Getting Back to Work Post Brain Injury | Kelly Tuttle
Show Notes:
When the world fades to silence after a brain injury, finding your voice again is a monumental victory. Welcome Kelly Tuttle, a neurology nurse practitioner, who brings her expertise and personal experience to illuminate the often dark and misunderstood path of recovery. Kelly's story, beginning with a life-altering car accident, serves as a testament to the resilience required to navigate the complex world of traumatic brain injuries.
Have you ever felt as if your brain's battery is perpetually low, even after the simplest tasks? In this conversation, we unpack the elusive beast that is neuro fatigue, discussing how the brain's need for energy can turn everyday actions into a marathon. We then dig into Kelly's book 'After the Crash' with a focus on getting back to work after your concussion/brain injury!
Learn more about Kelly & After the Crash: https://kellytuttle.org/book/
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Please note episode transcriptions may not be 100% accurate!
Bella Paige
Host
00:02
Hi everyone. I'm your host, Bella Paige, and after suffering from post-concussion syndrome for years, it was time to do something about it. So welcome to the Post-Concussion Podcast, where we dig deep into life when it doesn't go back to normal. Be sure to share the podcast and join our support network, Concussion Connect. Let's make this invisible injury become visible. The Post-Concussion Podcast is strictly an information podcast about concussions and post-concussion syndrome. It does not provide nor substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. The opinions expressed in this podcast are simply intended to spark discussion about concussions and post-concussion syndrome. Welcome back everyone. It has been a few week break, which I definitely needed, and if you participated in our holiday challenge on Concussion Connect, I hope you had fun. Now I am so excited for 2024. We have so many things coming up in the next year that I am so excited about to share with everyone as they come up, and you know our next break probably won't be till the summer, so I hope you are ready for a lot of wonderful episodes with wonderful guests and, speaking of one of those episodes, let's get into one now. Welcome to episode number 126 of the Post-Concussion Podcast with myself, Bella Paige, and today's author and guest, Kelly Tuttle.
01:43
Kelly joined the head injury survivors club, as she describes it, in 2015. The night, another car pulled in front of her as she was driving. It wasn't until three months later that she realized that something was seriously wrong. Kelly's concussion marked the beginning of a new life and personal journey of self-rediscovery. A neurology nurse practitioner, kelly has a front row seat to observe patients struggling with many of the same things she experienced in her recovery. She strives to share her coping strategies and tools and help others continue to work and study while they heal. Kelly wants TBI patients to know there is hope. You got better and they can too. Kelly is the author of After the Crash how to Live Life After your TBI.
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
02:28
Welcome, kelly. Well, thank you for having me, bella, and I'm one of your really big fans. I've been listening to your podcast since 2021. I can't tell you how excited I am to be here with you today.
Bella Paige
Host
02:42
Oh, thank you, it means a lot. It's always interesting when I hear from people who are like, oh, I've listened to you from when you started and I'm like really, I'm like that's kind of cool because it's been a long time now In January it's been three years, like of course there's been breaks on the podcast as well, but yeah, it's been three years this January, which is kind of wild. But let's get to you. And so do you want to give us a little bit of a background on your brain injury experience?
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
03:08
to start, I joined the Brain Injury Club in 2015. I had been in a car accident. I was driving down a rural road and another car pulled out in front of me and I ended up t-boning them and I thought I would walk away and shake off this car accident, but three months later I found that was not the case.
Bella Paige
Host
03:33
So often that this is happening, where people are like, oh, I thought I'd be better, or did anyone tell you this might not bounce back right away.
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
03:42
No, so I didn't really realize what was going on. I actually went to work the next day which is crazy in hindsight and my nursing colleagues were very sharp and caught on that something was going on and then needed to be addressed, and so they exacted promises to see my primary care doctor the next day. And I did, and fortunately she diagnosed me with a concussion, but she left me with the belief that I would be better in two weeks.
04:22
And that was not the case.
04:25
I tried to go back to work and my own and my you know, back to being a mom and training in martial arts and so forth, and it all was a big struggle, which now I can look back and see what was truly going on, and I was like I'm not going to be better.
