I just made sure to get alot of rest before and then,
when I was there, still had myearplugs in.
But when we talk about rest,I've heard a bit of this podcast
and I know no one likes thedark room because it's you know.
You want to still be able tolive.
You're right.
Bella Paige (16:53):
It's okay in moderation, like if you know,
like if you have an awful dayand light is too much and you
need to lay down, that's okay.
It's just that getting stuck init, right?
We don't want to get.
Ana Hernandez (17:05):
we especially don't want to be told to go lay
down in the dark room.
We don't want to be.
Please don't tell us.
Bella Paige (17:12):
Now, that's a medical standpoint, not as a
like do this and you will getbetter, as in, do this and rest
and then come out and recover,right, and so thinking about
that dark room.
Ana Hernandez (17:23):
Why does it work?
That dark room gives us rest.
Because we're decreasing thatsimulation and I think we have
to be smart about how we takerest.
Taking rest can just be, youknow, closing your eyes for even
a minute and sitting silently.
(17:44):
Or even if you do take let'ssay you need to take five
minutes yourself.
Five minutes yourself, we mightjust because of the air that we
live in we might naturally grabour phone and start scrolling
and like is that a littlepleasant?
Yes, because it's, you know,manufactured dopamine.
It's just an easy, easy hit ofthat and all that exists for our
(18:05):
phones, like when we'rescrolling through, how much
movement is happening on thatscreen.
There's so much that we can'tcontrol, it's just going at us.
Bella Paige (18:15):
Essentially, I love that you brought that up,
though, because I actuallymentioned in a few podcasts ago
I think I just got like put inthere for a quick second, or
maybe it was on social media.
If you can watch TikTok orInstagram re-ellows or YouTube
shorts, then your brain is morecapable than you realize.
I think a lot of the timepeople get really stuck like I
(18:37):
can't, I can't, I can't, butthen they can scroll through
social media.
So if you can process all ofthat information, the sound, the
text that's usually on thescreen, you're reading it,
you're reading the comments andthen you're scrolling to the
next one If you can do that,you're more capable than you
might realize.
So sometimes it's realizinginstead of putting our energy
into TikTok.
(18:58):
I'm very like it's funnybecause I started using TikTok
but I'm anti-TikTok.
I'm anti-TikTok to a point.
I think like you should set atimer, like I'm gonna go on it
for 15 minutes and I'm gonna getoff, because there's a hole
that you get sucked into and youdon't realize that time keeps
going around you when you'rewatching these videos.
But it's really good for like aconfidence thing and realizing
(19:18):
that if you can scroll throughthese videos, then you can also
do more than just what you thinkyou can do.
Ana Hernandez (19:25):
I fully agree and I even notice a difference, and
I tell this to my friends who,you know, don't have brain
injuries.
I literally feel a differencebetween when I wake up.
If I do, you know, turn offyour alarm.
We all I'm sure most of us useour phone for an alarm.
But sure, turn off your alarmbut then don't touch anything
(19:50):
else, get started with your day,get up, get moving and then,
only, you know, look at it untilyou really have to Starting
your day with over-stimulation.
Your brain feels reallydifferent and I really really
feel that I've felt it verystrongly during my recovery.
Bella Paige (20:11):
Oh yeah, I bet it's interesting how you know.
You said you're like a year out.
That's not in brain injuryterms, not in a crazy amount of
time, but it's still a long time.
It's a long time when you'rethe person going through.
It Doesn't seem like a longtime when you're somebody who's
been through it for years, likeI have, but it is still a very
(20:32):
long time.
And I think sometimes peopledon't realize that, like when we
talk on the show we're likeyears in, years in, years in.
But sometimes the hardest thebeginning is just really, really
hard.
You know that first adjustmentto life and you know figuring
out things and communicatingwith people when you're after
brain injury or anything likethat.
And so I really wanna get intoyou know your speech therapy
(20:55):
specialty today and talkingabout.
You know tools for conversationand talking with people.
But before that we are gonnatake a quick break.
So usually right now we'd havea break, but due to the
recording length of the episodewith Anna being so long, I
didn't wanna cut out valuableinformation in the next half.
You can catch our talk on speechnext week, thursday, february
(21:18):
15th.
If you have ever consideredyour hormones might be an issue,
our new hormone course has justlaunched on Concussion Connect
today, so make sure you sign upto learn at your own pace from
the incredible expert ChelsieMoore.
See you next week.
Need more than just thispodcast.
