2017, Megan Eldredge, HWRA, Weber HS, Awardee

It can be said that my struggle was a not-so-silent one. On September 18th, 2013, I was involved in a rear-end car accident on my way home from lacrosse. I was on the varsity girls team and just beginning the season. I saw doctor after doctor, and couldn’t make it through a full day of school. I was diagnosed with a concussion, which later would be rediagnosed as a traumatic brain injury – or a TBI. Because I was so busy with doctors appointments, I fell behind in school and no longer saw my friends outside of school. My social life became non-existent, which was extremely difficult at a time where acceptance is vital. I had daily, debilitating migraines that lasted up to two and a half years, causing me to miss out on some major experiences in life. This alienation caused by my own brain, along with chemical overload via medication and brain injury brought on a great bout of depression. Spending days in a dark room in desperate attempts to alleviate the pain, made my own internal pain worse. Seeing doctor after doctor, and finding them to no avail, made my parents and I lose hope for the future. At points…. I wanted to end it all. I truly saw no point in a life full of pain, and didn’t see it getting better. Everything has been pretty downhill to here, yeah? One night, when those “end it all” thoughts were getting to me, I was talking to a friend of mine – not too terribly close – and he sent me in the direction of Laura Warburton. Besides helping me emotionally, she directed me towards neurologists that could help. That was the point that I, little by little, started healing. I started into alternative medicine, practicing hypnotherapy and functional neurology. And in less than a year, I was leaps and bounds from where I was. I was able to pursue studies to become a mechanic, and train with military. I’ve been able to go to school full time for the first time in three years. That is crazy to me, to be able to be where I am today. I’ve had amazing support and people there along the way. I know I wouldn’t have been here without that.