04:43
Amongst the trees you don't see the forest right. So I was dealing with a lot of headaches and I had horrible whiplash, neck pain and just weird things were happening. I wasn't putting two and two together, like I was unable to listen to music anymore in my car because it would make me sleepy. I was unable to exercise anymore, work out to get any shorter breath in two minutes, and just really bizarre things that you normally wouldn't connect with a head injury. And then it all culminated to the point of pushing myself where I fell asleep at the will and drove off the road and almost hit a tree. So again, not thinking clearly and trying to get back to life, I was like, well, I guess I just need to take a nap in between my commute.
05:39
I had an hour long commute one way. So that was my resolution not call my doctor, not seek care. I just took a nap dangerously on the side of the road for a half hour and then I drove home. And so then I met with a colleague of mine who was a nurse practitioner, worked in neurology, and she was curious. She was how are you recovering from your concussion? And I told her you know this and that, and then I mentioned falling asleep at the wheel and she's like what?
Bella Paige
Host
06:14
Yeah, concerning.
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
06:18
That's not good. So she really like I was just trying to make it through, I think it was just so, whatever it took to get from A to B, I was gonna do it and not really scrutinize the consequences. And so she was the one that said you need to go back to your doctor, you need to get head CT, you need to see a PMR doctor and I'm all PMR doctor. What's that? Physical medicine rehab? Well, I had known them as physiatrists, so I listened to her advice and shortly after seeing the physical medicine rehab position, I started going on to the correct road of healing and getting better.
Bella Paige
Host
07:06
I'm glad that you've had that friend.
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
07:09
Me too, because a lot of people don't.
Bella Paige
Host
07:12
No, it's actually. I kind of love that we're having this conversation right now, because when this episode comes out, it'll be in the new year of 2024. And in the new year we're actually launching a charity that is designated and dedicated to changing that information you get when you get a concussion, when you get a mild traumatic brain injury, so that you get a piece of information, a link to a website, something. When you walk out of your physician's office or an ER telling you that you know this might not go away and if it doesn't go away, these are what you should actually be doing, not this go lay in a dark room old ancient advice that is not recommended anymore, but you still see and I hear about it all the time. So definitely that is great, because that is what we're gonna be working towards for the future, actually with the charity launch this year.
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
08:01
I think that sounds like an awesome idea. Yeah, thanks. I think that's great. You came up with that and you're putting it together. How wonderful. I can't wait to see it when it comes out.
Bella Paige
Host
08:10
Yeah, because it's just so common. We have people saying, oh, I found out six months later it was my concussion, like it's such a common problem that nobody told them. Yes, you know this, it's your brain, because they're like oh, you don't connect the dots. You know, in human nature, like you've proved it, you just keep ignoring things and keep, you know, working with your symptoms and carrying on. But you know that only works for so long, and so you've written a book which I actually have with me. And so what do you want to tell us? Why you took the time to write after the crash?
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
08:44
Yes. So my, you know, like I said, my goal was I really wanted I will. I really needed to get back to work. I was a single income earner and I brought in the benefits for the family. I really wanted to get back to work, but, you know, I wanted to get back to my regular life too, and so I read all these really wonderful books like 365 tips and tools to brain injury recovery I forgot the complete title, but it's on Amazon and just remember 365 tips to brain injury, you'll find it. And then brain lash, like with lash, but brain lash. These are really great books, for you know someone who is trying to recover from their brain injury.
09:31
And I had those books and they were absolutely wonderful, but they were like generalized, like in every aspect of your life.
09:39
What I really knew that that time was I needed how to get to work, how to be at work, how to support my brain at work, and it took me years to put together a tool bag of things that I even still use today to help me be an efficient employee and maintain my focus and attention and minimize any drain on my limited brain energy, because I do have cognitive fatigue, and so that's why I wrote that book.
10:11
I really wanted to nail that niche and make it available to anybody out there like me who wants to get back to work. And then the other thing, too, was I read a lot of other books that were really good, and the reason why I was reading all these books what I was looking for was hope. I needed someone to reassure me that things were going to get better. Not that I was going to get healed or there was something I could do to get back to my old self, but I just wanted hope to know that things will get better over time, and so that was really important to me. In writing, my book is to be a companion of hope and guidance to the reader and the brain injury survivor.
