The Forgotten 30%: Navigating Life with Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms | E24
About This Episode
Chaandani Khan's story begins with a life derailed. Six years ago, a car accident left this high-achieving event planner with a concussion that transformed her world overnight. The woman who once thrived on 70-hour work weeks, constant travel, and a packed social calendar suddenly couldn't make a sandwich or find matching shoes. The cognitive fog was so thick that even basic tasks became mountains to climb.
What unfolds in this raw, vulnerable conversation is a journey through the challenging landscape of persistent post-concussion syndrome (PPCS). Chaandani shares how she navigated years of appointments with multiple practitioners—sometimes five days a week—while grappling with the profound question: "Who am I now that everything that defined me has been stripped away?"
The heartbeat of this episode is the critical gap Chaandani identified during her recovery: many healthcare providers, though well-intentioned, aren't truly "concussion-informed." She describes how practitioners might overwhelm patients with too much information delivered too rapidly, or fail to recognize when patients are "masking" their symptoms while internally struggling. With approximately 30% of concussion cases becoming persistent, this represents thousands of people potentially falling through the cracks.
Today, Chaandani has transformed her experience into a mission. She now educates practitioners on practical strategies to better serve their concussion patients—from slowing speech patterns to controlling environmental factors like lighting and sound. She's developing an online learning community for professionals launching in 2025, aiming to create systemic change that improves outcomes for all PPCS patients.
Connect with Chaandani at www.returntolife.ca and discover how her work is helping bridge the gap between patients and practitioners in the concussion recovery journey.
Email Chaandani: hello@returntolife.ca