Mind Matters: Navigating Head Injuries and Concussions – Surviving a Concussion: Dawn Szombathy’s Brain Injury Story
Picture this: you’re on a quiet beach, finding a moment of peace after months of personal loss and stress. Then, in a split second, everything changes. One misstep. A fall. A crack you hear inside your own head. And life is never the same again.
That’s how recovery began for Dawn Szombathy, a vibrant, active woman who had just moved to Port Townsend, Washington, during the pandemic. She was working full-time remotely as a visual designer, adjusting to a new city and still grieving two heartbreaking losses: a friend’s suicide and the tragic death of a coworker due to domestic violence.
In the latest episode of Mind Matters: Navigating Head Injuries and Concussions, host Kiley Como, Legal Nurse Consultant at Shane Smith Law, sat down with Dawn to explore the very personal, raw, and revealing first chapter of her traumatic brain injury (TBI) journey.
A Fall That Changed Everything
On a rare dry day in December 2021, Dawn went for a run on the beach, a familiar and peaceful place. As she stepped onto a large piece of driftwood, her footing slipped. She expected a minor fall. Instead, she slammed headfirst into a rock, hearing a distinct internal crack as her head became wedged between that rock and another log.
In that moment, no one saw what happened. She got up, disoriented and alone, and jogged back home, something she now knows likely worsened her injuries.
When “I’m Fine” Isn’t
The signs came quickly: losing her train of thought during Zoom calls, extreme fatigue, and an inability to retain what she read. At first, she chalked it up to stress and exhaustion. Even friends with medical backgrounds initially thought she’d be okay. But things didn’t get better.
It wasn’t her first concussion. She expected to bounce back. But weeks turned into months. By the following summer, she had been to the ER for severe vomiting and migraines after a hike, lost her job, and moved in with her mother, who didn’t fully understand how impaired Dawn really was.
“I had to tell her very directly, more than once, I’m not okay,” Dawn said. “And it took me a long time to realize that myself.”
Barriers to Care
Dawn’s journey through the healthcare system was fraught with frustration. At the time of her fall, she didn’t have insurance. The first doctor she saw months later dismissed her symptoms and offered a generic sleep hygiene handout. “He told me I had to start sleeping before they could treat my headaches. I left feeling worse,” she recalled.
Being in a rural area only made access harder. It took over a year before she found a supportive network through a Portland-based TBI nonprofit. “Talking to someone who understood, that was the first real breakthrough.”
The Invisible Recovery
Dawn’s story underscores what many TBI survivors experience: delayed symptoms, disbelief from others, and a lack of clear medical guidance. “Recovery isn’t linear,” she says. “It doesn’t look the same for everyone.”
For Dawn, part of healing has been learning to ask for help, even when it’s uncomfortable. “I didn’t know what I could ask for or how to ask,” she said. Over time, she built a patchwork of support, friends, therapists, a support group, and began to redefine what recovery could look like.
Why Stories Like Dawn’s Matter
At Shane Smith Law, we hear these stories all the time; clients living with symptoms no one can see, struggling to get care, and trying to be heard. Dawn’s story is powerful not just because of what she’s survived, but because of what she’s chosen to share.
Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll dig deeper into Dawn’s ongoing recovery, her fight to reclaim identity, and how she turned hardship into advocacy.
💬 Have you or someone you love gone through a similar experience? What stood out to you most in those early weeks? Leave a comment below. Your voice could help someone else feel seen.
Related Post:
“You’re Not Alone”: Rediscovering Identity and Hope After Brain Injury (Part 2 of Dawn’s Story)