Be sure to check out ourwebsite, postconcussioninccom to
(21:40):
see how we can help you in yourpost 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 have heard on this podcast.
The opinions expressed in thispodcast are simply intended to
spark discussion aboutconcussions and post-concussion
syndrome.
Welcome to episode number 130of the Post-Concussion Podcast
(01:07):
with myself, Bella Paige andtoday's guest, Ana Hernandez.
Ana is a speech-languagepathologist of eight years who
provides personalized supportfor Adult Stuttering.
Ana grew passionate about thisarea after she recognized a gap
in dignified care, for Adeltondidn't fit into the typical box
of speech therapy targetpopulations.
(01:28):
This inspired her to establishher own private practice adult
stuttering in 2021.
In late 2022, Anna faced alife-altering challenge, with
the sudden diagnosis of a braintumor leading to a profound
shift in her perspective.
A survivor of brain surgery,Her recovery journey is uniquely
shaped by her expertise incognitive conditioning as a
(01:50):
speech therapist.
Beyond her professionalendeavors, Ana finds joy in
Pilates, classic books andexploring Chicago's various
restaurants.
She is also very often in Texasvisiting her family and
enjoying Texas queso.
Welcome Ana.
So, to start today, do you wantto tell us a little bit about
your background?
Ana Hernandez (02:10):
Yes, absolutely so.
I, about a year ago, had atraumatic brain injury.
I was diagnosed pretty suddenlywith a thankfully benign brain
tumor.
So everybody always asks mewhat it's called the central
neuropsytoma.
I didn't know anything aboutbrain tumor names before any of
(02:33):
this, but apparently people knowa lot.
So that's a specific braintumor that I had About a year
ago.
I walked into work one day, hada little bit of a stressful
morning, but nothing out of theordinary.
I had a lot of meetings toprepare for, so I started to
prepare for my meetings.
I had a headache, which was alittle bit unusual, but they'd
(02:57):
been going on for a couple ofmonths by that point and I went
upstairs.
Things started to go kind ofdark and I had a seizure and the
school that I was working incalled the ambulance.
They took me to the hospitaland they pretty quickly found a
golf ball sized brain tumor verymuch in the middle of my brain.
(03:20):
If you think of your brain andyou think of, like you know, the
fluffy pink stuff not fluffybut curly pink stuff and this is
under all of that, like right,really really deep under there,
I had a golf ball sized braintumor and something called my
brain ventricles and I don'tremember much of this week but I
(03:41):
was hospitalized for a week andwithin that week they, you know
, diagnosed the tumor, found outspecifically what it was,
operated and then on day seven Iwas discharged and because of
where the tumor was and the kindof surgery that they did, my
entire brain was wildly swollenin the MRIs, like immediately
(04:05):
post-op and even six monthsafterwards my brain was so
swollen.
So everything was affected andI'm about a year maybe 13, 14
months out of the brain surgeryand it's been a full year of
just managing what I can do,what I can't do.
(04:29):
It used to change all the time.
It's getting more stable now.
But just imagine, all of yoursenses were just completely
overstimulating, everything wasso overstimulating.
We don't realize how much ourbrain does until it can't do
those things and I'm sure a lotof people listening to this can
(04:52):
relate.
But yes, it's quite aconcussion.
But I think a brain injury is abrain injury is a brain injury
and when your brain is affectedwe probably all experience a lot
of differences but a lot ofsimilarities too.
It's a wild wild ride.
Bella Paige (05:11):
It is.
It's actually.
I think you're the firstindividual we've had actually on
the show in over a hundredepisodes that it wasn't
traumatic brain injury or we'vehad a few, I think, aneurysms
and things like that, but you'rethe first tumor actually, I
think.
Ana Hernandez (05:27):
Well, I'm honored .
Bella Paige (05:30):
You know, hey, it's important, I think, to address
everything and, like you saidand I always talk about that too
a lot of the time the initialpart of recovery after something
like that is much more severe,but the long-term effects a lot
of the time they're reallysimilar.
Where, you know, we have issueswith noise and light and
speaking to others and thingslike that.
So that is actually somethingwe're going to talk about today.
And so you mentioned the senses.
Ana Hernandez (05:53):
Yes, do you want to kind of dive into that and if
there's something else going on, right and so I think part of
something important to share islike I'm a speech therapist and
you know people don't reallypeople assume that speech
therapy is like either forlittle kids or for people with
Alzheimer's, but really itencompasses a lot.
(06:16):
I specifically a really bigspecial interest of mine is like
I'm not just studying and it'spart of like a neurodiversity.
