Sometimes we come across stories and blogs so perfectly told that we can’t do much to improve them. So we’re not going to. We’re going to offer the opportunity to share stories exactly as you want them told.
In this new series, we’re creating podcasts from our favourite blogs, read by their writers in their own voices. This is In Her Own Words.
If you write a blog or would like to recommend your favourite blog please contact cassie.delaney@her.ie
Lauren Vandal started writing her blog a mere month after a serious brain injury.
She says her
blog was “born from a desire to use recovery from brain injury and subsequent mental health issues in a more positive way. It’s a peek at the truly devastating and enlightening process of a sudden and life threatening traumatic experience. The bit that never featured in your plans but came knocking anyway”.
The reaction has always been very positive, with viewers checking in from all over the world.
Lauren says “I get messages from brain injury survivors all over the world who share their stories with me and sometimes just write to say thank you for making them feel less alone and for putting our struggles out there. I am always touched by anyone taking the time to reach out and read or write to me and through my blog I've made some very solid friendships with people who I've never met in real life but who have a shared struggle. It's amazing what sharing stories can do”.
Her blog is the perfect mix of seriousness and silliness and Lauren says that comes from the desire to provide the brain injury community with “a voice of honesty, inspiration, hope and support”.
Lauren has been unable to work since her accident and instead keeps
herself busy writing the blog, doing part time courses from home and attending appointments.
She has just ventured into gardening acquiring an allotment. Her enthusiasm for creation is infectious and she says “I try to do things that create joy and are low on stress”. Most recently Lauren has enrolled in a Psychology Degree course via The Open University.
I've starting making videos as well as the straight written posts so I'd like to do more of those but generally more readers would be lovely. I'm finally starting to get picked up by medical and brain injury professionals so would love my blog to be used as a rehabilitation tool for survivors and their families and professionals. Ultimately I'd love to speak as an advocate for brain injury and really get the message out there.
The piece Lauren reads for
In Her Own Words is her latest piece and she wrote it to commemorate the three-year anniversary of her brain injury.
She says “I always do an anniversary post. I see them as a celebration of survival and strength and I really hope they inspire other people struggling with trauma and change. My anniversary pieces are always very emotional for me as they are markers for how far I've come and to reflect on my loss but also my gains”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL6zyqZMmiw
