Update on my Brain Injury & the Future of Strange Parts
Summary
TLDRThe video recounts Scotty's journey recovering from a serious concussion caused by an accident involving an aluminum pipe. Initially misadvised to rest in isolation, his condition worsened, with persistent headaches, brain fog, and vision issues. Eventually, he sought treatment at Cognitive FX, a specialized concussion clinic, which led to significant improvements after intensive therapy. Scotty shares his experiences to encourage others with concussions not to give up and highlights how the clinic helped restore his cognitive function. He also discusses his plans for future projects and launching a Patreon to support his work.
Takeaways
- 😌 The speaker has recovered significantly from a head injury caused by being hit with an aluminum pipe during a warehouse shoot.
- 😔 After the injury, they experienced severe concussion symptoms like headaches, brain fog, and impaired vision, which worsened over time due to outdated medical advice.
- 😓 They struggled to access proper treatment in New Mexico, leading them to move to Colorado, where they connected with a concierge doctor.
- 🙌 The turning point came when they publicly shared their story in a video, which led to helpful responses and an offer for free treatment from a leading concussion clinic, Cognitive FX.
- 🤔 The speaker was initially skeptical but decided to pursue treatment at Cognitive FX, which resulted in dramatic improvements over a five-day program.
- 😊 Although recovery was gradual, they made steady progress by following Cognitive FX's prescribed exercises, particularly for their vision, which was the slowest to recover.
- 💡 Today, the speaker feels mostly recovered, experiencing occasional headaches but having regained cognitive clarity and the ability to work again.
- 🔧 The speaker is now focused on creating more videos and plans to hire a team to assist with production, hoping to return to factory tours and ambitious projects.
- 📣 The speaker launched a Patreon to fund their work, offering behind-the-scenes access, project files, and other perks to supporters.
- 💪 They highly recommend Cognitive FX for anyone suffering from a concussion or long COVID, emphasizing how effective the treatment was in their own recovery.
Q & A
What caused the speaker’s head injury?
-The speaker was hit in the back of the head by an aluminum pipe that tipped over while shooting in a warehouse. The pipe had been placed there by the speaker weeks earlier and was forgotten.
What symptoms did the speaker experience immediately after the injury?
-Immediately after the injury, the speaker experienced a massive headache, vision issues, brain fog, and a general sense of disorientation. He also felt 'dopey' and had difficulty thinking clearly.
What was the initial advice given to the speaker by medical professionals after the injury?
-The medical professionals advised the speaker to rest in a dark room, avoid reading, watching TV, or doing any strenuous activities. This advice, however, was outdated and later proven to lead to worse outcomes.
Why was the speaker’s recovery slow after following the initial medical advice?
-The speaker's recovery was slow because the outdated advice of extended rest caused his brain to stagnate rather than heal. Modern concussion treatment suggests that patients should start re-engaging with activities after a short period of rest.
What difficulties did the speaker face while trying to continue working after the injury?
-The speaker struggled with cognitive tasks such as reading, planning, and even speaking clearly on camera. He had to take frequent breaks in a dark room and felt mentally exhausted after short periods of activity.
How did the speaker eventually find the right treatment for his concussion?
-The speaker moved to Colorado and connected with a specialist through a contact at Cognitive FX, a top concussion clinic in the nation. He was offered treatment in exchange for sharing his honest recovery experience.
What were the results of the treatment at Cognitive FX?
-After five days of treatment, the speaker's brain scan results went from significantly abnormal to completely normal. Although his recovery was gradual over the following months, the treatment marked a major turning point.
What were some of the lingering symptoms after the treatment?
-The speaker still experienced occasional headaches and issues with his vision, particularly when working on visually demanding tasks like editing or driving at night. However, his overall cognitive function improved steadily.
What steps did the speaker take after returning home from treatment?
-The speaker followed a daily routine of cardio, cognitive exercises, and vision exercises to stimulate brain recovery. These exercises were designed to encourage neuron and blood vessel regrowth in the brain.
What message does the speaker have for others suffering from concussions?
-The speaker advises others not to give up hope and to seek modern concussion treatment. He stresses the importance of staying active in recovery and encourages reaching out to specialists like those at Cognitive FX for help.
Outlines
🧠 Recovery from Concussion and the Start of a Long Journey
The speaker begins by addressing inquiries about his recovery, stating that he's doing well, but feels it's important to share the full story of his injury for the benefit of others facing similar struggles. He recounts an accident 16 months ago where he was hit by an aluminum pipe while filming, which resulted in a concussion. Although there was no skull fracture or brain bleed, he experienced severe symptoms including headaches, vision problems, brain fog, and a loss of mental clarity. Unfortunately, he followed outdated advice to rest in a dark room, which worsened his condition.
