Meet MSKTC Ambassador Hillary Hartnett
- Hillary Hartnett
Hillary is a mother and a clinical mental health counselor. She enjoys gardening and often finds inspiration and meaning in nature, drawing metaphors that help her reflect and stay grounded.
Hillary also values creative expression. She enjoys writing, listening to music, and making art, especially painting. At home, she spends time with her two black pug dogs and her family. Her two young children are a constant source of motivation and bring joy to everyday life, even during more challenging moments.
Hillary Hartnett’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Journey
Hillary Hartnett lives with traumatic brain injury and continues to navigate a wide range of ongoing symptoms, including challenges with multitasking and short‑term memory, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties, sensory loss and numbness, loss of taste and smell, medication side effects, and focal seizures. These challenges have shaped her daily life and required constant adaptation.
Hillary manages her recovery by staying engaged with research, maintaining a positive mental outlook, and using technology as a reliable support in her day‑to‑day life. Over time, she has learned that living well with TBI requires self‑advocacy and intention. She believes it is essential to take an active role in healthcare and therapy, beginning with everyday choices and lifestyle. Hillary emphasizes the importance of perseverance, committing fully to recovery, and surrounding oneself with people who recognize and value personal strengths.
Her contributions to the TBI community focus on connection and awareness. Hillary leads weekly support groups in two states, has written a book about her lived experience and recovery, and publishes regularly on Substack. She also creates videos addressing mental health and TBI‑related topics and remains involved in research through the Kessler Foundation, helping inform care for current and future individuals with TBI.
What does Hillary Hartnett think of the quality, usefulness, and user-friendliness of the MSKTC resources?
Hillary values MSKTC resources for their depth, breadth, and practical support. While researching her symptoms in the early stages of recovery, she frequently returned to the MSKTC website and relied on its fact sheets and other materials as trusted sources of information.
She found these resources helpful in understanding her injury and managing daily challenges, noting that access to clear, well‑organized information contributed to improvements in her quality of life. For Hillary, MSKTC materials have been a consistent and reliable part of her recovery process.
Through MSKTC resources, Hillary has been able to better educate her caretakers and support system about how to support her needs. The information she found helped clarify aspects of TBI recovery that are not always obvious at first and are often overlooked.
She appreciated that these topics were explained in a clear, easy‑to‑understand format, which made it easier to communicate her needs to others. Having access to this information helped Hillary and her family feel less alone as they navigated a challenging and life‑altering journey following her injury.
Why does Hillary Hartnett want to be an MSKTC ambassador?
Hillary is eager to promote MSKTC as a trusted resource within the TBI community. She believes the information MSKTC provides helps improve understanding and supports better care, which has a meaningful impact on quality of life for people living with traumatic brain injury.