[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2023\/09\/sarahs-story-how-the-upmc-sports-medicine-concussion-program-changed-the-life-of-an-oscar-winning-writer-and-director\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2023\/09\/sarahs-story-how-the-upmc-sports-medicine-concussion-program-changed-the-life-of-an-oscar-winning-writer-and-director\/","headline":"Sarah’s Story: How the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program Changed the Life of an Oscar-Winning Writer and Director","name":"Sarah’s Story: How the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program Changed the Life of an Oscar-Winning Writer and Director","description":"More than three years after a fire extinguisher fell on her head, Canadian screenwriter-director and former actor and child star Sarah Polley was still struggling with crippling concussion symptoms. Learn how Sarah made a full recovery \u2014 and won an Oscar\u00ae for Women Talking \u2014 after receiving care from Michael \u201cMicky” Collins, PhD, at the […]","datePublished":"2023-09-19","dateModified":"2024-02-27","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/","name":"UPMC","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/upmc\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Sarah_Polley_Photo__281_29.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Sarah_Polley_Photo__281_29.jpg","height":1422,"width":2048},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2023\/09\/sarahs-story-how-the-upmc-sports-medicine-concussion-program-changed-the-life-of-an-oscar-winning-writer-and-director\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tIOgyrbMo0o#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tIOgyrbMo0o","name":"Return to Play After Concussion | UPMC Sports Medicine","description":"Experts at the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program have spent more than two decades perfecting the diagnoses and management of concussions through active treatment.","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/tIOgyrbMo0o\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/tIOgyrbMo0o\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/tIOgyrbMo0o\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/tIOgyrbMo0o\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/tIOgyrbMo0o\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2021-12-01T16:20:21+00:00","duration":"PT11M43S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tIOgyrbMo0o","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCieWcGaXf-a2z0ADF-OoCqQ#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCieWcGaXf-a2z0ADF-OoCqQ","name":"UPMC","description":"As one of the leading nonprofit health systems in the United States, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) develops and delivers Life Changing Medicine.  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Learn how Sarah made a full recovery \u2014 and won an Oscar\u00ae for Women Talking \u2014 after receiving care from Michael \u201cMicky” Collins, PhD, at the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program.The Challenge: A Life-Altering ConcussionIn 2015, Sarah Polley, then 36, was rummaging through the lost-and-found box at her local community center in Toronto, Canada, when a large fire extinguisher fell off the wall, striking the side of her head and jaw. It was a life-changing blow for the busy mom, wife, screenwriter, and filmmaker.Despite an aching jaw, she left the center to pick up her child from preschool. Outside, she was immediately overwhelmed by light and noise. \u201cI couldn’t think straight,” says Sarah. \u201cI couldn’t walk straight, everything slowed down. The noise was unbearable. Going out into the street was bewildering.”That night she called her sister, a family doctor in British Columbia, who suspected she’d had a concussion. Initially, Sarah felt dizzy, confused, and nauseous. Then came the headaches \u2014 migraines so severe she felt her brain was hemorrhaging. Unable to write or even look at a computer screen for more than a few minutes at a time, she had to back out of the screenplay she was writing for the remake of Little Women.Over the next three years, Sarah saw a half dozen specialists with conflicting instructions \u2014 some helped, some didn’t, none lasted. \u201cA lot of the advice I got was, ‘Lie in a dark room, rest, listen to your body,'” she says. As time went on, Sarah improved slightly, but with limitations. \u201cI still wasn’t working. I couldn’t be in a crowded room or go grocery shopping,” she says.Then, Sarah’s concussion symptoms roared back following the birth of her third child in 2018. \u201cI was no longer functional,” she says. \u201cI felt scared all the time \u2014 scared that I was missing my kids’ childhoods, that I’d never work again, and I’d have this incredibly limited life.”Sarah’s Path to UPMCSarah learned about the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program from a friend who’d gone there for treatment after struggling for years with her own concussion symptoms. The friend emailed Sarah a link to a video of the program’s director, Michael \u201cMicky” Collins, PhD, describing concussions.After listening to Dr. Collins, Sarah finally understood the mechanics of what happened to her. She also heard: \u201cConcussions are manageable. Concussions are treatable.”In April 2019, Sarah traveled to Pittsburgh where Dr. Collins diagnosed her with a primary vestibular concussion with post-traumatic migraine and anxiety.