🤕 Struggles and Realizations About Modern Treatment
As the speaker's condition stagnated, he found it challenging to function, with daily activities like reading, watching TV, and driving exacerbating his headaches. He also struggled with irritability, speech issues, and memory problems. After months of minimal improvement, he realized he needed help. However, accessing proper care was difficult due to long wait times for specialists in New Mexico. Ultimately, he moved to Colorado, where his father helped him connect with a concierge doctor. This change marked a turning point, along with the release of his video 'I have a Brain Injury,' which garnered support from his followers.
💡 A Breakthrough at Cognitive FX
The speaker explains how a connection with Chance Hansen at Cognitive FX, one of the top concussion clinics in the country, led to a major breakthrough. Chance offered free treatment in exchange for an honest review of the experience. Despite initial skepticism, the speaker decided to try the program, and by the end of the first day, he was exhausted. By the third night, he experienced vivid nightmares—signs that his brain was healing. After five days of treatment, a brain scan revealed substantial improvement, transforming his abnormal results into normal ones. Although his recovery took months, this was a significant turning point.
🔨 Slow and Steady Recovery with Focus on Rehabilitation
The speaker discusses his slow but steady improvement after the Cognitive FX treatment. He was given daily homework to stimulate brain regrowth, including cardio and cognitive exercises. His vision, the slowest aspect to recover, continued to give him headaches, especially when using a computer or driving at night. Over time, through persistence and exercises, he made progress. While not completely free of symptoms, he now feels more like himself and is excited to return to work, especially in his new garage workshop.
🌟 Overcoming Self-Doubt and Moving Forward
Reflecting on his darkest moments, the speaker reveals he once doubted if he'd ever fully recover, even considering giving up his career in engineering and YouTube. The thought of losing his cognitive abilities, which had always defined him, was incredibly distressing. Despite these fears, he persevered and is grateful for how far he's come. He urges others suffering from concussions to remain hopeful and proactive in their recovery. He emphasizes that recovery is a gradual process, much like building a workshop, where progress is made one step at a time.
🎥 The Future of Strange Parts and Call for Support
The speaker shares his ambitions for the future of Strange Parts, including working on ambitious iPhone modifications, consumer electronics, and restarting factory tours. However, he expresses frustration at how much time he spends on non-creative tasks like managing cameras, answering emails, and attending meetings. To focus on his passion, he plans to hire a team for filming and editing. He's also launching a Patreon to help fund these endeavors and reduce dependence on brand deals. He details the Patreon tiers, offering exclusive benefits like behind-the-scenes access, design files, and unique Easter egg appearances in his videos.
💡 Balancing Nebula and Patreon for Content Creation
Addressing potential confusion, the speaker clarifies the difference between Nebula and Patreon. Nebula, similar to Netflix, hosts his finished videos, both those on YouTube without ads and exclusive content. Patreon, on the other hand, gives supporters early access to behind-the-scenes content and projects in progress. While he loves Nebula, Patreon allows for a more personal connection with fans and offers different perks. He emphasizes that either platform is valuable for supporting the channel, but ultimately, it helps him continue to produce the content that his audience enjoys.
🏥 A Final Shoutout and a Word of Hope for Others
The speaker concludes by expressing deep gratitude to Cognitive FX for their role in his recovery. He encourages anyone suffering from concussions, whether recent or decades old, to seek help from them. He also mentions that Cognitive FX has started treating cognitive symptoms related to long COVID with promising results. He urges viewers to take care of their brains, reminding them of its irreplaceable value, and includes links to the clinics in the description for those who might benefit.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Concussion
💡Brain Fog
💡Cognitive FX
💡Headaches
💡Vision Problems
💡Concussion Myths
💡Neuroplasticity
💡Dark Room Recovery
💡Cognitive Exercises
💡Long-term Recovery
Highlights
Scotty recounts getting hit in the head by an aluminum pipe, which led to a concussion.
He initially followed outdated medical advice to rest in a dark room, which worsened his condition.
His symptoms included constant headaches, brain fog, slurred speech, and inability to read or plan.
Scotty struggled to get proper treatment in New Mexico and faced long waiting times for specialists.
He moved to Colorado and received help from a concierge doctor connected through his father.
