In April 2015, I was hit by a car while pushing my car on the freeway.

Apparently, when the car struck my friend and me, my body was flung across the road over 20 feet…

I spent a month in the hospital and another month in an intensive rehab center.

I am very blessed to be alive and able to walk as my friend, who was involved in the accident with me, received an incomplete spinal injury.

Although my friend sustained some horrifying physical injuries, I suffered a serious traumatic brain injury.

After the accident, I could not even remember what I had done the day prior and I was having the same conversations with people who visited me in the hospital. I was still in college during this time and I was so fearful of my future.

I suffered from all the symptoms of a severe traumatic brain injury.

I fatigued easily, my short-term memory was abysmal, I had persistent headaches, I slept more than usual, etc.

With the help of the student disability services at my college, the Department of Rehab, and my family and friend’s support, I barely managed to graduate from college.

I overcame such a huge obstacle in my life by graduating from college. Even though graduating from college with my brain injury was a huge accomplishment, I realized it would be an even greater challenge to maintain a full-time job.

My brain injury symptoms made working at my first full-time job after college painfully onerous. It was a struggle every day to get through the work day. I would feel acutely lethargic and mentally weary after 3-4 hours of work. When the workday started in the mornings, I would have mental clarity and vigor.

As the day progressed, my headaches and mental exhaustion would take over.

I would occasionally spend my hour lunch breaks driving home and taking a nap (I was really fortunate I lived really close to the agency I worked at). If my brain injury exhaustions got really unbearable during the day, I would even sometimes sit in the bathroom stall at work, set an alarm, close my eyes, and recharge for 5 minutes. I became especially dependent on coffee or tea to get me through my day.

After nearly a year of working at the agency, I decided to move away from my hometown. I was thoroughly blessed to be offered remote work from the agency when I moved away.

I was quickly appalled at how it made working with a brain injury manageable as I was able to work on my own schedule. With remote work, I was able to work when I had the most stamina, take a nap when I started to fatigue and then continue to work after I recovered from my traumatic brain injury exhaustion. 

Working sporadically actually made me more productive.

My work was tracked by data and I noticed that I was getting more work done remotely than when I was working in the office.

I feel truly relieved that I am able to cope with my disability when working a remote job.

For any brain injury survivors who are struggling with work, I would recommend looking into remote work. Remote work may help ease the burden of the injury. There are a ton of jobs you can do remotely. Here is a list of places where you can find remote work.

If you are working, maybe bring up remote work to your employer at your current job. I discovered after I received remote work, that I could have asked for some accommodations. So if they do not allow remote work, I would recommend talking with your employer about your disability and working out some accommodations.

Here is a list of workplace accommodation ideas provided by brainline.

I understand how hard it can be to work a full-time job. Brain injuries are taxing on your body and mind by itself. Working a job can intensify the symptoms and make it really difficult to do your job. Working is arduous, however, with accommodations or remote work, working can be doable.

I hope my story can give you hope in finding a career or seeking help at your job to make working easier after you receive a traumatic brain injury!