Bella Paige
Host
11:02
I think it's so important because that work piece, the career piece, is huge. I hear about it constantly in our support groups about someone trying to go back to work, trying to make it at work, going back to work and then having to make adjustments or going back and it being too much and things like that. Or what do you even ask for at work? How do I make work a place that I can be in? It's something we hear about all the time. Or how do I know if I'm ready?
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
11:32
to go back to work.
Bella Paige
Host
11:33
I hear that a lot as well.
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
11:35
Yeah, and I went back to work way too soon, way too fast. My book is like I just want people not to have to make the mistakes I made and I think that a lot of those mistakes really kind of were preventable speed bumps to my recovery. And so anyway, I was just hoping to make somebody else's recovery more smooth than mine.
Bella Paige
Host
11:58
Yeah, I think that's so great because there's so many challenges with all this, and so we are going to take a quick break. But before that, what do you think your number one tip for getting back to work could be? I know there's a lot of them, but if you could pick one, what do you think?
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
12:12
Oh wow, that's hard, but I think the biggest tip if I only had a snippet of time to mention it would be to go to askjanorg, which is a job accommodations network, and that is where people with brain injuries and symptoms from brain injuries can go and find reasonable work accommodations that they can ask for at their place of employment.
Bella Paige
Host
12:36
I think that's fantastic and we are going to talk a lot more about your book. I have a few questions about parts that I read that I really want people to hear about that. We will be right back. We have so many five star reviews coming in for the post concussion cookbook on Amazon. This cookbook was something I had been looking for. It pairs nutritional information specific to concussion recovery with tips for symptoms, and the recipes are delicious. My husband and teenager loved it too. Very grateful to have this resource. If you bought the cookbook, make sure to leave a review and if you haven't, make sure you find yours on Amazon today. I'll do the link in our episode description.
13:15
Welcome back to the Post Concussion Podcast with myself, Bella Paige and today's guest and author, Kelly Tuttle. So we've been talking a little bit about your experience and your book so far, and so there is one component of your book that I wanted to ask you about because I think it really connects with survivors on like a day to day basis, and that's your Starbucks versus Star Trek comment and story. And so you know a lot of time word finding, grasping what people are saying. All these things are an everyday challenge people have. It makes them really nervous just to leave the hub because they're like well, you know, sometimes I take too long to even think, sometimes I can't communicate, sometimes I don't know what people are saying. So do you want to share that story with us today?
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
13:59
Sure, so that cut well. Number one I love Star Trek. I just had to have it in my book.
14:04
I love comics and Star Trek, and that came up because that day after the car accident, when I went into work and the nurses and I were gonna take a break and I said, hey, let's go to and get some Star Trek. And they were like what? And I'm like, yeah, let's go get some Star Trek. And they're like Star Trek, you're saying Star Trek. And I was like, oh, starbucks, starbucks. And they're like no, you said Star Trek. And that's when I got the lecture. You better see your doctor, that's so. That's kind of like where that came from.
14:39
But one day, you know, I still struggle with my speech and the things I say, especially when I get tired. Of course, it gets worse for us when our batteries are getting really super low at the end of the day and Early into my recovery it was, it was really rough. I there were some like medical terms that I had been able to say Easily and multiple times throughout the day and I couldn't say him again. So what I learned I? You know, I just found some tips and tricks and one of them was if I was going to give a report to a Physician or another colleague and that word was gonna come up and I knew that was my word I struggled with, then I would write that word down and I would go and meet with this person and then when I Got to that word, I would look down and for some reason being able to see the word on paper Helped me say it out loud. And then I would also rehearse the word several times before I met the person to say it over again slowly. So that's kind of how I compensate.
