Brain injuries often go unrecognized among domestic violence victims
The dangers of concussion are known but the brain injuries of survivors of domestic violence often go undiagnosed and untreated. Doctors are trying to change that.
Celena Henry says she lost count of how many times her abuser hit her in the head but remembers vividly when she decided to leave him.
“My feet left the floor, my body slammed against the wall, and I slid down to the floor,” Henry, now 47, recalled. “My head had, I remember, hit off the cabinet, and it made things a little spinny.”
Henry could hear her two young sons crying out, “Don’t hurt mama,” on the other side of the door. She remembers focusing on their cries because she thought it was going to be the last time she heard them.
Then she blacked out. When she regained consciousness, she took the boys and left.
In the years that followed, Henry began to experience persistent headaches, difficulty concentrating and memory problems. While working as an advocate for victims of domestic violence herself, she was attacked by someone else’s abuser and her symptoms got worse, particularly trouble with her balance.
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