The release of a YouTube video about his injury helped connect him with specialists, including Cognitive FX, a top concussion clinic.
Cognitive FX offered him free treatment in exchange for an honest account of his experience.
He was skeptical but decided to try the five-day treatment, which resulted in noticeable improvements.
His brain scan results improved significantly, showing recovery within five days of intensive treatment.
Although recovery was not immediate, he experienced steady improvement over the following months.
Cognitive exercises and eye exercises were essential parts of his continued recovery.
His vision was the slowest to recover, but after extensive exercises, he regained normal vision function.
Scotty emphasizes the importance of not giving up hope and actively pursuing recovery from concussions.
He shares plans to hire a team to help him focus on engineering and storytelling rather than administrative tasks.
Scotty launched a Patreon to support his work, offering exclusive content and behind-the-scenes access to his supporters.
Transcripts
- A bunch of you have been asking how is my head doing?
Am I fully healed yet?
And the short answer is I'm doing really really well.
But I think it's worth going back to the beginning.
I think it's important to tell the whole story
'cause I think it might help some folks
that might be going through similar struggles.
And if you've been following me for a while,
then this is an update on how things have been going
over the past year.
About 16 months ago, (tense music)
I got hit in the back of the head
by an aluminum pipe that tipped over
while I was shooting in a warehouse.
It was my own damn fault.
I put the pipe there a few weeks earlier
and probably forgot about it.
It clocked me pretty good
but I didn't really lose consciousness.
I didn't have much other than a lump to show for it.
But I knew pretty quickly I had a concussion.
I was pretty dopey and bum headed
and I had a massive headache brewing.
And while I could see,
my vision wasn't working that great.
A CAT scan at the ER
confirmed that I didn't have a skull fracture
or a brain bleed or anything serious like that.
They pretty much just told me
go home and rest in a dark room,
don't read, don't watch TV, don't do pretty much anything,
should go away.
So I did just that,
which (tense music) I know now is the absolute worst advice.
It's at least 20 years outta date,
and studies show it leads to way worse outcomes.
You should rest like that for 24, 48 hours max,
and then start getting out and trying to do things again.
(saw whirring)
But I didn't know any better.
With every day I spent laying in bed doing nothing,
my brain was just stagnating.
I don't know that it was very obvious
exactly how bad it was looking from the outside.
We're not actually building a single robot,
we're building two complete robots
with enough parts for three.
And the reason there is we,
I don't know what I'm saying.
Versus defense versus maneuverability.
And you have to have enough battery
to make it through a three minute fight.
That was recorded a few days after my injury.
It was so bad that after every take my brain was just mush.
And I was having to go take breaks between takes
in a dark room to recover so that I could do it all again.
(saw whirring)
I had a headache pretty much all of the time
and everything I did made it worse.
Reading, watching TV, driving,
even riding as a passenger with my eyes open
totally messed me up.
Any exercise, even just walking around the block
gave me a massive headache.
And it wasn't just the headaches, it was the brain fog.
It was like I was swimming through molasses.
I don't know, everything seemed so far away.
It was like looking through somebody else's eyes
10 feet away the whole time.
I was irritable and pretty quick to get angry.
Any form of planning was pretty hard
and I couldn't read very well
nor could I keep track of what I was reading,
so researching how to get better was super difficult.
When things got really bad, I started to slur my speech.
It was sort of like being somewhere
between drunk and hungover, but only the bad parts.
After a few months of this, I knew something wasn't right.
I was getting a little bit better, but not much.
I knew I needed help,
but finding it proved to be so much more difficult
than I ever could have imagined.
I couldn't get in to see a doctor in New Mexico
to save my life.
And getting into a specialist
was a four to six month waiting list.
(metal clinking)
(machinery whirring)
I didn't have months to wait.
It was clear that waiting wasn't working
and I was ready to get back to work
and get back to the rest of my life.
(vacuum whirring)
Eventually I left New Mexico and came here to Colorado.
My folks live here.
My dad had a pretty good relationship
with a concierge doctor
who was willing to take me on and help me sort things out.
By this point I knew enough
to know what modern concussion treatment looked like,
but putting it into practice on my own
was proving pretty difficult.
The biggest turning point
was when I released the video titled
"I have a Brain Injury"
letting you know what was going on with me
and why I hadn't posted in so long.
And I'd (Scotty sighs) recorded that video
about six weeks earlier when I was leaving New Mexico,
but I was so afraid to even watch it, let alone release it.
This video turned out to be the turning point in my recovery
in ways that I have a hard time even imagining now.
