Each concussion taught me something different and tested me in ways I can\u2019t explain to someone who hasn\u2019t lived it. If I had to name the hardest part, it wasn\u2019t the pain, the dizziness, or the brain fog, but rather the way people looked at me like I was exaggerating. Just because I could smile, walk down a hallway, or show up to class, I must be fine.<\/span><\/p>\n Spoiler alert: I wasn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n Post-concussion syndrome doesn\u2019t play by the rules. It lingers. It messes with your memory, your energy, your emotions, and your sense of self. When you try to explain that to people they either don\u2019t get it, or worse, they don\u2019t believe you.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve been told that I was faking it, that I just wanted to get out of going to the gym, and that I didn\u2019t \u201cseem\u201d like I had a brain injury. I\u2019ve had teachers roll their eyes, adults question me, and peers talk about me like I was using my injury as a crutch. When everyone around you acts like your pain is imaginary, it messes with your head. I started doubting myself and stopped speaking up. I isolated myself. I sank into a depressive cycle where I didn\u2019t know what was real anymore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But somewhere in that mess, I decided I wasn\u2019t going to stay quiet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I started researching everything I could about brain injury recovery. I realized there was science behind the symptoms I was experiencing, real and biological reasons for why I couldn\u2019t just \u201csnap out of it.\u201d I built daily habits around healing which included nutrition, sleep, eye exercises, stress management, and gradual activity. I found tools that helped, tracked patterns, and\u00a0 figured out what made me feel worse and what worked.<\/span><\/p>\n Recovery wasn\u2019t a straight line. It still isn\u2019t but I\u2019ve learned to keep going, even when I\u2019m dismissed. Even when it\u2019s invisible.<\/span><\/p>\n Now I\u2019m a coxswain, student pilot, and advocate. I run an Instagram page called @hopepostinjury where I share tools and truths about living with brain injury because I know how it feels to be 11 years old and lost in a fog no one else can see. I know how it feels to be told you\u2019re okay when you\u2019re not.<\/span><\/p>\n So, this is me saying: if you\u2019re in it, you\u2019re not alone<\/strong>. Healing isn\u2019t about pretending everything\u2019s fine. It\u2019s about learning to live fully, even when you\u2019re still healing. I promise you, it is so possible.<\/span><\/p>\n You don\u2019t need anyone\u2019s permission to take your recovery seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n You are allowed to rest. You are allowed to speak up. You\u2019re allowed to believe in a future that looks completely different than what you expected, but still beautiful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sarah Wuebbolt’s Story Three days after my 11th birthday, I was told I had a concussion. I didn\u2019t realize that one word \u2018concussion\u2019 would follow me for years, shaping my teenage life more than I ever expected. Not only once, but three times. Each concussion taught me something different and tested me in ways I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"inspiring-stories":[11],"legacy-stories":[],"class_list":["post-30167","stories","type-stories","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","inspiring-stories-pcs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/concussionandcte.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Sarah-1-225x300.jpg\")
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