Alabama woman talks overcoming traumatic brain injury, becoming teacher

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — According to the Brain Injury Association of America, one in ten children in the United States experience a traumatic brain injury each year.

TBIs are more common than you’d think.

For Heather Pierce, a concussion-turned-TBI she sustained during her senior year of high school turned her life upside down. About a decade later, she’s sharing her story to raise awareness about brain injuries.

“I always say take your concussions seriously,” Pierce dsif. “I mean, I took all four of mine seriously, but you know it just depends on how hard the hit was.”

Pierce played soccer and hockey growing up and said concussions were just part of playing contact sports. She said she racked up a total of four, but it was her last concussion that did a number on her.

Pierce said that while trying out for the James Clemens High School soccer team her senior year, she was hit in the back of the head.

She said that the concussion “lasted eight months and turned into a traumatic brain injury.” Pierce ended up having to finish her senior year of high school at home because of complications from the TBI.

Pierce finished high school, but she said it was challenging because she had to overcome memory loss and re-learn things like basic math.

“I really had to put in effort to retain the most basic information,” she said. “It was really a struggle.”

The Brain Injury Association of America says at least 64 million adults report having one or more TBI’s in their lifetime.

News 19 also reached out to the Alabama Head Injury Foundation to learn more about symptoms and what resources are available. Executive director Scott Powell said a TBI “can affect your balance, your ability to walk, you can affect your vision, it can affect your hearing, it can affect your mood.”

Powell said TBIs can also cause depression, anxiety, memory issues and trouble finding the right words when speaking. He said a traumatic brain injury can be caused by a wide range of factors and can affect everyone differently. He encourages people to be their own advocates when it comes to care.

“There is no better person to understand that there’s something off within you than you,” Powell said. “You know your brain, and if it doesn’t feel like something is correct, then the worst thing you can do is try and continue on with your daily life like nothing is wrong.”

Pierce said that when she was working through her TBI, she had to go to several doctors and specialists to get the care she needed.

She also had to adjust her learning style in college. She recalled the impact it made on her when one professor would work with her and give her more multiple choice questions, rather than short answer questions.

“She would give me extra multiple choice because we found out that my brain, it was in there, I had learned it, but I just couldn’t pull it out without having some form of multiple choice question,” Pierce said.

Pierce said it took her seven years to get her degree, but that looking back, she wouldn’t change her journey.

“I think it made me a better teacher because of it,” she said.

She is now in her third year of teaching in the public school system. Pierce said she believes that working through her TBI helped her to understand that different students may need different things to succeed in the classroom.

“All of your students are a little bit different, and what works for one person might not work for the next,” she said.

With March being Brain Injury Awareness Month, Pierce said it’s important to recognize that not all injuries and disabilities are visible on the outside.

“Not all concussions look the same way,” Pierce said. “One thing I think is really important is that not all disabilities are visible. So most of the people, when I was going through the throes of my traumatic brain injury, would be like, ‘Well, you don’t look like it’, and it’s like, ‘Well, just because you can’t see that I’m struggling with something doesn’t mean that it’s not happening.'”

“I think that’s a good reminder for everybody,” Pierce said. “Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not affecting someone.”

Now that Pierce is into adulthood and has overcome her TBI, she is slowly getting back into playing sports. She said she has joined an adult soccer league in Huntsville.

She said it’s been great to get back out there and be active, but that she’s not taking as many risks as she used to “back in the day.”

Pierce said she feels like in recent years the conversation surrounding concussions and TBIs has become more common, but that there’s “still work to do.”

Powell agrees. He said in addition to getting medical care, people should make sure they are getting any necessary mental health help.

The Alabama Head Injury Foundation offers free mental health counseling, support groups and resources. You can find out more about their resources by clicking here.