Alicia Jensen, Coping With Post-Concussion Syndrome
A native of Cherry Hill, NJ, Alicia is a student at Towson University studying communications. In high school, Alicia played both soccer and lacrosse in addition to being a honors student. In the spring of 2012, her sophomore year of high school, a concussion in a soccer game left her with every post-concussion symptom in the book. Alicia was ultimately told that she would never be able to play soccer or lacrosse ever again and would never be able to fulfill her dream of being a collegiate athlete.
Alicia graduated from high school on time while on a 504 plan and while still fighting post-concussion symptoms. She has made it her mission to raise awareness about concussions. Alicia has spoken at the United Nations as the only female and amateur athlete on a panel with numerous professional athletes during the 2014 #C4CT Concussion Awareness Summit. In 2015, Alicia was appointed a Student Ambassador on the National Council on Youth Sports Safety.
In episode 16, Alicia discusses some of her darkest moments during her post-concussion recovery and gives advice to those who may be feeling the same as she did. Alicia has been suffering from post-concussion syndrome for the past 4 years and has seen over 25 medical specialists in an attempt to ease her symptoms. She specifically mentions her work with Dr. Angelo Colavita, who is an Atlas Chiropractic, alleviating some of her headache pain. In addition, Alicia provides insight into the importance of a 504 plan for a student athlete dealing with post-concussion symptoms.
I (Kevin) connected with Alicia via Jay Fraga's "The Knockout Project," which is a blog dedicated to spreading concussion awareness. If you enjoyed this episode go over to Jay's website at http://theknockoutproject.org/ . There you will find accounts of athletes who suffer from post-concussion symptoms. You are not alone!
Where can you find Alicia? Instagram | Twitter | KO Project
