My Story

" . . . my most uttered phrase “I don’t know” reflected my state of health and care."
 Laura Cook


Born and raised in Coquitlam, I trained in Fine Arts and worked in Film Arts until I was in an accident at 24 years old. Minutes after leaving my grandmother’s house, a Semi truck rear ended my best friend and I on Thanksgiving weekend 2003, completely destroying her Ford Tempo. We had stopped at a red light on Highway 97 in Kelowna but the trucker missed the light and drove through us. Neither of us had any broken bones or cuts and we were taken to Kelowna General Hospital for observation.

I was not myself

My best friend noted to the paramedics and Doctors that I was not myself. I personally have no recollection of the impact, trip to the hospital or arrival, and only remember  waking up to a doctor walking away saying, “if she starts to throw up, we will order a CAT scan” conveniently, I started throwing up.  The CAT scan came back fine and I was released to go home the next morning.

40 mini seizures a day

I never really knew what I was experiencing at the time, I only figured out after a few months that things were wrong with my brain and body. My word recall was severely limited, and I could not seem to grasp what I felt. I became severely cutoff from my friends and family, as I could not communicate clearly. I had hit my head hard in the accident and was suffering from a lot of migraines and head pain. Above anxiety, I experienced multiple tiny shakes or petite mal seizures everyday, at least 4 or 5 an hour or 40 a day. I did not connect to my personality, I never knew who I was inside, I felt like an empty shell of a being. To the severe frustration of those around me, my most uttered phrase “I don’t know” reflected my state of health and  care.

Infinite love and patience

Orthopedic Analysis, Psychoanalysis, MRI’s, CAT scans, therapists, Massage therapy, chiropractic, Anti Depressant drugs, and of course more Anti depressant drugs led me no where, worse than before and lost. Through everything, my partner supported and loved me and gave me infinite patience. Without which I am not sure I would have been able to recover so well.

kale smoothies eliminated the seizures

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