BY: ALEXANDRA WASTI

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Alexandra Wasti, Founder of Helping Brains Heal / Her Brain Injury Story faces the camera. She has shoulder-length brown hair is seated, wearing a white, long-sleeved button-down shirt over a dark-navy top.  A lanyard, featuring the letters “WHU” in a light color, is visible around her neck. The lanyard’s background is a deep blue color. She is seated in front of a wall with a repeating vertical pattern of light gray and tan wooden planks. 

During her first few months of university, Alexandra sustained a Traumatic Brain
Injury (TBI) after being hit in the back of the head. While pursuing an undergraduate
degree, she founded a brain injury initiative and is a research student in Dr.
Robin Green’s Cognitive Neurorehabilitation Lab studying Acquired Brain
Injuries at the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, Ontario.

Growing up, I would put on wired headphones and turn up the volume as Eric
Burdon sang The House of the Rising Sun. It’s difficult to explain how it felt to
subject my head to loud music with no consequence, only that one could not question
it, as it felt like nothing. For long after my concussion, listening to this song became a
question of how it would hurt my brain, a limitation of sound and stimuli.

The autonomy of recovery was gradual and never steady, with being instructed
by doctors to rest inside during times when I wished to be present in any tangible
matter. Though I found myself alone at the start, my brain injury was tied to a
community filled with stories and ideas. Wanting to reach others, I thought of an
initiative that would form connections, expanding into what I fondly call Helping Brains
Heal. Founding this initiative was my way of proclaiming a widespread issue: that
brain injury patients continually fight to be heard and understood, in spite of the
complexities and diversity of their experiences. Through this article, I hope to share
my collection of experiences with others whose lives have been altered by a brain
injury, and to share the community I have found through Helping Brains Heal.

My Injury

There are two things I learned during my first year in university: the first being
you should definitely pack a Brita filter, and secondly, brain injuries are invisible
illnesses. On October 21, 2022, during my first few months of undergraduate, I was
diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury after being hit on the head. One might notice I
looked completely fine on the outside, with only a large bump and bruise on the back
of my head as a trophy to my experience. The real injury proclaimed itself internally,
being contained within my skull. For the first three weeks after I was hit, speech was
slow and nearly impossible, reading was difficult, and noise felt like a sharp needle in
my head. I couldn’t explain this internal pressure causing me pain every time I
processed thoughts, or heard noises.

Looking back, these symptoms would persist for years after, varying puzzlingly
in their severity and consistency. Five doctors would tell me there were no definitive
answers to my questions about when I would heal, yet it was certain that, because I’d
had concussions in highschool, this would be a lengthy journey to recovery. With
increased research being done on brain injuries, it’s generally understood that the
more concussions you sustain the harder each one becomes to heal from. With this in
mind, it seemed the only option I had was to give my head the resources and
patience it required.

Struggling with Recovery

For those of you recovering from brain injuries, whether it’s considered mild or severe,
know that everyone has a different experience with their journey. Each injury is
unique, varying in recovery time, symptoms, and how deeply it affects your day-to-day
life. After three weeks of rest from my injury, I grew eager to move on with my
18-year-old life. I have always loved learning and being around my peers, and so I
returned to school with the hope that I could resume the path I once took.
In May of 2023, after a difficult onset of symptoms, I enrolled in a concussion
rehabilitation program at ALPHA Health Services in Toronto, Ontario. This was the
treatment I found most helpful in all of my recovery, being led by Dr. Charlotte
Anderson who I mention fondly for her contributions to the concussion community

Finding a Community

Beyond any doubt, we must acknowledge that brain injuries are isolating by
nature. You are typically confined to a quiet dark space no longer than 48 hours
following injury or diagnosis. Cognitively, it can be difficult to maintain the same level of
energy and stamina you had before your injury. While struggling for your health, it is
laborious to go out with friends, see family, or be there for your loved ones with the
same capacity you once had. In experiencing this during my first year of university, it
was difficult to explain to my peers what they could not see, as I appeared healthy to
them. My vision for my life in my undergraduate years had been sideswept, and I felt
alone in my experience. I’d like to fondly mention Dr. Talia Varley for her role as my
mentor, as well as Veronica Pentland and Dr. Helena Kita for guiding me through my
concussion during this time. In July of 2023, I searched for local concussion initiatives
and began volunteering for the Brain Injury Society of Toronto (BIST).

Founding an Initiative

While volunteering for BIST, I was told the Ontario Brain Injury Association
(OBIA) offers a free peer support program; one that I could join myself, where I’d be
connected to someone with experiences like mine. Realizing there was a gap in the
generations involved in such programs, I wanted to start an initiative to support a
younger generation (my generation). This led to me co-founding the initiative Buddies
for Brain Injuries. Since its inception, we have partnered with ConcussionBox.org to
donate concussion care packages to private rehabilitation clinics across Ontario. Our
donations have reached several patients at both locations of ALPHA Health Services in
Toronto, Ontario, and UP Rehab in Hamilton, Ontario. Recently, my goals have evolved
into a new, separate, initiative: Helping Brains Heal. By supporting clinical research in
Acquired Brain Injury rehabilitation for people with enduring symptoms of ABI, and
making resources accessible to aid in recovery, we service the community.

Exploring Research

Wanting to deepen my understanding of my injury, I sought to engage in
concussion research at UHN, which is where I met Dr. Robin Green. In May of 2024, I
was given the opportunity to join her team in employing a study monitoring and treating
brain injury patients with persistent post-concussive symptoms. The goal of Dr. Green’s
work is to close the gap between research and clinical care, with a focus on acquired
TBI. Dr. Green has been a mentor to me, and an empathetic scientist with a passion for
helping others. This summer we designed and launched the new website and logo for
the KITE TeleNeuroRehab Centre for Acquired Brain Injury at UHN.

Future Aspirations and a Call to Action

While I could never predict my concussion, the most I could do, and all I have
ever done, is see an opportunity for growth regardless of any hopelessness. I believe
gratitude can help reshape your narrative, and I am grateful for my family, Dr. Green,
and the community I was gifted by my injury. In the future, I hope Helping Brains Heal
will expand its reach, and that I can keep encouraging members to share their own
stories. I want to continue involving myself in researching brain injuries, all while
learning more about the community I am surrounded by. Outside of academics, you can
find me doing chess tournament photography, film photography, violin practice, and
media arts.

Alexandra Wasti is an undergraduate student at Queen’s University, and a research
student in Dr. Robin Green’s lab studying acquired brain injury. After her experience with
brain injuries, she founded Helping Brains Heal and continues to advocate for others
with similar stories. She invites anyone to contact her via LinkedIn @Alexandra Wasti.
Email: HelpingBrainsHeal@gmail.com

LinkedIn: Helping Brains Heal
Instagram: Helpingbrainsheal