Please note: the following story mentions assault and violence.
I was a victim of a serious assault that caused me a life-threatening injury 10 years ago. While out with friends in downtown Victoria one night, a man ran up behind me and struck me in the back of the head five times at least before delivering 10-15 more blows to the front of my head. The assault was estimated to be 15-20 punches to my head in total. It was so extreme that the next thing I knew, I was in the hospital where I could not stop vomiting. I went in and out of consciousness and was rushed for a CT scan for suspected bleeding in the brain. I spent time in the ER [emergency room] overnight and then in the hospital for a period of time after. I ended up suffering a subdural hematoma in the brain. I have decided to share my story.
What are some things that have helped you throughout your recovery journey?
Being a part of my local Brain Injury Society which is the Cowichan Brain Injury Societyhas helped me learn more about brain injury and how to work and manage the ongoing and daily symptoms of post-concussion symptoms. It’s been very beneficial to have others who understand the unpredictable consequences of brain injury and can relate to what I have been going through. Working with medical professionals as well as a counselor has been great too.
If you could go back to when you first acquired your brain injury and tell yourself one thing, what would that be?
To be strong and that I will make it through this and to have perseverance. To keep having hope and belief that I can get through this. To connect with my local brain injury society a lot sooner. To do more research about brain injury as at the time (10 years ago) no one was talking about it or even really about the nasty effects of concussions.
What would you like people who don’t have a brain injury to know?
That just because I or someone else may look “normal” does not mean I or they aren’t going through a lot inside and have to deal with constant challenges. This includes daily brain fatigue & fog, anxiety, depression, insomnia, irritability, digestion, tinnitus, and many more. I would let people know that a brain injury, especially a serious one, has very nasty effects for life and needs to be taken much more seriously in our society. As well as if it is an assault, it needs to be taken way more seriously in the court system.
There is a ton of injustice and adversity that I have had to face along the way from having this brain injury. I have definitely spent countless days and sleepless nights of pain and suffering. I guess I want to also share that before this awful and serious event, at age 19 and then again at age 20 I traveled and volunteered in Tanzania, Africa with two different nonprofit organizations. I was also an active volunteer in my community through involvement with the Cowichan Intercultural Society. There I attended multiple leadership retreats. As well as sat on the board of Volunteer Cowichan and worked with my local Rotary club. However, as stated above, life came crashing down and there have now been many challenges after this serious injury. It has been nothing short of a journey.
Kyle has shared some links to news articles about his story. We have linked them here for anyone who would like to read them. All these stories were first published in the spring of 2023.