\u201cThe vestibular system is responsible for interpreting movement, motion, and sensory integration, like lights, noises, balance, being in busy environments, and riding in cars,” explains Dr. Collins. \u201cIt is connected to the nervous system, which shares the same pathways in the brain.”Her vestibular problem had switched on her anxiety, which led to migraines. \u201cSarah needed to retrain her brain to break that communication,” says Dr. Collins.Run Towards the DangerSarah says she’ll never forget what Dr. Collins told her in that first meeting: \u201cIf you remember only one thing from this meeting, remember this: Run towards the danger.”\u201cIn order for my brain to recover, I had to retrain it by charging towards the very activities that triggered my symptoms,” says Sarah. \u201cThis was a paradigm shift for me \u2014 to greet and welcome the things I had previously avoided.”During her visit, Sarah met with other members of the concussion team, including vestibular therapist Anne Mucha, PT, DPT, MS, NCS. After an examination and a series of tests, the team prescribed a personalized treatment plan that included a daily regimen of rigorous physical and vestibular exercises. Activities she had avoided because they triggered symptoms were now on her daily \u201cto-do” list, including grocery shopping, socializing, screen time, driving, and going to film sets.Contrary to earlier advice to stop activities when she felt uncomfortable, Dr. Collins instructed Sarah to keep pushing. Instead of resting, she needed to do exercises or go for a fast walk. It would take hard work, but she would recover. Before she left, he said: \u201cWhat you’ve been doing so far hasn’t worked that well. So, it’s worth giving it a real try.”\u201cIt was very empowering,” says Sarah. \u201cIn that moment, Dr. Collins made me believe I was actually very strong and capable of doing this.”A Life RenewedWhen Sarah returned home to Toronto, she followed her prescribed treatment plan to the letter \u2014 faithfully doing her exercises and filling her days with errands, chores, writing, and socializing. Her children helped with some of her therapy, including a vestibular exercise that involved tossing a ball around her back, then quickly turning to catch the ball they tossed back to her.\u201cI had faith because I’d seen firsthand someone who got better by following Dr. Collins’ advice to the letter,” says Sarah. \u201cMy kids had faith because they saw me doing something active to deal with the concussion instead of lying down and napping. They were excited to be part of it \u2014 and that was very motivating.”Just two weeks later, Sarah went to a restaurant with her husband and another couple. Halfway through dinner, she realized that for the first time in more than three years, she was following a conversation and contributing \u2014 and without feeling pain.\u201cFrom that moment on, I knew it was going to work,” says Sarah. By the time she returned to Pittsburgh for her six-week follow-up, she was \u201ccompletely better. The headaches, brain fog, confusion, dizziness, and fatigue were gone,” she says.Sarah was an \u201coutstanding patient,” says Dr. Collins. \u201cIt wasn’t easy. But she embraced what we said and did everything she needed to succeed. As a clinician, it’s very rewarding to see how far she’s come.”A Powerful Impact\u201cRun towards the danger” became Sarah’s mantra \u2014 and the title of her memoir: Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory. In her book, which was published in 2022, Sarah includes a chapter detailing her concussion story and acknowledges Dr. Collins, Anne Mucha, and the UPMC concussion team \u201cwho gave me my brain and my life back.”In 2023, Sarah won an Academy Award\u00ae for the screen adaptation of Women Talking, which includes a scene she says came directly out of her UPMC experience. \u201cThe women are leaving, and they’re saying, ‘We’re terrified but we’re going to do this anyway,'” says Sarah.Sarah continues to tell her story whenever she gets the chance. She’s done countless interviews and even appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Her words have had a powerful impact, says Dr. Collins.\u201cHundreds and hundreds of patients have come to us because of Sarah,” he says. \u201cBecause of what she wrote, they come here knowing that we’re going to push them. They understand what we’re asking them to do.”\u201cThat’s amazing,” says Sarah. \u201cIn my wildest dreams I hoped maybe one person would read my story and get the care that I got. That makes me happy.\u201cI’ll always be grateful for the care I received. Dr. Collins and his team didn’t just give me my life back, they changed my life for the better. I have a different way of looking at the world and what I’m capable of. It’s been an amazing shift for me and my whole family.”Editor's Note: This article was originally published on September 19, 2023, and was last reviewed on February 5, 2024."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2023","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2023\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"09","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2023\/\/09\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Sarah’s Story: How the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program Changed the Life of an Oscar-Winning Writer and Director","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2023\/09\/sarahs-story-how-the-upmc-sports-medicine-concussion-program-changed-the-life-of-an-oscar-winning-writer-and-director\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]