[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/08\/michelles-concussion-story\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/08\/michelles-concussion-story\/","headline":"Michelle’s Story: Targeted Treatment to Address Concussion","name":"Michelle’s Story: Targeted Treatment to Address Concussion","description":"

<\/p>","datePublished":"2025-08-21","dateModified":"2025-10-22","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/sports-medicine-regions","name":"Sports Medicine","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/sports-medicine-regions","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/sports-medicine\/","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\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-1456770484-e1755699591859.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-1456770484-e1755699591859.jpg","height":866,"width":2000},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/08\/michelles-concussion-story\/","about":["Concussion","Health Topics A-Z","Rehabilitation","Sports Medicine"],"wordCount":1082,"articleBody":"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.\u201cThey were so concerned,\u201d Michelle explains. \u201cI don\u2019t know their names, but I have so much love and gratitude for them.\u201dOne of the women, with her dog in tow, held a bleeding Michelle\u2019s 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\u2019d 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.\u201cI was ferociously dizzy and felt stupid, unable to remember what direction I was traveling in,\u201d she says. \u201cThings that make you nervous on a trip by yourself, but I got it done.\u201dLifestyle Modifications for Everyday TasksThat 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.\u201cI was losing my words, and I knew I still wasn\u2019t up to my normal level,\u201d she says. \u201cI felt like I owed my students an explanation that I was healing, that we would have to do things differently.\u201dFor Michelle, certain situations \u2014 for example, a classroom setting where she was answering questions during a lesson \u2014 could become overwhelming, making her feel as though she was in a dense crowd.But her students were cooperative.\u00a0 \u201cEveryone was receptive, and we all adapted,\u201d 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\u2019t note any red flags.Specialized Treatment Close to HomeThen, one of her physicians recommended that she see a vestibular therapist \u2014 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.\u201cOh, my goodness, she was fabulous,\u201d Michelle exclaims. \u201cShe really drilled down to exactly what it was I needed, and the way she explained everything was tremendously helpful.\u201dVictoria helped Michelle perform specific eye and motion exercises and tasked her with home exercises, encouraging a mindful approach to her recovery.\u201cI\u2019m someone who likes to power through things, and Victoria reminded me to slow down and do this in an intentional and conscious way,\u201d Michelle says.When Michelle felt present, Victoria urged her to put herself into situations that intimidated her \u2014 such as going into a grocery store or having students answer questions in class.\u201cShe wanted me to slow down to really understand the process so that I wasn\u2019t avoiding the difficult situations in real life,\u201d she says. \u201cShe was so attentive, I felt like I was the only person in the world to her.\u201dAt 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\u2019s PT was already underway.\u201cInstantaneously, Dr. Burley was ready to go,\u201d Michelle says of Christopher Burley, PhD, neuropsychologist at the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program. \u201cWe got along great, but he also really saw what was going on with me.\u201dDr. Burley noticed something the other doctors hadn\u2019t \u2014 that maybe Michelle wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t in Michelle\u2019s brain. He explained that her sympathetic nervous system had been in overdrive \u2014 stressed out \u2014 and the concussion had sent it into hyper-overdrive.\u201cIt was like a lightbulb went off when he suggested that,\u201d she says.Her concussion might have brought about the symptoms, but it wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t seem like your average medical advice, but Michelle was improving quickly.\u201cI had immediate faith in him because he was so sure of what he was doing, and I knew in my bones it would help,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I was hearing a lot of information from different doctors.\u201dAccurate Diagnosis Leads to Quick ImprovementWithin 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\u2019s orders were to keep doing what she was doing on her own to reach a complete recovery.\u201cI appreciated that he was using his specialized knowledge to help me see something that nobody else was looking for,\u201d Michelle says. \u201cHe was a bit of a therapist about some of it, which I found weirdly helpful.\u201dEven though she only saw him a handful of times, Michelle says Dr. Burley certainly made an impression.\u201cHe left me with so many practical marching orders and helped me find immediate resolution,\u201d she says. \u201cPlus, he was great company!\u201dFor Michelle, convenient and personalized health care near her home made all the difference.\u201cI 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,\u201d she says.\u201cI felt like I was in excellent hands with both of them.\u201dLearn 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 August 21, 2025, and was last reviewed on October 22, 2025.Sources"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2025","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"08","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/\/08\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Michelle’s Story: Targeted Treatment to Address Concussion","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/08\/michelles-concussion-story\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]