Sophia's Story
Dan Lewis Foundation | Summer 2024

Every Traumatic Brain Injury story is different, and the outcome for individuals is often unpredictable



This is Sophia Augier's story

On February 26th, 2023, I glided over the freshly powdered slopes of Vermont as the flurries melted against my wind-burned cheeks. The twists and turns of the Rollercoaster Trail left me with an adrenaline high. Each jump I landed fed the thrill of the ride until I was suddenly consumed by darkness, and after the accident, my senior year turned into a nightmare. High school had gone exactly as planned. After years of hard work, late-night study sessions, and an activity-packed resume, I was set to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the fall. My future was brighter than ever, but that single moment on the slopes left my future in jeopardy. Instead of celebrating my achievements, I was confined to a dark basement, stripped of social interaction, grappling with excruciating physical pain and overwhelming fear. Day after day, I sat there alone, trying to weed through the unknowns and search for a glimpse of hope. My dreams of MIT felt impossible as I struggled with memory loss, severe headaches, and an inability to read or even step outside.

As the days passed, the events of that fateful day slowly returned to me. The edge of my board clipped the snow so fast, sending me tumbling before I could react. When I regained consciousness, I was met with blood-stained snow through waves of darkness. Having lost control of my bladder, I found myself soaked to the bone and gasping for air as my face pressed against the snow. Despite this, I forced myself to get up and make it down the mountain. Embarrassed, I brushed off the incident and continued with my day. With the fresh snow the following morning, I ignored a nagging headache and returned to the slopes. It wasn't until the ride home that overwhelming nausea forced me to acknowledge something was wrong. Days later, my symptoms worsened, but they aligned with a typical flu rather than a traumatic brain injury. Initially misdiagnosed with mononucleosis by my physician, it took an emergency room visit to finally confirm my concussion. The unfortunate waiting period had consequently worsened my symptoms and prolonged my recovery. Finally, a specialist confirmed my worst fears. While the flu-like symptoms faded, my blurry vision, memory loss, and headaches persisted. The prospect of MIT seemed more distant than ever. Returning to school felt surreal; I could barely participate in classes. Watching my friends celebrate their college commitments, I felt like a kindergartner in a 12th-grader's body while I sat in a dimly lit corner, unsure if I'd ever think like myself again.


Months of vision therapy and rehabilitation followed. The drive and grit that fueled my academic success now drove my recovery. Slowly but surely, the darkness lifted, and I began to see a future again. My hard work paid off, and I regained the ability to pursue my dreams.


Today, I have just completed my first year at MIT. I joined the Division 1 crew team, worked for the MIT ambulance service and made lifelong friends. As I write this from my apartment in Cape Town, South Africa, where I'm conducting engineering research, I reflect on my journey.


My experience taught me that life's path is unpredictable. Adversity can strike at any moment, but it's how we respond that defines us. The pain and fear I endured were real, but they also revealed a resilience I didn't know I had. Embracing this resilience, I learned to navigate the unexpected and emerge into the strong woman I am today. In the grand scheme of life, our challenges are as much a part of our story as our achievements. My traumatic brain injury was a test of my strength and determination, and it reshaped my understanding of success. True success isn't just about reaching our goals; it's about finding the courage to keep going when those goals seem out of reach. My journey through concussion and recovery has been my greatest teacher, showing me that resilience, determination, and hope are the keys to navigating life's rollercoaster ride.


