My concussion was so severe, I had to take a semester off school.

Getting rear-ended derailed my life for the next 3 months. I was in constant pain. Headaches lasted all day. But everything and everyone around me was still in motion: my friends moved on, moved forward. All my classmates in the program finished, wrote the exam. Passed. Found jobs.

The hardest part was dealing with the emotional isolation.

I was two months postpartum. My van was brand new, as old as my 2-month old son. I had rotated to shoulder check when I was rear-ended, which messed up my whole left side. Injured hip, shoulder pain, massive migraines, whiplash, damaged thumb tendon...

7 months later, October 2019, I was finished my physio sessions with Kyle. Most of my injuries were better. I even tried a hike with the family—had to turn back halfway, but it was so much better than where I'd been before, when I couldn't stand or even sit in the same position for more than a few minutes. I was on the mend.

And then…