Megan’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Journey

Megan is a traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivor whose life changed dramatically after a motor vehicle accident. The injury caused her to lose more than ten years of memories, including cherished memories of her daughter. She also spent nearly two years searching for answers while experiencing seizures before receiving a diagnosis of focal epilepsy caused by her brain injury.

One of Megan’s greatest challenges has been living with invisible disabilities, including memory loss, cognitive fatigue, seizures, and emotional changes. Because these struggles were not visible, they were often misunderstood. Despite these obstacles, she remained determined to find answers and advocate for her health. Through self-education, persistence, and support from programs such as Hopscotch, Uplift, and other brain injury support groups, Megan rebuilt her confidence, developed coping strategies, and discovered she was not alone.

Her journey has taught her that healing is not about returning to the person she was before her injury. Instead, it is about adapting, finding new strengths, and creating a meaningful life. She believes asking for help is a sign of strength and that every small victory deserves to be celebrated.

Today, Megan is passionate about helping others. By sharing her story and participating in support groups and educational programs, she raises awareness about brain injury, memory loss, and epilepsy while encouraging others to advocate for the care they deserve.

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

Megan believes the quality and usefulness of MSKTC’s TBI resources are outstanding. The content addresses many of the real-life challenges survivors face every day, including fatigue management, memory changes, relationships, and other practical strategies that support recovery and independence.

From a formatting and accessibility standpoint, Megan feels that MSKTC excels in areas where many other medical websites fall short. Living with a brain injury can make navigating websites and filtering information frustrating and overwhelming. She personally found the platform to be highly user-friendly and easy to navigate. By offering information in multiple formats, including clear fact sheets, slideshows, and videos, MSKTC significantly reduces the cognitive burden often associated with finding and understanding medical information.

Megan has observed that this thoughtful design has a direct impact on how people engage with the resources. Survivors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals with varying levels of cognitive stamina can easily access and understand the information they need. MSKTC not only provides evidence-based information but also delivers it in a way that respects the pacing, accessibility needs, and neurological challenges of its users, making it an effective and valuable resource for the entire brain injury community.  

Why does Megan want to be a MSKTC ambassador?

Megan wants to serve as an ambassador to advocate for the TBI community and share a vital truth: brain injury does not discriminate. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. As a mother, Megan’s life changed in an instant. Her injury caused significant memory loss, and she had to grieve the heartbreaking experience of losing a part of who she was before. Navigating motherhood while relearning herself has been the most difficult journey of her life. By sharing her story, Megan hopes to shatter misconceptions surrounding brain injuries and bring these hidden, deeply personal challenges into the light. Her primary goal is to transform her lived experience into a tool for awareness, education, and empowerment. She wants other survivors and families to know they are not alone in facing the sudden and disorienting changes that can follow a brain injury. Through partnering with this program, Megan hopes to humanize the statistics, promote the resources and support systems that helped her throughout her recovery, and advocate for a world where brain injury survivors are met with understanding, compassion, and support rather than isolation. By using her voice, she aims to inspire hope, encourage self-advocacy, and help others recognize that life after a brain injury can still be meaningful, purposeful, and fulfilling.

What has Megan done as a MSKTC ambassador?

After sustaining a TBI and later being diagnosed with post-traumatic focal epilepsy, Megan quickly realized how important reliable, easy-to-understand resources are. She has shared MSKTC resources and educational content on her social media alongside her own recovery journey to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and help others feel less alone. As an ambassador, she plans to continue using her platform to connect survivors, caregivers, and families with trusted information, resources, and support.

The greatest impact Megan has observed is MSKTC’s ability to provide practical, evidence-based resources that make complex topics easier to understand while offering hope that recovery is possible. The information empowers individuals to advocate for themselves, ask informed questions, and gain a better understanding of life after injury.

The feedback Megan has received has been overwhelmingly positive. People appreciate having trustworthy resources available in one place and have shared that reading her story alongside MSKTC materials makes the information feel more personal and relatable. By combining education with lived experience, Megan has been able to encourage others to seek support, stay informed, and recognize that they are not alone in their recovery journey.