Background

I grew up in a loving family— my mom, stepdad, and two older sisters. I moved and lived all around America and the world, living in Seoul for five years and Tokyo for two years; I attended three different high schools, in three different countries. Each move exposed me to various cultures and beliefs, presented unique opportunities, and taught me to explore the world around me. Through these experiences, I have prepared myself for new environments, new peoples, new challenges and new adventures.  

Currently**, as a sophomore at Emory University studying Neuroscience, I still love to travel, explore, learn, dance, and do anything outdoors. Yet in 2012, I hit a bump in the road and in a split second, my world was flipped upside down.

** Written in June 2015

injury

In the fall of 2012, I was enrolled as a freshman at Emory University, but on November 15th, a fateful Thursday, I fell down a 30/40 foot drop. I was found the next afternoon, in some bushes, next to a bed of rocks and was taken to the Emory ER, where I stayed for about a week and a half, before being relocated to the Emory Rehabilitation Center of Medicine, where I stayed for another week and a half. 

 

"I was in this unconscious, comatose state, with no meaningful response or voluntary activity..."

 

The Glasgow Coma Scale was administered to me, which measures eye, verbal, and motor responses and I scored low on all three categories. So, I was classified as having sustained a severe traumatic brain injury, or being in a coma— I was in this unconscious, comatose state, with no meaningful response or no voluntary activity or movement for about two weeks, before regaining consciousness or awareness. 

See, when I fell off that drop, I rolled down and hit my head against rocks and other debris, causing my brain to bang against my skull, resulting in damage, pretty much all over my brain. 

My MRI and CT scans showed multiple abnormalities and brain hemorrhages in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes, the midbrain and corpus callosum. In addition, I had fractured a rib and had severed the nerves responsible for the left side of my body, resulting in the partial numbness of my left side, still even today. Doctors told me I shouldn't have survived.

"Doctors told me I shouldn't have survived."

My brain had essentially lost its ability to process all information and like many other TBI and stroke victims, I temporarily lost my ability to walk, talk, move, coordinate, or recall any of my life. I couldn't do the simplest of things, like hold a shampoo bottle or put on my pants. I could barely walk on my own and coordinations and movements were difficult. I suffered both from anterograde and retrograde amnesia, meaning it was hard to form new memories and retrieve old ones. I felt like I lost my sense of independence and sense of self. So, I had to put my education and career on hold. I withdrew from Emory and took a year to recover and I've come a long ways from where I was.

 

recovery hiatus

My parents were living in Tokyo at the time, but came to Atlanta to help me recover. Initially, I couldn't walk independently for more than 10 minutes without having to stop and rest. If I was in a car, the instant it started moving, I would get severe headaches, irritation, nausea, disorientation, and vertigo. 

My memory was also substantially compromised— I couldn't remember to brush my teeth everyday; if I had brushed my teeth, I couldn't remember if I had, even if it was only 15 minutes ago. I had forgotten events and details of my life— what activities I did, what I had enjoyed, what my favorite foods were, etc... I didn't know what to get my family for Christmas, because I had forgotten what they liked and disliked. I could not remember the names of people and the plots of books and movies I had read and seen over and over before. 

 

" This hiatus was honestly torturous for me ...because I had always loved school."

 

This hiatus was honestly torturous for me, not only dealing with the recovery, but also because I had always loved school. So, to have to take a year off of college and have everything I loved taken away from me, was a devastating blow. To have to watch my friends enjoy what I couldn't have, added to the pain. But during this hiatus, I recovered, day by day, and as my brain and body healed physically, my cognition started to heal as well. 

I recovered at an exponential rate and my body grew stronger— even just four months after my injury, I was running at least two miles a day. I was able to talk, interact and think normally— no stranger would ever guess that I had a brain injury. Memories started to come back, as did knowledge I had learned in school.

"...four months after my injury, I was running at least two miles a day."

But I also spent my free time, re-learning what I had forgotten, just in case. I read book after book and watched educational talks and documentaries. I craved and devoured knowledge and couldn't get enough information. 

 

back on track

In order for me to return to Emory in the fall of 2013, I was required to take a neurocognitive test— I took the Wechsler's Adult Intelligence Scale. I passed this with flying colors, meaning I'm able to think critically, analyze and evaluate normally, even exceptionally. 

 

"I was happy to be back, doing what I loved..."

 

So, I returned in the fall as a freshman, and despite everything that had happened, I was happy. I was happy to come back, to do what I loved and to be back on "track".

Being integrated back into society was both a smooth, yet oddly rough, transition for me. It was smooth in the sense that it was the next step— It was both what I wanted and needed. It was the natural thing for me to do— I love to learn. 

It was rough, in that no one could have prepared me for what the consequences of my injury would look like in reality. I truly had accepted the fact that the injury had occurred and that I was no longer the way I was before. Yet, I didn't understand what that actually meant for me. That I would have to change my entire lifestyle to make the appropriate accommodations. That I would have to find and discover what those accommodations were. 

"I craved and devoured knowledge and couldn't get enough."

What made it rough, was that I had to do this as a student, surrounded by my brilliant peers. I struggled with not only competing against them, but also against my old self (I graduated as valedictorian of my high school).

I grappled with experimenting and finding the perfect amount and length of naps and rest needed to re-energize me. I scrambled with finding new cognitive impairments, like concentration and focus issues and how to shape my life to fit them in.

I learned to change how I study; I now use all facets of my senses— I not only listen and take color-coded notes, filled with diagrams, charts and images, but I also interact with, respectfully argue with, and challenge my professors and peers. When studying for tests, I walk around and talk to myself and my friends as I white-board the needed information. 

 

"...I've never been happier or stronger."

today

I've recovered immensely—physically, cognitively, and emotionally and I've never been happier or stronger. I can more than walk independently now and my body's current condition may even exceed its pre-injury state— I run four miles a day. 

My miraculous recovery allows me to continue my education at Emory University and my ability to think critically, analyze, and evaluate is not compromised. I am still studying Neuroscience and my injury gives me a unique insight into this field— I love seeing subject matters at a slightly different angle than the rest of my peers.

"...I run four miles a day."

I want to use my background in Neuroscience and apply it in a business setting, since I believe that business, at it core, is essentially based on human behavior and interaction. I, particularly, would like to see more businesses and companies change and impact the world and am interested in how they can help alleviate global issues— political, social, economical, and environmental etc... 

 

Graduated with. BS in Neuroscience in 2017 from Emory University

Now what?

As painful, frustrating, and challenging as this experience was, I'm grateful for it— it gives me a new appreciation and a new perspective in life.

I learn to be thankful for what I have— for family, friends, education, and opportunity. I learn to be humble, to live in the moment, and to never, ever give up. From this adversity, I grow wiser and stronger each and every day.

I aim to provide awareness, hope and inspiration to countless individuals who have also been affected by brain injuries. And I look forward to seeing where life takes me next— to fulfill my dreams and passions. 

 

Written: June 2015