PERSPECTIVES
CEO of Whole30 shares her journey post-concussion
Athlete: Perspectives - MELISSA URBAN
Melissa Hartwig Urban is a Certified Sports Nutritionist who specializes in helping people change their relationship with food and create life-long, healthy habits. She is the co-creator of the original Whole30 program, a four-time New York Times bestselling author (It Starts With Food, The Whole30, Food Freedom Forever, and The Whole30 Cookbook). She has been featured by Dr. Oz, Good Morning America, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Details, Shape, Outside, and SELF, and ranked #27 on Greatists Top 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness in 2017. Melissa has presented more than 150 health and nutrition seminars worldwide, and is a prominent keynote speaker on social media and branding, health trends, and entrepreneurship.
“13 days ago, I had an accident involving an excited 6-year-old and a concrete pole. After the ringing in my ears and seeing stars died down, I thought little of it. Turns out I have a concussion.
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I look fine, minus the bruise. I feel fine, in that my body is strong and I have no bones sticking out. But to say this has turned my world upside-down is an understatement. I can’t work, train, or perform everyday tasks as usual. I can’t go to Target. I can’t meditate. Yesterday, I couldn’t sign my own name in a book. This post took me two days to write.
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I‘ll be fine. I’m in the care of a PT concussion specialist and an acupuncturist. I have an incredibly supportive boyfriend, a flexible work schedule, the financial resources to ease household burdens, and an understanding team and publisher. I’m privileged AF, I’m taking recovery seriously, and I will be fine.
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But this experience has given me incredible empathy for those of you suffering from chronic pain, chronic fatigue, or an autoimmune condition. Anything that lingers, causes suffering, and impacts your quality of life without being visible. I have THE TINIEST TASTE of what it’s like to watch someone’s gym video and think to myself, “I can’t do that right now.” To see someone hike, or take their kids bowling, or kill it in an Instagram Live and think, not today. 13 days with a limited number of spoons. That’s all I’ve experienced. Some of you have lived with this for years.
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I see you. I hear you. And I hope this experience helps me better support you. Thank you for the words of support and encouragement you have sent to me, but I’ll be fine. The best thing you can do for me right now is to lift each other up, and show yourselves grace.”
“Last night, my concussion symptoms flared like they haven’t in months. I was nauseous and dizzy, my ears were ringing, and my eyes weren’t working well together. I physically couldn’t read, and my phone still proves a headache-inducing challenge. I’m uncharacteristically anxious, still. The people and noise of the airport hurt.
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It’s been 10 months since my concussion, and I’m wondering if things will ever be “normal.” Which sounds dismal, but that’s not how it feels. Compared to how it WAS, I’m doing fantastic, and I can handle a few days of symptoms as the price for an epic trip like this.
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What got me through then, and what gets me through now, is gratitude. I’d heard about how powerful it was; making yourself acknowledge even the smallest good things in your life. But it always sounded kind of forced and cheesy... until I really needed it. And back in January, when symptoms were really bad and getting worse, gratitude saved my mental health.
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I was relentlessly grateful through the worst of it, because I didn’t know what else to do. I clung to it like a life vest. And slowly, it pulled me out of my depression. “Last week, you couldn’t have compiled that email.” “Last month, you would have killed just to be IN the gym.” And today: “Remember January, when you couldn’t sign your own name in a book? You did that 200 times at this week’s event.”
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I have never had to work so hard to be grateful for the smallest things. That is perhaps the biggest lesson of this accident, and the biggest blessing.
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What were you praying for then? What are you grateful for now?”
Thank you Melissa for helping to inspire athletes recovering from injuries across the globe!