Michelle V., 64, of Edinboro, Pa., was at the start of a business trip in London when she blacked out and awoke to find herself lying in the street with two caring Englishwomen hovering over her.
“They were so concerned,” Michelle explains. “I don’t know their names, but I have so much love and gratitude for them.”
One of the women, with her dog in tow, held a bleeding Michelle’s arm as she walked her to the nearby emergency room.
Though she has no memory of what happened, Michelle says her British doctors surmised that she’d fallen and hit the front of her head on the cobblestones. The injury caused her to sustain a concussion and lose her memory of the incident. That scenario also explained the defensive scrapes on her palms and her bruised, swollen left eye.
Doctors ran many tests to rule out possible causes of the blackout, yet there was no evidence of embolism and no fractured bones. They concluded she hadn’t fainted but diagnosed her with a severe concussion.
They released Michelle from the hospital that day with a reminder to have a follow-up appointment when she returned home to the States. But first, she had to continue her business trip to Munich, which she finished with much more caution.
“I was ferociously dizzy and felt stupid, unable to remember what direction I was traveling in,” she says. “Things that make you nervous on a trip by yourself, but I got it done.”
Lifestyle Modifications for Everyday Tasks
That was in May 2024. By August, Michelle was still recovering, with another semester of teaching in the medical arts at PennWest Edinboro University fast approaching.
“I was losing my words, and I knew I still wasn’t up to my normal level,” she says. “I felt like I owed my students an explanation that I was healing, that we would have to do things differently.”
For Michelle, certain situations — for example, a classroom setting where she was answering questions during a lesson — could become overwhelming, making her feel as though she was in a dense crowd.
But her students were cooperative. “Everyone was receptive, and we all adapted,” she says.
By that time, Michelle knew she needed more answers. She had gone to her follow-up appointment after returning from Europe, but they didn’t note any red flags.
Specialized Treatment Close to Home
Then, one of her physicians recommended that she see a vestibular therapist — a physical therapist specializing in balance and vertigo. She quickly made an appointment with Victoria Lavery, PT, DPT, at UPMC Rehabilitation Institute in Erie, Pa.
“Oh, my goodness, she was fabulous,” Michelle exclaims. “She really drilled down to exactly what it was I needed, and the way she explained everything was tremendously helpful.”
Victoria helped Michelle perform specific eye and motion exercises and tasked her with home exercises, encouraging a mindful approach to her recovery.
“I’m someone who likes to power through things, and Victoria reminded me to slow down and do this in an intentional and conscious way,” Michelle says.
When Michelle felt present, Victoria urged her to put herself into situations that intimidated her — such as going into a grocery store or having students answer questions in class.
“She wanted me to slow down to really understand the process so that I wasn’t avoiding the difficult situations in real life,” she says. “She was so attentive, I felt like I was the only person in the world to her.”
At some point in her sessions with Victoria, she received a recommendation for a concussion specialist. Typically, a concussion specialist would see a patient before they begin PT. However, the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program was only introduced in Erie after Michelle’s PT was already underway.
“Instantaneously, Dr. Burley was ready to go,” Michelle says of Christopher Burley, PhD, neuropsychologist at the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program. “We got along great, but he also really saw what was going on with me.”
Dr. Burley noticed something the other doctors hadn’t — that maybe Michelle wasn’t experiencing true concussion symptoms after all.
Through a series of computer tests that gauge responsiveness to various stimuli, Dr. Burley could see what was syncing and what wasn’t in Michelle’s brain. He explained that her sympathetic nervous system had been in overdrive — stressed out — and the concussion had sent it into hyper-overdrive.
“It was like a lightbulb went off when he suggested that,” she says.
Her concussion might have brought about the symptoms, but it wasn’t what needed treatment at that point.
Dr. Burley gave Michelle tips on small tweaks she could make in her daily life to improve her symptoms. Tasks like working out to the point of breaking a sweat and returning to work in a busy place like a coffee shop don’t seem like your average medical advice, but Michelle was improving quickly.
“I had immediate faith in him because he was so sure of what he was doing, and I knew in my bones it would help,” she says. “And I was hearing a lot of information from different doctors.”
Accurate Diagnosis Leads to Quick Improvement
Within weeks of meeting with Dr. Burley and working to target her hyperactive nervous system, Michelle’s cognitive tests measured her improvement. She was on the path to her normal life. Doctor’s orders were to keep doing what she was doing on her own to reach a complete recovery.
“I appreciated that he was using his specialized knowledge to help me see something that nobody else was looking for,” Michelle says. “He was a bit of a therapist about some of it, which I found weirdly helpful.”
Even though she only saw him a handful of times, Michelle says Dr. Burley certainly made an impression.
“He left me with so many practical marching orders and helped me find immediate resolution,” she says. “Plus, he was great company!”
For Michelle, convenient and personalized health care near her home made all the difference.
“I saw no fewer than eight different people in the U.S. about my condition, and the two I credit with curing me work at the same UPMC building,” she says.
“I felt like I was in excellent hands with both of them.”
Learn more about the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program or find UPMC Rehabilitation Institute services in Erie.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on , and was last reviewed on .