But why I bring up that I'm aspeech therapist is I, as I've
been going through my recovery,I've like been through such
different stages of differentbrain abilities and not
(06:39):
abilities and it was.
There was so much that I'dlearned about in grad school
that I never thought I would.
I didn't I didn't really expectto work with it and I really
never expected to experience it,especially not in my 30s, like
maybe once I'd gotten a lotolder.
But I was watching myself gothrough what I'd learned about
(07:03):
in schooling and it was.
It was definitely unreal, tosay the least.
It was like watching yourtextbooks in a movie in a really
weird way.
Bella Paige (07:15):
Yeah, that'd be definitely a unique experience
for me.
It started when I was reallyyoung, but there was no like, no
reference, no idea, like Ididn't know what it was like to
not have a memory.
I didn't know what it was liketo not be able to talk to people
or, you know, have a headacheevery day.
I think as a kid I had probablyexperienced headaches a few
(07:37):
times.
So it's definitely interestingwhen people is like you know,
your career path intercrosseswith something that you get hurt
with.
Like we have a few there's afew especially on social media
where they're big into physicaltherapy and things like that but
they have had concussions, sonow they talk about it and it's
interesting watching them fromlike a different perspective.
(07:57):
Like I didn't even learn aboutthis in school and now they're
learning about it.
They're like why didn't I, whydidn't I learn about this in
school?
Crosses their mind too right.
So it's always interesting.
Ana Hernandez (08:08):
Of course, zero out of 10 recommend having a
brain tumor and having brainsurgery.
But I'm very thankful to havebeen a speech therapist when it
did happen, because there was alot that I kind of I was like,
okay, this is happening, I kindof understand it, even though I
was very impaired.
Bella Paige (08:29):
I like the zero out of 10.
Yeah, I'm like negative 100.
I don't recommend a concussionat all or brain injury, brain
tumor.
No, just you know, if you cannot injure yourself, I recommend
that.
But so I want to go back tothose six senses.
You kind of mentioned some.
You know how the senses weredefinitely affected.
So do you want to kind of walkus through on how that helped
(08:51):
your recovery in general?
Ana Hernandez (08:53):
Yes, so we have to think of our brain as, like I
mean, your brain is in thisdark box and it's only access to
the outside world are yoursenses?
And I know I mentioned when wewere on the phone planning this,
I mentioned six senses, butactually once I did some digging
, there are more, it's closer tolike nine.
(09:15):
So we know the usual five, youknow seeing, hearing, tasting,
smelling, touching.
But there's also kind of yoursense, like your sense of
balance and like spinning, solike To imagine this being very
severely affected.
Think of someone with a vertigo.
Their sense of balance is likefully, fully out.
There's also your sense of likeinterception, kind of internal
(09:40):
feelings, like hunger, needingto go to the bathroom, pain.
There's your sense ofproprioception, or your
orientation and space, like thatalso includes kind of like
pressure, pressure on your body,like imagine giving someone a
hug, how do you sense how muchyou're squeezing them, or how do
(10:00):
you sense how much you pushagainst a wall, for example.
And then there's also yoursense of emotions, which we'll
talk about it a bit more later.
But emotions are actually very,very complicated and it's not
just, you know, happy, sad, okay, easier, but once things get
(10:21):
really involved and complicated.
That I'm sure anyone with abrain injury can relate to like
having a really emotionalconversation or where you're
having to kind of guess theemotions of others.
That takes up so much morebrain energy than a more simple
conversation that isn't asemotionally involved.
Bella Paige (10:43):
Oh yeah, I can just think of, even if I've gotten
like heated I had a lot of angerissues during all this or if
I'm upset talking to someone,there's times where I can't find
the words there's no words,like nothing comes out.
Like if I get really upset,like it's like you become tongue
tied, like there's nothingcoming out.
I'm just like I, you know, likein, like the, you can just like
(11:07):
picture it in my mind wherelike nothing comes out, no
matter how much is floodingthrough my brain.
And you know it really ispowerful, cause when I was angry
it was the opposite.
It's like a river flowing.
I love words, yeah, so it'sdefinitely really interesting.
And so how did, like you knowyou knew about these senses?
Of course we always think ofthe five senses and you've done
(11:28):
a little bit more research.
So how did knowing about thesenses kind of help your
recovery approach?
Did you think about it a littledifferently?
Cause I don't think a lot ofpeople put senses and recovery
together.
You know, like they think theycan't see, but they think of it
separately.
