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“It never occurred to me that maybe the problem wasn’t me…that it was because brain injury is extraordinarily complex, and we’re still only beginning to understand the impact it can have long after you’ve supposedly recovered.”
As she grappled with the complexities of her own recovery, she launched a brain recovery charity “SameYou,” the name of which is a nod to returning to the self you were before the brain trauma.
“Today we have tens of thousands of survivors in our community saying essentially the same thing: the journey to healing feels like falling off the edge of a cliff without anyone there to catch you,” she said.
As for her own recovery, Clarke said she now has the “energy and positivity I had in my twenties” after working with neuroscientist David Putrino at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
“When you think about who you are – your personality, your intellect, your humor, your memories, your excellent taste – where do they live? Your mind.”
“And when that fails you, it can shake your trust in yourself. It can leave you frightened and convinced you’ll never be who you were again,” she said.