Portrait: Daniel
At 28, I was leading a healthy, active life. After an optometrist appointment to identify the cause of my persistent headaches, I was handed a sealed envelope and told to go directly to the hospital. What followed, was emergency brain surgery.
A little bit about Daniel
On June 21, 2014, my reality was shattered by a devastating brain hemorrhage. With no map to guide me on the grueling path to recovery, I had to rely on my grit, perseverance, and resilience to relearn everything I once knew: how to walk, talk and even smile.
Moving forward
I have survived two emergency brain surgeries, weeks in a coma, and months in a rehab hospital. What I found out along the way might surprise you: there is nothing like a brain injury to refocus the mind! Driven by a positive mindset, I battled through excruciating rehab exercises to rebuild my life and return to a job I loved.
I am grateful for the doctors who saved me and the friends and family who supported me. Now I want to pay it forward.
The tools I used to build back my life can be used by anyone facing challenges. I have developed strategies to help me achieve my goals, one step at a time. My action-oriented life hacks have helped me tackle a range of challenges.
Ways in which I have had to adapt
Brain fatigue, impulse control and double vision are issues I still navigate post brain injury. Now, I find joy and headspace in working out at the gym and swimming, a low-impact way to work the body and clear the mind. Mood follows action! Outwork your self-doubt and negative feelings! Meditation is a hack I can tell you for FREE!
I reached a real moonshot goal last winter, by skiing. Something I said out loud in rehab but never thought I would reach. Aim big and who knows, you might just hit!
I have given interviews to new Doctors and one thing that stood out as a key takeaway was for medical practitioners to make sure they treat patients as people first and a patient second. I cannot stress this enough! Never fall into the trap of treating us as patients first. You will lose the patient's respect and perpetuate a feeling of not being good enough. We are people too!
Some of my favourite quotes
“There is nothing like Brain injury to refocus the mind” “Control the Controllables” “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”
You can view Daniel’s website here.