They wouldn't put like, oh, allmy senses are off, like I don't
think that is something evenI've ever like put together
(11:49):
before and I kind of like it so.
Ana Hernandez (11:51):
I really do think I have a lot of history of like
working with, like neurodiversepopulations.
Neurodiverse just means thatyour brain works a little
differently or a lot differently.
It just works differently.
So the way that someoneprocesses senses might be
different.
I remember, especially in theearly days, some food would
(12:15):
taste a little different.
Sound was still to this day.
Sound is what I'm mostsensitive to and it's what I try
to control the most.
But if we try to controlwhatever senses we can and kind
of control how much comes intoour brain to keep it from
(12:40):
getting overworked,over-simulated, I am very big on
prevention.
For my day or for my week, Ithink I mentioned that sound to
me is the most exhausting.
Earplugs are everywhere.
If I am even driving home, wedon't realize how much extra
sound there is, even driving ina car.
Bella Paige (13:01):
Oh yeah.
Ana Hernandez (13:02):
So much more than you realize.
So I put my earplugs in, and ifI want to listen to music then
I'll just turn it up a littlebit louder.
But at least the outside noiseis muffled down, so there's a
little bit less input.
Bella Paige (13:15):
Yeah, that's interesting.
I think controlling the soundsometimes is weird.
I don't know if that's where Iknow, that's kind of where you
were going, but you mentionedalways having headphones.
First of all, I know all thatbecause I used to have.
They look like little tubecapsules, like almost like a
little lighter, and they wereattached to like my purses,
(13:36):
everything Cause like I didn'tgo anywhere without it and like
I've gotten better.
But I still think there'ssometimes where I'm out
somewhere.
Oh, I kind of wish I still hadthose with me, cause I could use
them.
Ana Hernandez (13:46):
Were yours, just out of curiosity.
Were they the loop?
Bella Paige (13:50):
earplugs.
So loops I don't know if theyexisted when I had brutally bad
noise sensitivity.
So I had something calledearpieces.
I really recommend them.
But then I also got somethingelse.
They were called vibes.
So the first ones I ever hadwere called vibes and they were
just for concerts I think it'swhere they were developed and so
(14:10):
I had those.
And then I had earpieces, whichare actually they have like a
special rating for like helpingpeople with sound and so they
have different inserts for whereyou are.
So I like those, cause I couldput different ones in if I
didn't really want to hearanything or if I wanted to like
have a conversation with them in.
But then I've heard of loops.
(14:31):
Loops have kind of gone alittle viral in like the cause
they look nice.
I think that's like theirbiggest selling feature.
Ana Hernandez (14:38):
I have.
I would just get whatever wasavailable at Target.
And then I found an Amazonbrand that I liked the most
because they're the squishiestand I think they block out the
most and everyone recommendslike a fancy brand and I'm like
guys, I have these in everypurse I own and I have them at
my full-time job, I have themhere at home, I have them in my
(14:59):
car.
They're littered everywhere sothat I can have them whenever I
want them.
So I stay with like very cheapones because I want them
everywhere.
I don't want them to plan forthem.
Bella Paige (15:11):
I don't know how expensive the loop ones are, but
the earpiece ones I think werelike around $20.
So like and I think they're alittle bit more, if you want
like the caps off, that's thepimples of that, could they go
in.
And it comes with like backupsand stuff and I still use them.
I use them for I go to racingfor like dirt bikes, car racing,
so like really loud things,where I believe everybody should
(15:32):
be wearing them.
But I wear them no matter what.
And it's really nice becauseI'm not wearing like those big
muffly headphones like everyoneelse.
I'm just wearing like theselittle ones.
I find they help me a lot so Ican walk around, I get to have a
conversation with them in andlike I recommend yeah, just have
them everywhere, because thenyou don't feel like you're
missing out.
Ana Hernandez (15:51):
If you don't have them, they're there when you
need them.
I fully agree.
I like to think about it asjust trying to control any of
your senses, like hearing, is alittle bit easy with like
headphones, headphones orearplugs, keeping them.
I keep them everywhere.
I literally buy a $5 thing thathas like 30 in there and I keep
(16:11):
them everywhere.
They're just easy to grab.
And then when we think of, Ifeel like I'm very preventative
with rest.
So, for example, this pastweekend I went to my very first
concert since my injury, becauseI'm still sensitive to sound
and I knew that would just beway too much.
So that was kind of the onlything I could do this weekend
(16:34):
and that's okay.
And I just made sure to get alot of rest before and then,
when I was there, still had myearplugs in.