(soft music)
A number of people reached out to me
offering all sorts of help and advice
and introductions to concussion specialists and whatnot.
It was all pretty overwhelming at the time,
but all super valuable and unexpected.
If you were one of the people
that reached out and I never responded, I'm sorry.
Reading and replying to lots of email
was just outta reach for me at that point.
One of those people was Chance Hansen
who is the marketing and content manager at Cognitive FX.
Which turns out is one of the top concussion clinics
in the nation.
He said that he had been a fan for a long time
and wanted to see what he could do to help.
And so he went to the partners of the clinic
and he convinced them to offer me treatment for free
as well as to get me in as quickly as possible,
in return for telling my story, telling an honest account
of what the treatment was like and how well it worked.
And he said, "if it doesn't work,
"we want you to say that."
I knew I'd be a fool to turn this down, (Scotty laughs)
but I was also pretty skeptical.
How could they cure in five days
what I had spent months trying to heal from?
And honestly the results on their website
seemed too good to be true.
I told Chance about my skepticism
and he said, "good, come try it out.
"Our results will speak for themselves."
And I figured, you know (Scotty sighs)
what did I have to lose?
So I went for it.
I hired a local camera operator
since I didn't feel up to filming myself
going through such rigorous treatment.
Boy am I glad I did. (Scotty laughs)
By the end of the first day, I was just toast.
By the end of the third night
I was having vivid nightmares,
which while not particularly pleasant was a sign
that something was changing. (Scotty laughs)
And I realized I hadn't been having dreams
since before the concussion.
Something in my brain was changing.
(light music) By the end of the week I was exhausted,
but I was also really excited
because (metal clinking) while I was tired
I wasn't having the same level of symptoms or headaches
that I was at the beginning of the week.
It was more like a normal kind of tired
rather than my brain just totally shutting down.
But the most significant indicator
was the brain scan results.
- Goal obviously is we'd like you
to look more like a normative healthy population patient.
- Wow.
- And there we go.
Normative bell curves are good.
(doctor laughs)
- Wow.
That's substantial.
I was blown away.
I went from a significantly abnormal FMRA brain scan
at the beginning of the week
to a completely normal one at the end of the week,
in five days.
(light music) I drove back to Denver
completely full of energy,
which was good because I moved into a new house
the following week and immediately started renovating
the garage into this workshop.
I have since learned (Scotty laughs)
that you are supposed to take some time off
and rest after treatment, but I didn't know.
My recovery after treatment wasn't overnight.
It took months, but there was a slow and steady improvement
day after day after day.
Cognitive FX sent me home with homework.
An hour every day
split between 30 minutes cardio intervals,
and 30 minutes of cognitive exercises,
and eye exercises that were intended
to stimulate my neurons, encourage neuron regrowth
and blood vessel regrowth in my brain.
The one thing that was really holding me up was my eyes.
They still weren't working quite right.
You know anything that required
a lot of visual attention (saw whirring)
gave me a headache pretty much right away.
Editing, using the computer pretty much in general,
and driving at night were the worst offenders.
They said that vision was the slowest thing to recover,
which was frustrating.
But I kept at it and I did (Scotty laughs)
endless days of Brock stringing exercises, (Scotty mumbles)
shining flashlights in my eyes
to get my pupils to dilate correctly.
But it gradually got better. (metal clinking)
(drill whirring)
And here I am today, more or less fully recovered.
I'm not perfect, I still have headaches from time to time.
There's a a few specific things that will still set me off.
Even a small bump can give me symptoms back for days.
But I can think clearly again, I can see clearly again,
and most importantly, I'm back to work
(tools whirring)
which feels amazing.
I can't even tell you.
(tools whirring)
(tools clinking)
I wasn't sure whether I was gonna heal,
it wasn't a guarantee, which is a really depressing thought.
(metal clinking)
I had visions of giving up on YouTube,
and honestly giving up on engineering entirely.
(saw whirring)
(tense music) I even spent a particularly dark evening
researching warehouse jobs in the area.
(tool squeaking)
I've always made my living off my brain,
off my ability to think really hard,
and for long periods of time.
It's a core part of my identity.
(tool rattling)
What would life be like without that?
It was super depressing to think about,
and at times made me want to give up entirely.
(metal clinking)
It's a little hard to look back
and appreciate exactly how far I've come.
Alexa, turn on the lights.
- [Alexa] Okay.
- To remember (footsteps clinking) what it was like
when I didn't know when or if I'd ever get better.
