Laura Morgan Laura Morgan

Initial intake at MABNR

This past Friday I had an initial evaluation at the Mid-Atlantic Brain & Neurological Rehabilitation in Silver Spring, MD. Through a quick review of previous medical records from my inpatient stays at the University of VA Medical Center and Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, resulting in the doctor’s periodic non-verbal utterances and exclamations (“wow…”), along with quick assessments of my walking and reflexes, the ataxia was confirmed. I’m seriously considering the 2-week intensive therapy that would be completed in Silver Spring, just needing to consider the scheduling along with the work I love at Metro Therapy Center in Gaithersburg. Being offered hope for cognitive and physical improvement after 13.5 yrs since the accident, feeds my passion for neuroplasticity! Stay tuned… 

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Laura Morgan Laura Morgan

A little about Persisting Symptoms After Concussion (PSAC)

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that affects brain function. Effects are often short term and can include headaches and trouble with concentration, memory, balance, mood and sleep.

Concussions usually are caused by an impact to the head or body that is associated with a change in brain function. Not everyone who experiences a blow to the body or head has a concussion.

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2022, February 17). Concussion - Symptoms and Causes. Mayo Clinic; Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/concussion/symptoms-causes/syc-20355594

Up to 30% of individuals who sustain a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) develop persisting symptoms after concussion (PSAC). ...in this systematic review and meta-analysis, acute cognitive symptoms, medical history of anxiety and/or depression or of sleep disorders, and the presence of clinical signs (loss of consciousness and amnesia) were the factors associated with greatest odds of PSAC in adults across all time points.

McIntosh, S. J., Vergeer, M. H., Galarneau, J. M., Eliason, P. H., & Debert, C. T. (2025). Factors Associated With Persisting Symptoms After Concussion in Adults With Mild TBI: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA network open, 8(6), e2516619. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.16619

Prevention of head injury is key!

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Laura Morgan Laura Morgan

Aspiring to be grounded and grateful

Today we had a lovely Easter service at our church, the one I’ve attended for most of my life. My parents actually first met at this church, though they were both working at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at that time (mom as a nurse in pediatric oncology, dad as a biomedical engineer). Easter was the day, back in 2013, that I first returned to my home church after the accident. I was in a wheelchair that first visit back, surrounded by unknowns, loss and pain, including excruciating migraines.Though the church and its members were familiar to me that first visit, I couldn’t recall names and had difficulty distinguishing reality from dreams, since both were equally unbelievable. I’ll forever be grateful for the care and services I received, but I sure am glad those days are in the past.

When I couldn’t remember much of the recent past and had no idea what lay ahead, brain injury  taught me the value of being grounded and grateful for the present moment.  

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