Do Less – Bryony’s Story
The road to recovery after traumatic brain injury looks different for everyone, and the right pace is the one that works for you. Today, we would like to introduce Bryony Matthews, an Ōtautahi Christchurch-based musician, mother, and someone who has learned how to find the right pace in her recovery after an injury.
In July 2023, Bryony was knocked off a scooter after colliding with a pedestrian, unaware of their surroundings. While the pedestrian was fine, Bryony fell hard and hit her head on the road. She was rushed to the hospital, where surgeons were called in for emergency surgery after scans revealed bleeding in the brain. Bryony spent two weeks in hospital, with four days in ICU following her surgery.
Fortunately, Bryony woke with her memory intact. However, after further appointments and surgeries, the challenges that arose from her injury became clear: an overwhelming fatigue that meant help was needed by others for simple tasks, walking became slow and for short bursts; broken bones in her ears led to overwhelming tinnitus and loss of hearing; vertigo and eye fatigue made her feel stuck in a brain fog; sensory overload made places with bright light difficult to be in; and her relationship to socialising was challenged.
“Socialising sometimes gave me a feeling of heavy depression,” says Bryony. “I was trying so hard to be my old self, but everything was so difficult, and no one could see that on the outside. I found myself trying to explain things to people who would ask me how I was, and that would be incredibly draining and depressing”
Three weeks after her injury, Bryony was referred to the Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust.
“When arriving at LFBIT, I was a terrible mess. After talking to my occupational therapist, I came outside and broke into tears out of sheer relief knowing that there were people to help me through everything. I didn’t realise the stress I’d been feeling from trying to figure out how to recover. To this day, I call OT’s angels; they are there to help you through everything from ACC admin to just talking and guiding you through life.”
Bryony worked with a physiotherapist to help ease challenges around her fractured jaw and eye fatigue, as well as management for vertigo. She also worked with a neuropsychologist, who helped her work through the stress and feelings that come with having to face a new way of life.
“Knowing that I had them to fall back on took off such a weight. Their kindness and patience with me made me always feel at ease.”
Two years on, and Bryony is doing very well in her recovery. She is back to work, working reduced hours and many from home to manage fatigue. While she still faces fatigue and finds frustrating moments of forgetfulness or clumsiness, she is living life to the full and has accepted that things may never go back to the way it was.
“The bittersweet silver lining of this journey is that I was forced to stop and slow down. While working with my neuropsychologist, I took on a new mantra: ‘Do Less.’ This is something I constantly remind myself. I have become aware of how strong, resilient and persistent I am. At times I felt weak and miserable, but I have such an amazing community of family and friends who have made me see how well I have done and am doing, and I know that they are right.”
Day to day, Bryony loves spending time with her young family, travelling together, and working on music and art. Currently, her focus is on producing a six-song album and live performance to tell the story of her injury. To raise funds, she has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign, which you can find at the bottom of this page. The project aims to help people understand what it is like to go through recovery, as well as give a voice to those with TBI by making the invisible visible to others.
Being patient, kind and understanding with yourself is advice that Bryony would give to anyone going through recovery.
“This kind of recovery can be very long and is not linear. You may feel like you are doing so incredibly well, and then crash back to feeling awful; that is ok. It is important to work hard, but also to let yourself rest and surrender to what you cannot instantly fix. Listen to your body, don’t push yourself too hard. Do less, be aware and be grateful for the small, beautiful things that make life wonderful.”
Thank you, Bryony, for taking the time to share your journey. We wish you the very best in your continued recovery and ambitions with your new record! You can find more information about Bryony’s album and Kickstarter campaign below.
