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• Born through desperation, fear, pain, frustration, anger, harsh lessons learned

• Nine years in the making as I struggled to understand, get better, and return to teaching

• Created to help others not feel overwhelmed or alone

• Increase awareness of head injuries and what concussions can do​​

• Illustrate the journey from knowing little to much

• Discovering, researching, utilizing multitude of resources, therapies, and tools

• If we only knew how and where to get them when injured

• Share ​PCS (Post-concussion Syndrome) lingering symptoms long after they should go away

• Setbacks, obstacles as my PCS mixed with and made ongoing health problems worse

"I had to deal with frustration, recall issues, flooding from multiple senses, stuttering,

a claw, pressure on my forehead, fatigue that had me crying on my bathroom floor."

Francene Gillis

How I Learned​

• Swallowed my pride and asked for help

• Asked medical practitioners, therapists and those with invisible injuries questions 

• Discovered what I needed: knowledge, resources, organizations, clinics, therapists, tips ​

Within the Pages

• My Journey around what was going on with me

• Education section where experts in the field inform and make people more aware

• Treatment section of possibilities for therapy and recovery

• In A Heartbeat: seven phenomenal stories from people faced with the unexpected

• Inspirational, healing themes of strength, courage, resilience, tenacity ​

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Caution ... no two concussions are the same

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• I grieved, fought to accept changes, deal with not being able to do what I once could

• About 15-25% develop PCS, 80% vestibular and visual problems​​

• Most people recover in 14-30 days and have few repercussions

• Do not be discouraged. I was 58 when I fell; my head bounced on concrete; I had a whiplash, other health problems, was in poor, physical shape

• Doctors do not know necessarily, how long recovery will take