The article tells the story of a young economist, Anne Forrest, whose world was turned upside-down after a minor traffic accident caused her to suffer mild traumatic brain injury. Because she showed no physical sign of injury, some doctors did not believe she was injured, even though she could not do basic tasks such as dial a phone number. She was written off as depressed or crazy. So began a journey in which she fought the medical and insurance establishments to receive appropriate medical care, as she struggled to rebuild her life.
The story reveals that Ms. ForrestÕs ordeal is unfortunately all too common: Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is perhaps the most overlooked, misdiagnosed, and misunderstood health issue in this country, even though 1.4 million Americans sustain a brain injury each year. The number of soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with brain injuriesÑmore than a quarter of all U.S. troops evacuated from the fieldÑmakes this not only a timely but important public health concern.
Anne ForrestÕs recovery also sheds new light on brain injury: She has surprised doctors with what she has recovered and how, and her progress has challenged some long-held assumptions about brain injury.