15:42
The other thing is, you know, when I started working I didn't want people to know I had a brain injury, because some people are just, you know, managers or co-workers aren't as supportive as you would hope, and so for the first, you know, five to six years after my brain injury, I hid it. So whenever I struggled with a word, I would just say you know, I'm having them, excuse me, I'm having a blonde moment. You know you're talking to a blonde, or I need more coffee, or you know Something to that effect, to kind of smooth over not being able to be able to say the word, but with family and friends who I feel safe and comfortable with they. Let me struggle, try to struggle to try and say the word so that I can get those brain connections going and they're very Supportive that way. And the other thing too is I read a book. It's called I Will Carry the Fork Another brain injury survivor, and she talks about her struggle with word finding.
16:41
What she would do was she would sing to songs, the lyrics of songs she knew, and she would sing them over and over until she would get every single word right. And that helped her too, and I did that too and I it helped me and you know, and it's, it's a fun little speech therapy Exercise you can do.
Bella Paige
Host
17:00
Yeah, no, I like it. It's a good story and it is, it's true, finding that Boundary of like, do I want to tell them or do I not? Sometimes it's not always worth it. I've went through this the other day at the gym because I started working out recently again and it's like, do I explain that, like why I can't go for a sauna and things like that after, because, like, I have pods and all these things and my body? It's like a really bad idea, bad combination. Or do I just say, like I'm not in the mood, like, do I explain the health piece or do I not? It really depends on who I'm with, depends on who is around. Like, sometimes it's worth it, sometimes it's not, and it's totally up to you and your own comfort level.
17:40
I don't believe like sometimes we're very oh, you need to tell people and make it less invisible. And I get that piece. I get the advocacy piece and the awareness piece. But there's also the piece where, like you, there's you. So it's like if it's gonna make you really uncomfortable, it's gonna make you have a harder time. Maybe you're just not in a place to share yet because, like I go back in time where I would have never told anyone that I was struggling.
18:04
Like I just say I had a headache. But I didn't tell them. Like I had a headache and it was too light and the smells were bugging me and it was just like I felt like I was gonna puke and like all these things. I would just say I have a headache, because everybody kind of thinks they know what that means, except for Concussion headaches or different level of headaches, you know. And then eventually I got more comfortable with just telling people, like you know, I have this health condition and it's part of my life. Like I went to a new hairdresser a Few weeks ago and I had tears streaming down my face because I have dry eyes and so I was like, don't worry, I'm not crying, it's just like. But before I would have never said anything, I would have just probably tried to dab them away and like not had the confidence to share. So you know there's different points.
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
18:44
Work is a totally different place where you know you don't want people to think less of you because they're uneducated about brain injuries and don't understand and things like that right and you know I I talk a little bit about this in my book that the advantage of having a brain injury is that it is an invisible disability and again that that's a double it short, because the disadvantages Is that it is invisible. And it was one of the questions I had was should I let tell my employer or my colleagues or whatever? You know I, in my book I really encourage my reader to think well, what's the goal of telling somebody that you have a brain injury? What would be the goal? What is the outcome that you expect or what you want? And that kind of helps you decide to make that decision.
19:34
Do you want you know or hope that your colleagues will be sympathetic and that's why you want to share it? That may or may not happen. Or you know, things have really gotten tough at work with the expectation in the increase in workload and now you're even with your compensatory tools, you're struggling to stay on top of your work assignment. Then you may want to then consider asking for work accommodations and just really quick, on a tangent, like when you ask for work accommodations you don't have to tell them you have a brain injury, but you do have some of your symptoms, and here in the US you have to have a medical note too. So just throwing that out just for information.
Bella Paige
Host
20:19
Yeah, it's super important and for me I know like accommodations for me were school and so, you know, sometimes I always felt like, oh, do I need these? But they made it so I could succeed, and so you have to remember that too. And there was one other part of your book that I want to talk about because I've heard a lot I'm sure you've heard it a lot and it's that you are too tired because you sleep too much. Oh, my gosh, I hate that.
20:46
Yeah, because you sleep all day, it's making you more tired and like, don't get me wrong, if I get in a spell of sleeping all day, I have chronic fatigue syndrome, so it takes over and like, if I let it, like if I have a few days where I like do less and I sleep more, well, I kind of can get in the rhythm of that because I have chronic fatigue syndrome, because I have a health issue. Do you want to talk more about why you don't like that comment, as you reacted perfectly to it, and I get how you reacted to it, because sometimes people like, oh, you're sleeping too much, like that's why you're tired, and it's like I can't even get up, I can't open my eyes like I can't function. I don't think you're understanding, like my fatigue. Is you falling asleep at the wheel? Like it's not what people are expecting and it's not what they understand. So I'll let you take it from there.
