I have been an athlete all my life and have unfortunately been sidelined 3 times due to concussions. The first concussion occurred when I was a senior in high school and at first, I did not know it was a concussion. I struggled with really bad headaches, dizziness, neck pain, and balance which made basic daily tasks like brushing my teeth and reading challenging and frustrating. My biggest struggles though were with light and loud noises which would make the headaches so unbearable that I could only lie down in a dark room to recollect myself.
I dealt with these symptoms for a couple days before I went to the doctor to find out why I was feeling the way I was. After a series of tests, I was told I had a concussion and then the doctor recommended I go to physical therapy. I went to a physical therapist who helped me reduce some of my symptoms, but as days turned into weeks, I developed an eye twitch that only got worse with reading and bright light. After a couple of months dealing with these symptoms, I was then recommended to Tim by my doctor.
Before I saw Tim, it felt like I was not going to get better at all and that I was going to have to learn to live with these symptoms and constant headaches. After my first visit with Tim, he gave me hope that I would get better and possibly play soccer again. During my time in physical therapy with Tim, he was able to help with my balance, dizziness, neck pain, headaches, and inability to read due to not being able to focus for more than a couple minutes without getting a headache.
I went to physical therapy with Tim for about 2 years for my first concussion and within those two years I went from not being able to read, comprehend, and going half days in high school to taking a full course load in college (and doing well) while being a starter on my college soccer team. While in college I suffered 2 more concussion, and Tim was always my concussion expert. He helped me through the past 5 years of struggling with the concussions. He was always honest and when it came time for me to stop playing soccer for my safety, he was there to help me make that choice and help me make an educated choice.
Since my last concussion, I have stopped playing soccer and had finished finally graduated from physical therapy. I have improved my grades and passed a major test for my career. All things I never thought I would do because I struggled so much with school due to my symptoms. Tim was a huge part of it all because of the way he cared about me as a patient and helped me get back to being myself. He always wanted to know how my day to day tasks were going as the difficulty of performing these tasks played a role in my rehabilitation. He cares for the patients and listens to their problems and needs and does his best to help them. He works hard to make sure he knows as much as he can to be able to help the patients that are seeing him.
Thank you, Tim for your expertise and kindness
– Sarah S.
