I have been dealing with my PCS for 15 months. Don't get me wrong, I am way better than I was last summer, but there are still lingering things. I have daily headaches, a constant ringing in my ears, noise and light sensitivity, personality changes and probably a few other things.

I am definitely not as outgoing as I was before and I tend to be irritated easily. I tend to not have much patience with people and have to remind myself of that fact.

Because my was the fault of the hospital ER, I feel that I was not given the information that I needed concerning the fall. My neurologist, who worked for the hospital, didn't give me any information regarding rest, diet, etc. She did not want to admit that I even had a concussion. When you go into the emergency looking fine and leave with a concussion, broken nose and two black eyes, I think someone should have helped just a little bit more.

I went back to work two days after the accident because I didn't have any sick time. I have continued to work full-time since then. I truly believe that I wouldn't still have some of these problems if I just would have taken some time off. Unfortunately, this is not an option.

I was never recommended to see anyone else besides the neuro and even though every time I went to see her a complained about a headache, she wouldn't listen to me. I changed neuros after 11 months of nothing and found a good one. He has been helping me come up with a medication that will help my headaches. Since it is trial and error, I still haven't found the right one. But I have a lot of confidence in him and feel like he is looking out for my best interest. I wish I would have found him much earlier.

I have found out, maybe the long way, that you have to advocate for yourself. I had to see an ENT for my nose, a dentist for my mouth since I fell on my face, an optometrist for eye changes, a physical therapist and a woman who deals with chronic pain symptoms. These were not referred to me, I did them on my own.

Like I said, it is better than it has been, but still have problems doing the things I love to do (running, biking, playing basketball with the kids, etc.) It seems to be the activity that brings it on, but I am not going to miss out on anymore of my life and the fun I have with the kids.

Hang in there!