Mandi Dickey’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Journey

After years of working in healthcare, Mandi Dickey experienced her own traumatic brain injury in 2023 as the result of a motor vehicle accident. For six months, she struggled to finish thoughts and saw little improvement despite participating in traditional therapies. Progress began when she turned to more innovative, “outside-the-box” treatment approaches. These strategies led to significant gains, and nearly two years after her injury, Mandi was able to return to practice part time as a nurse practitioner and establish a concussion clinic.

Her personal recovery reshaped her understanding of brain injury, allowing her to provide a deeper and more informed level of care to her patients. Through this journey, she learned that improvement is always possible, that plateaus often signal the need for a new approach, and that meaningful change requires both personal acceptance and broader systemic reform in brain injury care. Her lived experience now serves as the foundation for her clinical, educational, and advocacy work.

What does Mandi think of the quality, usefulness, and user-friendliness of the MSKTC resources?

Mandi considers the MSKTC resources to be exceptionally valuable for both personal and professional use. She relies on them not only for her own education and recovery but also as trusted tools for patient education, podcast preparation, and academic citation in her writing. She notes that the quality of the materials is consistently high and that the wide range of topics makes it easy to find information that addresses patient questions or supports educational content.

The fact sheets are particularly effective, as they clearly explain how specific topics impact individuals and offer practical management strategies using accessible bullet-point formatting. She also values the infographics for their concise visual presentation and the slideshows, videos, and podcasts for individuals who learn best through audio or visual formats. Together, these resources meet diverse learning needs across the brain injury community.

Why does Mandi want to be an MSKTC ambassador?

Mandi’s decision to become an MSKTC ambassador stemmed from her long-standing use of the organization’s resources. Because she already integrated MSKTC materials so extensively into her clinical work and educational efforts, becoming an ambassador felt like a natural next step. Her broader mission is to improve understanding of concussion and brain injury, and she views well-developed, evidence-based resources such as those provided by MSKTC as essential to achieving that goal. Serving as an ambassador allows her to further amplify accurate information and promote accessible education for survivors, families, and practitioners.

What has Mandi done as an MSKTC ambassador?

Even before formally becoming an ambassador, Mandi regularly shared MSKTC resources with patients to address common concerns and support understanding after brain injury. She cited these materials when developing podcast topics and used them as references for a published book, as well as another book currently in progress. She values the user-friendly nature of the resources, particularly for individuals who may struggle with complex information following brain injury. Through her continued use and promotion of MSKTC materials, Mandi helps ensure that high-quality, accessible information reaches those who need it most.