Amy Shannon:
The person

I am a survivor of Domestic Violence. During my "incident" as I always refer to it as (it happened November 2 2005), I had more blows to the head than I can count. The doctors at the time, said I had six concussions at different parts of my brain, and also they referred to it as "boxer's brain."

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I've had the same migraine for almost 16 years now (as of writing this). Over the years, I've had other symptoms, imbalance, memory issues, speech issues (off and on), PTSD, depression and anxiety. I've had three knee reconstructions. I currently do talk to a psychiatrist once a month, and a counselor every two weeks. 

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In July of 2019, I started having tremors of the right hand, which affects my ability to use utensils, write with a pen well, and type well. I used to be able to type over 110 words per minute, and I was a published author. Now, I either type slowly or dictate to my laptop that is still getting used to my voice and speech patterns. Then, my left hand was affected. Whether at rest or being active, I have tremors in my hands, and sometimes, my torso. In 2020, my legs started twitching and jerking, only at rest, and affected my sleep, which was never that great to begin with. I started getting so tired, that I have to take a nap in the afternoon just to make it until bedtime. 

About six months ago, my legs started shaking at rest or when I was active, such as walking. What happened? I'd fall down. I now use a walker and stable-based cane to walk, but sometimes I still am off balance. Whether with my legs jerking or the fact that I was informed that I have ocular migraines in my Left Eye, which causes me to see shadows, strange shaped black floaters, and sometimes, my vision blurs, as if I took my glasses off.

Last year, I stopped driving. My son takes me where I want to go. I continue to see a neurologist for the migraines, and I had a consultation recently with a movement disorder clinic, and was told that my concussions were actually impact blows, which causes more damage. I have a functional disorder, from my Traumatic Brain Injuries. It causes several of my systems to misfired, and not function properly. 

I created this site to see if maybe I'm not alone with this, and if someone else suffers similarly, then i want them to know they are not alone.