Mia

At the recent NIISQ/QBIC Roadshow in Cairns, NIISQ participant Mia bravely (and boldly) told her story and shared her experience of life since acquiring a traumatic brain injury a little over a 12 months ago. 

Mia was a 16-year-old, year 11 high school student when she was hit by a car as she crossed the road after school. After being placed in an induced coma she was flown by the Royal Flying Doctors to Townsville University Hospital, where she had a craniotomy to reduce the pressure on her brain.  

Mia became increasingly frustrated in trying to understand what had happened to her when no one was providing constructive answers. She knew something was wrong because part of her skull was gone; she couldn’t see out of her right eye, and she was connected to an inordinate number of machines. Doctors were directing their focus on explaining the situation to her parents and not to Mia.  

Her recovery really kicked in once she was made fully aware of what had happened and what she needed to do to return home and to one of her favourite pastimes, BMX. 

Mia’s extraordinary road to recovery has been largely driven by her sheer determination. Doctors prepared her family for the worse, and the first few days it was touch and go. Once she did stabilise, doctors confirmed it would be a long road to recovery and that it would be unlikely she would return to Cairns in less than 12 months. However, Mia’s strong will and focus, matched with a fantastic support team of family, friends and medical professionals has seen her smash this timeline. Her initial accident was 31 August 2023, her cranioplasty 19 October 2023, and she was discharged and back in Cairns on 25 October and back to school on 3 November 2023. 

When speaking with Mia’s NIISQ Support Planners, each one of them mentioned her determination, sense of humour and motivation. From working through her initial discharge and getting her back home to now, Mia has accessed a wide variety of services including physiotherapy, ophthalmology, speech pathology, neurology, psychology, as well as occupational therapy with the specific target of gaining her driver’s licence. Mia’s recovery has combined an array of formal support services but equally important has been her informal support – her family and friends and throughout the process Mia has been instrumental in leading her own recovery, championing for herself and being clear about her goals. 

Mia really is inspirational, she is living with a brain injury acquired just over 12 months ago, she is about to finish year 12, is on track for an ATAR that will allow her to go to university and is awaiting a response from her application to join the Army. Thank you, Mia, for sharing your story.