Car Accident, Depression, and Anxiety
I suffered a severe brain injury in a motor vehicle accident (MVA) in 2003. Of the thirty medical doctors I have consulted since my MVA, Philippe Souvestre alone was able to bring long-term relief to my symptoms – tinnitus, headaches, dizziness, insomnia, depression, anxiety attacks, and loss of physical and mental performance.
After my accident, the tinnitus worsened over time, eventually reaching a feverish pitch of 9 on a scale of 1-10. On three different occasions I went terrified for my life to the hospital’s emergency ward, where the doctor on call “diagnosed” me as suffering from tinnitus and a possible psychological disorder, and sent me home – no mention of post-concussion trauma, any possible connection between my tinnitus and the head injury from ten weeks earlier. The same thing happened when two neurologists examined me. Following a cursory examination of both ears, they asked me a few questions, had me walk a straight line and hop on one foot. They both concluded that I had tinnitus and recommended anti-depressants and counselling.
This is also the time when I first began to suffer from “anxiety attacks”, i.e., when the anxiety precipitated by the intensity of the tinnitus symptoms would reach a point where the brain would seem to “shut down”. I had lost twenty-five pounds, could barely eat or sleep, and my body literally shook with anxiety. I had been emotionally and physiologically reduced to a shadow of a man. There are no words to describe the terror I experienced during that time when I seriously considered committing suicide. I honestly do not know what would have become of me had I not had the good fortune of hearing of, meeting with and eventually being treated by Philippe Souvestre, Medical Director at NeuroKinetics Health Services (BC) Inc,.
Philippe actually began to demonstrate his impressive competence in treating traumatic brain disorders at our first meeting. After explaining that my tinnitus and other symptoms were clearly the result of post-concussion trauma (caused by the auto accident and a number of other concussions I had sustained during the course of my life), he recommended that I should embark on a four-to-five month program. He went on to predict that if I followed his protocol, I would be relieved of my tinnitus and all other trauma-related symptoms.
Since completing the program, I have resumed my research work at the University of Oregon, have begun listening to music again, and am presently in the process of writing a book. In many respects I am healthier now than I was when I began the program. Not only have my tinnitus symptoms all but disappeared, but my blood pressure has dropped from 140/90 to 110/70, and my skin has also taken on a sheen that makes me look fifteen years younger (at least that is what all my friends tell me). It may seem like an overstatement when I proclaim that Philippe saved my life, but I would be dishonest if I did not give credit where credit is due. Besides being a highly competent and experienced physician, Philippe is a compassionate and deeply caring human being, and as one who has been to hell and back and lived to tell the story, I would be remiss if I did not attest to the accomplishments of the man who for a few months ministered to me on a daily basis, helping me to overcome a seemingly endless array of obstacles in my efforts to step back from the edge of the abyss and reclaim my health.
A final word regarding Philippe’s work: During the five months I spent at Philippe’s Concussion and Traumatology Clinic, I had the good fortune of observing him treat a number of children suffering from brain disorders, e.g., epilepsy. I do not know if you have ever seen the film “The Horse Whisperer” (starring Robert Redford), but if you haven’t and want to get a palpable sense of how Philippe works with children, I strongly recommend that you to do so. Besides being highly competent in his field – he was often times able to ameliorate, if not eliminate, the seizure pattern in injured children patients I observed within ten to twelve weeks – Philippe is a master at instilling trust in his children patients. He brings a quality of compassion, patience and understanding to bear so that even the sickest and most rebellious of the children smiles and reaches out to him when he enters the room.
- Nigel. C.