Sophia Augier

A gold trophy with a laurel wreath around it.
By Dan Lewis Foundation April 2, 2025
For the third consecutive year, the Dan Lewis Foundation for Brain Regeneration is proud to announce the DLF Prize competition. The 2025 DLF Prize, a $20,000 award, will recognize an outstanding early career scientist (2 to 5 years post-doc) conducting innovative research in neuroscience, pharmacology, or biotechnology. This prestigious prize honors researchers whose work aligns with the DLF mission to drive breakthroughs in neural regeneration and repair. The current research priorities of the DLF are: Pharmacological Reactivation of Neural Repair: Research into pharmacological methods of reactivating or augmenting synaptogenesis, neurogenesis or axonal repair. Cell-Based Cortical Repair: Investigating the potential of derived cortical neurons to restore function in damaged cortical regions. Transcriptomics of Neural Recovery: Characterizing transcriptomic profiles of cortical neurons in the recovery phase following brain injury to identify pathways that drive repair. Molecular Inhibitor Targeting: Advancing anti-sense oligonucleotides (ASO’s) or small-molecule therapeutics designed to downregulate inhibitors of neural regeneration in the cortex or spinal cord. Application for the 2025 DLF Prize can be made by going to our website— danlewisfoundation.org —and clicking on the Tab “ 2025 DLF Prize ”. This will bring you into the application portal. The application portal opened in March, 2025 and will remain open through May 31st. Once in the portal, you will find complete information about the DLF prize, eligibility requirements, and an application form which can be filled in and submitted online. The winner of the 2023 DLF Prize, Dr. Roy Maimon, continues his research indicating that downregulation of PTBP1, an RNA-binding protein, can convert glial cells into neurons in the adult brain (Maimon et al. 2024) .* Dr. Maimon, currently a post-doc at the University of California, San Diego is currently interviewing for a faculty position at several prominent neuroscience departments. The winner of the 2024 DLF Prize, Dr. William Zeiger is a physician-scientist in the Department of Neurology, Movement Disorders Division, at UCLA. Dr. Zeiger has expertise in interrogating neural circuits using a classic “lesional neurology” approach. He states, “Our lab remains focused on understanding how neural circuits become dysfunctional after lesions to the cortex and on investigating novel circuit-based approaches to reactivate and restore damaged cortex”. * Maimon, Roy, Carlos Chillon-Marinas, Sonia Vazquez-Sanchez, Colin Kern, Kresna Jenie, Kseniya Malukhina, Stephen Moore, et al. 2024. “Re-Activation of Neurogenic Niches in Aging Brain.” BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.27.575940.
By Dan Lewis Foundation April 2, 2025
Alan was injured in 2021, at age 42. An art teacher in Lakewood, Colorado, Alan was riding his bicycle after school and was crossing at an intersection when a truck turned into the crosswalk area and hit him. Alan reports no memory of the event but has been told this is what happened. Alan says “My frontal lobe took the brunt of the impact, particularly the left frontal lobe”. Alan had a 2 ½ week stay at a nearby hospital where he, “re-learned to talk, to walk, and drink”-- although again he reports no memory of his stay there. Alan was then transferred to Craig Rehabilitation Hospital, in Englewood, Colorado. Alan says, “The only reason I knew I was at Craig is that I rolled over in bed and saw “Welcome to Craig” on the dry erase board.” During this stage of recovering, Alan repeatedly denied that he had been in an accident. Twice he tried to leave Craig on his own accord despite his wife’s and his therapists’ assurances that it was important for him to stay to recuperate from his injuries. Alan’s wife was 8 months pregnant at the time of his accident and gave birth to their son while Alan was an inpatient at Craig. Alan’s wife brought his newborn son to visit him days after the birth and Alan held him while sitting in his wheelchair, but Alan wistfully reports this is another thing he can’t remember. Alan reports that he still has significant difficulties with memory. Alan has also experienced several other neuropsychological difficulties. He states that for months after his injury, he could not experience emotion. “I could not laugh, I couldn’t cry.” Even after three years, his emotional experience is constricted. However, an emotion that is sometimes elevated is irritation and anger. Sometimes, dealing with people can be difficult because he may have temper flare-ups with little reason. This is something that Alan regrets and he is working hard with his neuropsychologist to improve the regulation of his emotions. Alan also has difficulty with organization, motivation, and distractibility. Earlier in his recovery, he had trouble sequencing and had difficulty carrying out personal and household routines. Alan has benefited greatly from therapy and his own hard work to make improvements in these areas. A chief reason that Alan works so hard in his recovery is so that he can be a good father to his son who is now almost 3 years old. He recognizes that it is important not to get frustrated when it seems that he can’t provide what his son wants or needs at a given moment. “I’m trying to raise my son the best I can…he’s at such a pivotal time in his life.” Alan’s financial situation was helped for a time by Social Security Disability Insurance payments but these payments ended. He is trying to get SSDI reinstated but the process of doing so is confusing and is taking a lot of time. Alan returned to work about 11 months ago at a liquor store (after about 2 years of not being able to work), the same store where he previously worked part time while teaching. He works in the wine department. “I sell wine and make recommendations.” When asked for advice to other brain injury survivors, Alan’s words were: “No matter how confused or upset you are or how frustrated you get, keep pressing on and moving forward because there is light at the end of the tunnel even though it may seem long. Keep moving forward and don’t give up no matter what anyone says to you”. Alan added that supports for individuals with brain injury are very important. He has found support groups, retreats, and seminars/events where brain injury survivors can share their experience to be very helpful. The volunteer work he does at Craig Hospital has been valuable for him. Alan is an inspiring individual. Despite having scarce memory of his accident and some confusion about the functional losses he has experienced, Alan has worked hard to make his recovery as complete as possible. He continues to work hard to progress and to express gratitude for those who have assisted him along the way.
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