The Injury Changed Mom's Path—Not Her Purpose
If someone had told us years ago that a brain injury would lead Mom into national advocacy, policy work, public speaking, and helping change access to science for people with disabilities, she never would have believed them.
Like many people living with Post-Concussive Syndrome, her initial focus was simply learning how to function again. Managing symptoms. Understanding what was happening in her brain. Finding strategies that allowed her to navigate daily life.
What she didn't realize was that the challenges she faced would eventually reveal barriers that extended far beyond her own experience.
As she pursued a degree in neuroscience, worked in research environments, and navigated academia with a service dog, she encountered obstacles that had little to do with her abilities and everything to do with assumptions, policies, and systems that had never considered people like her.
The brain injury sent Mom down a path she never expected—but one that gave her a unique perspective. It taught her to question assumptions, to look for evidence, to understand systems, and to advocate for change when those systems unintentionally exclude people. The injury made her a better scientist.
Today, she is still a scientist. She spends hours conducting peer reviews on academic manuscripts, helping guide others to become more proficient academic science authors. She is still fascinated by the brain and driven by curiosity. But she has also become an advocate, helping institutions find solutions that preserve safety, maintain scientific integrity, and expand opportunity.
She would never have chosen the injury.
But she is grateful for the perspective it gave her, the people it brought into our lives, and the opportunity to help ensure that the next generation of scientists with disabilities encounters fewer barriers than we did.
Sometimes the most meaningful work comes from a path we never planned to take.
#BrainInjuryAwareness #PostConcussionSyndrome #DisabilityInSTEM #ScienceForAll #Accessibility #Advocacy #Neuroscience #Leadership #ServiceDogs #InclusionInScience
ALT Mom is sitting in a chair wearing a tan and b lack business suit. Sampson is lying at her feet wearing a red service dog vest. They are being interviewed by a man, and a videographer is recording the interview.