But when we talk about rest,I've heard a bit of this podcast
and I know no one likes thedark room because it's you know.
You want to still be able tolive.
You're right.
Bella Paige (16:53):
It's okay in moderation, like if you know,
like if you have an awful dayand light is too much and you
need to lay down, that's okay.
It's just that getting stuck init, right?
We don't want to get.
Ana Hernandez (17:05):
we especially don't want to be told to go lay
down in the dark room.
We don't want to be.
Please don't tell us.
Bella Paige (17:12):
Now, that's a medical standpoint, not as a
like do this and you will getbetter, as in, do this and rest
and then come out and recover,right, and so thinking about
that dark room.
Ana Hernandez (17:23):
Why does it work?
That dark room gives us rest.
Because we're decreasing thatsimulation and I think we have
to be smart about how we takerest.
Taking rest can just be, youknow, closing your eyes for even
a minute and sitting silently.
(17:44):
Or even if you do take let'ssay you need to take five
minutes yourself.
Five minutes yourself, we mightjust because of the air that we
live in we might naturally grabour phone and start scrolling
and like is that a littlepleasant?
Yes, because it's, you know,manufactured dopamine.
It's just an easy, easy hit ofthat and all that exists for our
(18:05):
phones, like when we'rescrolling through, how much
movement is happening on thatscreen.
There's so much that we can'tcontrol, it's just going at us.
Bella Paige (18:15):
Essentially, I love that you brought that up,
though, because I actuallymentioned in a few podcasts ago
I think I just got like put inthere for a quick second, or
maybe it was on social media.
If you can watch TikTok orInstagram re-ellows or YouTube
shorts, then your brain is morecapable than you realize.
I think a lot of the timepeople get really stuck like I
(18:37):
can't, I can't, I can't, butthen they can scroll through
social media.
So if you can process all ofthat information, the sound, the
text that's usually on thescreen, you're reading it,
you're reading the comments andthen you're scrolling to the
next one If you can do that,you're more capable than you
might realize.
So sometimes it's realizinginstead of putting our energy
into TikTok.
(18:58):
I'm very like it's funnybecause I started using TikTok
but I'm anti-TikTok.
I'm anti-TikTok to a point.
I think like you should set atimer, like I'm gonna go on it
for 15 minutes and I'm gonna getoff, because there's a hole
that you get sucked into and youdon't realize that time keeps
going around you when you'rewatching these videos.
But it's really good for like aconfidence thing and realizing
(19:18):
that if you can scroll throughthese videos, then you can also
do more than just what you thinkyou can do.
Ana Hernandez (19:25):
I fully agree and I even notice a difference, and
I tell this to my friends who,you know, don't have brain
injuries.
I literally feel a differencebetween when I wake up.
If I do, you know, turn offyour alarm.
We all I'm sure most of us useour phone for an alarm.
But sure, turn off your alarmbut then don't touch anything
(19:50):
else, get started with your day,get up, get moving and then,
only, you know, look at it untilyou really have to Starting
your day with over-stimulation.
Your brain feels reallydifferent and I really really
feel that I've felt it verystrongly during my recovery.
Bella Paige (20:11):
Oh yeah, I bet it's interesting how you know.
You said you're like a year out.
That's not in brain injuryterms, not in a crazy amount of
time, but it's still a long time.
It's a long time when you'rethe person going through.
It Doesn't seem like a longtime when you're somebody who's
been through it for years, likeI have, but it is still a very
(20:32):
long time.
And I think sometimes peopledon't realize that, like when we
talk on the show we're likeyears in, years in, years in.
But sometimes the hardest thebeginning is just really, really
hard.
You know that first adjustmentto life and you know figuring
out things and communicatingwith people when you're after
brain injury or anything likethat.
And so I really wanna get intoyou know your speech therapy
(20:55):
specialty today and talkingabout.
You know tools for conversationand talking with people.
But before that we are gonnatake a quick break.
So usually right now we'd havea break, but due to the
recording length of the episodewith Anna being so long, I
didn't wanna cut out valuableinformation in the next half.
You can catch our talk on speechnext week, thursday, february
(21:18):
15th.
If you have ever consideredyour hormones might be an issue,
our new hormone course has justlaunched on Concussion Connect
today, so make sure you sign upto learn at your own pace from
the incredible expert ChelsieMoore.
See you next week.
Need more than just thispodcast.
Be sure to check out ourwebsite, postconcussioninccom to
(21:40):
see how we can help you in yourpost 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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