(tools clinking)
But I'm happy to say it's possible.
(soft music)
And if you're suffering from a concussion,
don't give up hope, or let anybody tell you
to just wait it out and sit around in a dark room.
Keep at it even when it feels like nothing is changing.
Just like this workshop,
it's a matter of making things better
one small step at a time, one day at a time.
That looks pretty good.
I wanna make more videos.
I'm talking ambitious iPhone modifications,
building and modifying other consumer electronics,
and restarting factory tours.
But (Scotty sighs) here's the thing,
I'm spending way too much of my time
doing stuff that's not this.
It's not working on cool projects
or figuring out what stories to tell.
It's things like wrangling cameras and lights
and camera footage, answering email, and having meetings.
So I wanna hire some people to help me
so that I can focus on the stuff that I'm great at
and that ultimately leads to great videos that you enjoy.
I want someone here with me in Colorado
to help me film and edit projects in the shop,
and I really wanna hire a producer and a camera operator
to do factory tours with me.
Plus, starting factory tours again means traveling more.
And the economics of travel
have changed a lot in the past few years.
Not to mention I'm not living in China anymore.
And (Scotty sighs) well all of this costs money.
So I need your help.
I'm starting a Patreon.
It'll help me focus on engineering and storytelling,
and it'll make me less dependent
on stressing out about brand deals
to support me and the rest of the Strange Parts team.
I'm sure you already know the deal with Patreon.
You give a few bucks to support me and Strange Parts
and you get some cool benefits like behind the scenes stuff.
Just to be clear, if things are tight right now
and you can't afford to support,
please don't sweat it, really.
I wanna mention some of the benefits
which you might find interesting.
So at the first tier you'll get behind the scenes access
to early cuts of my videos.
We'll share with you rough cuts that we're still working on
and you'll be able to give us feedback
and help us refine the videos.
Plus you'll be able to submit projects and story ideas
and vote on polls about what video or project
I should work on next.
For a few more bucks the next tier
gets access to design files from my projects,
whether that be circuit boards, CAD files,
3D printer files, or something else entirely.
You'll also get a Strange Parts T-shirt,
which right now is the only way
to get a Strange Parts T-shirt.
And at the top tier you'll get your name included
in a Strange Parts video.
It won't be that like fast scrolling
list of a bunch of names, I don't think anybody reads those.
I wanna do something cooler.
It'll be an Easter egg
hidden somewhere in the B-roll or the background of a shot.
And I'm only gonna do one or maybe a few max per video,
starting with whoever's been a patron in the longest.
So sign up now if you'd like your name in a video.
You'll also get a Strange Parts hoodie.
And again, this is the only way
to get a Strange Parts hoodie.
Now, you might be asking,
Scotty you've been recently talking
about putting videos on Nebula,
are you still gonna be doing that?
And the answer is yes.
And here's the distinction.
So think of Nebula like Netflix.
It's where I'll put finished videos,
both videos that appear on YouTube
but without any ads or sponsors.
But also exclusive videos that I make just for Nebula.
Patreon is different.
It's where you get access to behind the scenes stuff
before things are finished,
whether they're going up on YouTube or Nebula,
or maybe even things that never see the light of day,
and there are more than a few of those.
I love Nebula too, but Patreon allows me to do things
that I can't do on Nebula and vice versa.
So you can sign up to Nebula in addition to Patreon,
or you can do one or the other or neither.
Both really help me keep Strange Parts running,
so no worries if only one appeals to you.
So if you'd like to support me and Strange Parts
you can go to patreon.com/strangeparts,
or you can click on the link down in the description.
I'm really excited about the year to come,
and I hope you'll join me.
And finally, I wanna give a quick shout out to Cognitive FX.
They're not paying me to say this,
my obligation to them for my treatment
ended a long time ago.
But if you've had a concussion,
whether it's recent or even if it's been decades
and you're still feeling the effects,
please reach out to them.
I really really believe in their treatment,
and I'm proof that it works.
You can schedule a 30 minute phone call with them for free
to see if you're a good fit for their treatment.
And if you've had a concussion recently,
they have a second newer clinic that most insurance covers.
And lastly, if you're having cognitive symptoms
from long COVID you should also reach out to them.
It turns out that a lot of the symptoms of long COVID
are very similar to concussion symptoms,
and they're piloting a new treatment protocol
that is showing great results so far.
I put links to both clinics in the description below.
Please let them know that I sent you.
And take care of yourself and that brain of yours.
You won't know what it means to you until it's gone.
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)