Patient Story: Life and sport after TBI

“We all only have one life, and we should use it.”, says Antonia, 27 years from Munich, starting the conversation. At the age of 18, she suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). She spent around 1½ years in the hospital. Read our article, to find out how she is doing today and her recipe for staying positive.

Back to life after a TBI

At the end of 2012, Antonia fell out of a window from a height of about 65 feet onto cobblestones. She suffered a traumatic brain injury, numerous internal hemorrhages, a bilateral pneumothorax, multiple upper and lower leg fractures, multiple pelvic fractures, and coccyx, cheekbone, and orbital fractures.

“The prognosis is poor. If she wakes up, it is possible that she will stay in a vegetative state. It may be that she will no longer speak or recognize friends and family and will no longer be able to stand or run. She might not survive the next two months.”, Antonia´s family was told after the accident.

Antonia proved them wrong. Six weeks after the accident she gradually woke up from the coma.

“All over the room, we arranged pictures of Toni with her siblings, family, and friends, to fetch her back to life. When we were picking the pictures, we noticed that there was not a single picture of her where she was not laughing. She is a cheerful soul.”, says Antonia’s mother in the interview.

Ten weeks after the accident she slowly recovered consciousness. “At first I wasn’t sure whether I was still dreaming or already awake.”, says Antonia about the initial period after the coma.

Rehabilitation after TBI

Toni, as she is called by her family, surprised doctors and nurses time after time with new progress. For a long time, it was uncertain whether she would be able to see from her left eye, which had been severely damaged. “I had to close my healthy eye and count the number of fingers the doctors and therapists held up, so that they would believe me when I said I could see again.”, laughs Antonia today.

Toni’s social environment was her biggest source of support during her time in the hospital. Every day she was visited by at least one family member. Her friends took turns, making sure that Antonia was regularly with the people most important to her for 1½ years.

Now, around nine years after the accident, Antonia can walk, speak, and follow an almost normal everyday life. She still has a left-side hemiparesis, causing limited movement in her left hand and leg.

Gait training after TBI

Antonia’s physical therapy includes regular sessions at the Centre for Hand Therapy and Ergotherapy Laborn in Munich with robotic rehab equipment. She primarily uses Amadeo and Lexo for her rehabilitation.

She is especially delighted by the gait trainer Lexo: “I love being able to feel speed and physical strain again on the Lexo. The flow feels almost like jogging!”