TheBrainInjury Association– Veronique Theberge

Pr om o ti ng Ab i l it ie s

Veronique Theberge

My braininjury wasacquiredfollowing a braininfectioncalledviral MeningoencephalitisinAugust 2017. Theinfectionhadtheeffect of destroying neuronsandneuro pathwayswhichresulted inanAcquiredBraininjury (ABI). Since then, life as it washas beenflipped insideout. I am operatingwitha newnormalanda “new me”.

Tothisday, I stillhavetoplan andmanage mysituationdailyandadhere to strict fatigue managementpracticestoavoidhavingmybrain batteriesdroppingtoo lowandtriggeringan avalancheofweird andnot so wonderfulthings. Neuro fatigue,allaspectsofcognition,balance, vision,sensory overload,coordination,mental healthandgeneralstaminahaveallbeenaffected bytheABI.

I’vealwaysbeenanactivepersonandkeen topushthelimits of what my bodyandmind couldachieve.I thinkthat’s whyI’vealwaysloved Endurance sport. WithEndurance sport, success comesthrough stayingfocused,pushingthrough andfindingthemental strengththat youdidn’t thinkyouhad inyoutocompletea challenge. LittledidI know that allthoseyearsofrunning, cyclingandswimming wouldeventually serve anotherpurpose,that thoseskillswouldpay off inotherwayslater on inmylife.

FollowingmyABI,I wasvery keento reintroduce exerciseinto themix,a piece of the oldmewithinthe“new me”. I’mnot going to liethough,reintroducingexerciseinto my daily routinehasn’tbeeneasy. See,for a longwhile, walkingtothedairyandbackwas as much as I couldhandle.

Mypastsportingachievements seemso outofreach.However, there camea point where I madetheconsciousdecisiontostop givingencephalitisandABIsomuchpower overwhat I couldandcouldn’tdo. I felt it was timetogivethe“new me”more creditand tobelieveinmyselfonce more.That’s when I setmyselfthechallenge to partake in an all womenadventure race.I completed what I thoughtwas impossible4 timesnowandthis year, I joinedadventure racingtofundraise for more awarenessofencephalitisandABI.I successfullyreachedouttoa varietyofmedia andwas abletoshare someinsightofwhat livingwitha braininjury is like.

Overthepast2 years,I havealsostarteda blog inwhich Isharemyjourney of ABIrecovery. There is awidevarietyofsubjectsaddressed onmyWeird Wonderful Brainblog…including the notsoglamourousaspectsthat needtobe factored in my everydayroutine.

Raisingawarenessofthoseissues has enabledmetolearnmanynew skillsthat I probablywouldn’thavedevelopedotherwise. I’vediscovered that in spiteofnewlyacquired limitations,I havegrowntremendously as an individualandthat I am stillcapableofachieving great things.I havediscovered anew path,a new worth,new strengthandI am very proud supportingothersfacingsimilarchallenges.

Adventure racing for more Encephalitis & ABI awareness, Veronique – Centre front.