- MY NAME IS AMY DICKINSON, I'M A NAVY VETERAN,
AND I'M GULF WAR ONE ERA.
I HAVE A MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY.
YOU CAN PROBABLY SEE THE SCAR.
I HAVE A SCAR RIGHT OVER MY RIGHT EYE,
RIGHT THROUGH THE EYEBROW.
I GOT HIT WITH THE KNIFE EDGE OF A STEEL DOOR ON THE SHIP
THAT I WAS ON, AND IT KNOCKED ME BACK ON THE DECK,
AND KNOCKED ME LOOPY.
I WAS HEARING BELLS AND SEEING STARS,
AND THIS WAS IN 1997,
BEFORE THEY KNEW ABOUT BRAIN INJURIES
OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
THE DOCS TOLD ME-- THEY DIDN'T TAKE ANY CT SCANS,
NO MRIs, NO X-RAYS, NO NOTHING,
AND THEY GAVE ME SOME ICE, SOME 100-MG MOTRIN,
AND SAID, "YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A SHINER."
[LAUGHS] IT CAUSED MORE DAMAGE THAN THAT.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, IT WASN'T UNTIL 13 YEARS LATER
THAT I WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO GET HELP FOR IT,
BUT THE HELP HAS COME, AND IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL, SO...
BEFORE I STARTED WITH BOTH POLYTRAUMA
AND THE REHABILITATIVE YOGA, I WOULD GET UP EVERY MORNING--
I LIVE IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY,
SO IT'S AN AGRICULTURAL AREA,
AND SO IF YOU'VE GOT ALLERGIES, YOU'LL HAVE THEM ALL YEAR.
I WOULD GET UP EVERY MORNING
AND I WOULD TAKE ALLERGY MEDICATION,
MY ANTI-DEPRESSANT,
WHICH COMES WITH THE BRAIN INJURY,
AND SOME SUDAFED TO HELP KEEP ME A LITTLE DRIER
AND PRETTY HEAVY-DUTY PAIN MEDICATIONS,
EVERY SINGLE DAY,
WHICH IT'S NOT GOOD FOR YOUR KIDNEYS,
IT'S NOT GOOD FOR YOUR LIVER, IT'S NOT GOOD FOR ANYTHING,
BUT IT WOULD HELP ME JUST GET THROUGH THE DAY,
IT'D HELP ME FUNCTION,
BECAUSE I WOULD LITERALLY BE TENSE, STRESSED, HEADACHES.
I GET MIGRAINES ANYWAY,
AND THEN THIS JUST ADDS TO IT WITH ANXIETY,
IT ADDS TO IT WITH STRESS AND TENSION.
AND SINCE I HAVE BEEN IN THE PROGRAM
BOTH WITH POLYTRAUMA AND THE REHAB YOGA,
I DON'T NEED THE PAIN MEDICATION EVERY SINGLE DAY.
EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, BECAUSE, YES, I DO GET THEM,
AND, YES, I DO HAVE ACTUAL INJURIES
THAT DO REQUIRE A LITTLE EXTRA HELP.
I'VE BEEN ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, WORK THROUGH IT.
IT'S BEEN FANTASTIC.
YOU BREATHE INTO THE ISSUES,
YOU CAN CALM DOWN, YOU CAN STRETCH, YOU KNOW.
WORKING WITH THE EYE THERAPY, WORKING WITH THE YOGAS,
WORKING WITH THE PHYSICAL THERAPY,
IT HELPS YOU WALK STRAIGHTER,
IT HELPS YOU NOT HAVE SO MUCH EYE FATIGUE,
IT HELP YOU BREATHE INTO THE TENSION.
AND SO THE MEDICATION--
AND MY ANXIETY MEDICATION HAS BEEN CUT IN HALF,
SO THE PRESCRIPTION WENT DOWN.
SO, IT'S BEEN A GOOD EXPERIENCE THE WHOLE WAY AROUND.
IT'S A BIG DEAL.
I THINK THE VA GIVES US A LOT OF MEDICATION.
[CHUCKLES] A LOT OF MEDICATION.
AND SO IT'S BETTER, I THINK, IF WE CAN...HEALTHIER OPTIONS,
SO WE CAN BREATHE THROUGH IT, IF WE CAN STRETCH THROUGH IT,
IF WE CAN WORK THROUGH IT, BECAUSE THE MEDICATIONS
ARE GREAT FOR SHORT TERM,
THEY'RE GREAT FOR, YOU KNOW, QUICK FIXES,
BUT THEY DON'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM,
WHEREAS THE STRENGTHENING CORE,
STRENGTHENING YOUR MUSCLES, LEARNING RELAXATION TECHNIQUES
THAT YOU CAN JUST USE ON THE FLY,
THAT HELPS SOLVE THE PROBLEM IN THE LONG TERM.
I USE THE RELAXATION TECHNIQUES AT HOME, I DON'T ALWAYS--
I'M A MOTHER OF 5. HA HA! I'M A PTA PRESIDENT,
I'M A MOTHER OF 5, I'M A VETERAN ADVOCATE.
I DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TIME TO DO
EVERYTHING THAT I DO AT MY APPOINTMENTS,
WHICH IS WHY I TAKE MY APPOINTMENTS SO SERIOUSLY,
BECAUSE THAT'S TIME SET ASIDE JUST FOR THAT.
BUT I DO STRETCH WHEN I GET A FREE MINUTE,
AND I DO BREATHE WHEN I GET A FREE MINUTE.
IT'S LIKE, "OKAY, I LOVE YOU, SWEETHEART,
BUT JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE."
[LAUGHS]
I'LL BE RIGHT THERE, AND I'LL STRETCH IT,
AND BREATHE IT, AND I'LL CALM DOWN.
OKAY, WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE IT RIGHT?
LET'S FIX THE PROBLEM, I'M TALKING TO MY CHILDREN.
I BELIEVE EVERYONE SHOULD GIVE IT A TRY,
BECAUSE, EVEN IF YOGA SPECIFICALLY ISN'T ONE OF THOSE
THAT'S NECESSARILY RIGHT FOR YOU,
THERE ARE OTHER FORMS, LIKE TAI CHI OR CHAIR YOGA.
EVERYTHING IS MODIFIED, EVERYTHING CAN BE MODIFIED
SO IT'S INDIVIDUALIZED FOR THE VETERAN,
FOR THE VETERAN'S NEEDS.
LIKE I SAID, I HAVE A BRAIN INJURY,
WHICH MEANS I HAVE VESTIBULAR ISSUES,
WHICH MEANS I GET DIZZY,
AND SO, WHILE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CLASS
MAY BE STANDING UP DOING THEIR STRETCHES,
I'M DOWN ON MY KNEES,
BECAUSE IF I STAY UP TOO MUCH LONGER I MAY FALL OVER.
SO EVERYTHING CAN BE MODIFIED AND INDIVIDUALIZED
FOR WHAT YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS ARE AS A VETERAN WITH INJURIES.