The story of how one young woman's fight with meningitis led to an acquired brain injury.
WARNING: Content may be graphic to some.
Wonderful Minds Podcast Episode 1: Life with an Acquired Brain Injury
Life can change in an instant with an acquired brain injury, a type of brain damage caused by infection, disease, lack of oxygen, or trauma.
Regardless of severity and cause, brain injuries have a devastating impact on not only the individual, but their families. There may be permanent changes to the victim’s cognition or personality. Stress escalates, confusion arises, and the experience can lead to feelings of isolation – a fear of being forever misunderstood.
For Sara Rand, it all started with an unbearable headache in 2018. Pressure swelled in her head and her vision blurred when she stood. After several days of seemingly never-ending symptoms, the 28-year-old death investigator from Champaign County, Illinois knew she needed to seek help. After three days in the hospital, Sara was diagnosed with meningitis, a deadly infection of the meninges, the membranes surrounding the spinal cord and brain.
Over the next several weeks, Sara’s symptoms continued to advance. Her short-term memory began to fail, often misplacing things and becoming disorganized. Speaking and word finding became difficult and she developed a stutter – something she has never had before. Sara said, “I took a dramatic functional decline.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2018 Meningitis Report, up to 50% of cases with untreated meningitis resulted in death, and nearly 15% of those who recovered from the life-threatening condition suffered an acquired brain injury or learning disabilities. Meningitis swells the brain and spinal cord so severely that the brain can lose the ability to drain cerebrospinal fluid. If improperly treated, this inflammation can stop the flow of oxygen to the brain, and in the most severe cases, cause brain lesions. The damage is irreversible, and those who suffer have to cope with the outcomes for the rest of their lives.
In July 2019, Sara received the devastating news that she had a four-millimeter lesion on the front-right part of her brain – the meningitis had developed an acquired brain injury that led to severe cognitive impairment of her concentration, speech, memory, and organization. Even with therapy, Sara will never gain more than 60% over her overall brain function again.
Regardless of her follow-on treatments and therapies, Sara’s pain still did not cease, and her functionality continued to falter. Her doctors at the time alluded her pain was indicative of her stressful work environment, sleep deprivation, anxiety, and other conditions they would not test her for.
With her medical expertise and background as an autopsy technician, Sara knew something was still not right. Shortly after, Sara demanded a referral to be examined by a neurosurgeon. On August 25, 2020, Sara was rushed into surgery due to an insurmountable cerebrospinal fluid buildup in her brain. Excess white blood cells from the initial meningitis infection had clogged her brain’s ability to drain, and the only treatment was to have a shunt, or hollow tube, surgically placed in the brain to channel fluid to a separate location in the body where it can be reabsorbed.
Finally, after a two-year battle with unbearable pain and cognitive decline, Sara has returned to work full-time and started applying coping mechanisms to supplement her cognitive deficiencies. If you wish to hear more about Sara’s incredible story, how she overcame this phenomenon, how she is coping with it today, and her advice to others who are going through something similar, please listen to the podcast listed at the top of this page.
Brain injuries are highly unpredictable and affect everyone differently. The brain is the most complex organ in the human body and can change everything in a span of seconds if damaged.
You can find more information on brain injuries, true stories, and seek help at the Brain Injury Association of America.
If you or a loved one has sustained a brain injury, remember that you are not alone in this fight.
The images below may be graphic to some. All photos have been donated by Sara Rand.
In August 2020, Sara Rand had to receive surgery for a shunt, a hollow tube that is placed in the brain to drain fluid. She had to cut her hair in preparation for the surgery.
Sara Rand currently serves as a Deputy Coroner at the Champaign County, Illinois Coroner's Office. She is a board certified medicolegal death investigator with the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI). She also has professional memberships with the International Association for Identification and the National Association of Medical Examiners.
Sara has returned to work full time, utilizing coping mechanisms to accommodate her cognitive deficiencies.