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Fall From

Fall From

Fall From

By Julia Chevan, PT, DPT, PhD, MPH

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My new reality began when
my brain hit the pavement, at least
I think it did.

In my new reality
I was concussed.
In that reality,
I sat on a couch and looked
out a window counting the leaves
as they fell from the autumn trees
until
it was OK to talk to people and then
OK to listen to music and then
OK to send an email, or two.

Every day a little more was OK.
One day it was OK to drive,
to go to work again
and that was when
I noted my other reality.

In my other reality
the pavement was my demise.
I never got to say goodbye.
I watched my family,
my colleagues, my friends
in that other reality.
And the leaves kept falling


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Homepage thumbnail photo by Oliver Hihn, Unsplash

About the Author(s)


Julia Chevan, PT, DPT, PhD, MPH

Julia Chevan MPH is Chair and Professor of Physical Therapy at Springfield College where she teaches mostly “left-brained” analytical content. She enjoys running. One day, while setting out for a run, her dog suddenly lurched and she sustained a concussion falling directly onto her head. In the days that followed, she struggled with the inactivity of recuperation, but also reveled in the meditative quiet of rest while sitting by the window watching the leaves fall from an old maple tree. When she was able to return to her office she found her brain wandering and wondering if, in another reality maybe she sustained a bleed, or a brain injury, or an outcome that results in becoming a patient in rehabilitation as opposed to returning to full participation in social and employment activities.

 

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