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
21:34
Yeah. So there's a really big misunderstanding about neuro fatigue, and neuro fatigue could be emotional fatigue, physical fatigue, cognitive fatigue, and it is real and it is serious. Like I said, I got shut down while I was driving. My brain said this is it, you're done, and that's what neuro fatigue will do. If you push yourself too hard, you will find your face flat and you'll plate a spaghetti. You know, at the end of the day, your brain will just shut off. Keeping in mind that the brain uses 20% of our energy, that's a lot, and I did read some articles when I was researching my book and I ran across an article that talked about how the brain likes to run, to run efficiently. And if it doesn't run efficiently, like a car, if you have your car and you don't keep air on the tires, you don't get it oiled and lubed, you don't take care of it then, it's not going to run as efficiently.
22:38
right, it's going to need more gas to go the same amount of distance compared to a brand new car that is well taken care of. So these researchers looked and found that the brain likes to run efficiently. Well, if you have any brain issues, either from a stroke or traumatic brain injury or Parkinson's, then your brain doesn't run efficiently. And so for you to do like to get dressed, it takes you more energy to do that minimal activity as compared to someone who doesn't have those brain issues, because their brain runs efficiently so it's not sucking up all your energy just trying to get through the day. And this fatigue is neuro fatigue, is different than regular fatigue because, despite them on a sleep and rest and you get yourself, the energy reserve is never 100% filled.
Bella Paige
Host
23:38
So for myself, after I got diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, they like show me this bar and it's like you have cortisol levels in a normal person, like dip down as they at the end of the day and then shoot back up in the morning and then kind of like dive down by the afternoon. That's kind of like this fluctuation of energy. But I don't have that. There is no reset. So for me instead it's like I live in this like kind of flat line that just goes up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down, versus like really highs and like I do have really low, as if I let the chronic fatigue kind of take over, which I can get stuck in, but my cortisol levels don't replenish in the same way that somebody else's do. So it's more like learning how to monitor that and kind of working with that and being like. You know, for me I always like to tell people do things when you feel best in the day, if you can. Of course this doesn't work for everyone, but if you feel great at 10 o'clock at night, then make dinner at 10 o'clock at night if you can, because it's okay, like when you're healing and you're recovering and you're in that phase where, like you're not going to work yet, you're not in a structured schedule, maybe work with your energy, try to work with it, being like I woke up at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and I had all this energy. Well, okay, then do stuff. Then you know you don't have to let it go to waste those types of things. But you know you've shared a lot.
25:02
I loved your book. I think it's a great resource and I think it's definitely worth the read for all survivors, even ones that aren't just looking forward to going back to work. There's a lot of other important components in it, and so is there anything else you'd like to add before we end today's episode?
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
25:17
Yeah, I'm really excited that my book is unaudible too, because after our brain injury can be hard to read and remember what you read and have the energy to read. So it was really important for me to record my book for those individuals so you can just listen to it too if you just don't have the energy for reading right now.
Bella Paige
Host
25:37
It's so important. I love audible. I lived on it until like just a year to go, when I can actually read books, but I just want to thank you so much for coming on and sharing a little bit about your book. Well, thank you for having me.
Kelly Tuttle
Guest
25:48
I'm like I said, I'm a big fan. Bella, thank you for doing all the things you're doing Need more than just this podcast.
Bella Paige
Host
25:55
be sure to check out our website postconcussioninc.com, to see how we can help you in your post concussion life, from a support network to one on one coaching. I believe life can get better because I've lived through it. Make sure you take it one day at a time.
The Post Concussion Cookbook is getting amazing reviews!
This cookbook was something I had been looking for! It pairs nutritional information specific to concussion recovery with tips for symptoms, and the recipes are delicious!! My husband and teenager loved it too! Very grateful to have this resource! - Halli
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