By Alex Boucher ’16| Staff Writer

Out sailing on a fall afternoon, a sudden gust of wind forever changed the life of Brenna Klick ’16.

That day, the wind was moving quickly, which caused the boom on the sailboat to swing around faster than expected, Klick said. The boom came around and collided with the side of her head, knocking her into the water.

“My coach grabbed me from the water, and after sitting in the boat for a while, I started tasting something like iron,” said Klick.

Brenna was taken to the hospital immediately after the accident, her mother Lisa Klick said.

During the weeks following the accident she was diagnosed with Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS) and mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Klick said. On top of that, Klick has Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMJ), along with five other jaw problems.

“As time has gone on we’ve found out that tons of people are in the same boat as I am,” said Klick. “Those people, just like my family, have found out that no one really knows anything about this condition.”

Symptoms, particularly in PCS can include headaches, memory problems, blurred vision, amnesia and fatigue, Dr. Michael Dionne, Medical Doctor out of Beaumont hospital, said. They can last for a variable amount of time, from days to multiple years.

“A significant concern I have with this condition is the psychological aspect,” said Dionne. “That could include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression.”

After the accident, Klick had to take a break from both school and sailing. Klick says she misses being in school and is also concerned about not having the ability to sail gain.

“I miss just the high school experience; I know it sounds stupid,” said Klick. “I spend 99 percent of the time in my room sleeping, so believe it or not I really miss school.”

Hanging out with friends can be difficult for long periods of time because she gets “over-stimulated,” Klick said. When that happens, she needs to lay down and sleep in order to get over the headaches.

“My head will feel like it’s in a vice and I have to vomit, but hanging out with my friends is worth it because I don’t get to see them very often,” said Klick. “Using the television, the computer and being in a room with people talking makes me feel miserable.”

Along with those restrictions, one of the main difficulties she has is her choice in foods, Klick said. Klick survives on a bread and water diet. Baby food is also something she can keep down as well.

“I can’t eat any chocolate, burgers, anything fried, or acidic,” said Klick. “I can’t drink anything with caffeine, basically anything a normal teenager would eat or drink.”

As far as her daily routine goes, she wakes up at nine a.m. and if all is well, does some exercise, Klick said. For breakfast, if she’s feeling well, she eats oatmeal. If it is a Tuesday or Thursday friends from school come to visit during their lunch hour.

“To have people come over and visit means a ton. I enjoy every minute they’re here,” said Klick. “I’ve been isolated in this house for over a year and a half, so you can imagine any human interaction is rare.”

To occupy her time she likes to watch black and white movies, Klick said. The movies with color bother her head, so she’s seen quite a few old movies.

“I have learned to really appreciate the classics,” said Klick. “I also sit and listen to my records a lot, which I love to do, it all sounds pretty fun, right?”

Movies are a huge help, as long as they are black and white or early color, because they are not as stimulating, Klick said. They have also taught her a lot.

“Comedies help me get away from everything,” said Klick. “Especially when I’m starting to feel depressed.”

Life at home has changed a lot, Lisa Klick said. Things are now very quiet. Normal talking noise is not something Brenna can handle, but there also cannot be slamming doors or clanking plates. If they travel somewhere they must also have Brenna’s medication in case she begins to feel badly again.

“Brenna is a very well-adjusted kid; if she weren’t then we would really have our hands full,” said Lisa. “We consider this the ‘new normal’ for now. It is easier to take that way, I think.”

Brenna isn’t able to spend a lot of time with her family watching television because it hurts her eyes and head, Lisa said. When she rides in the car Brenna always sits in the backseat because it is darker and she sees less from the outside.

“She has discovered some really super people that she never would have met before. There are quite a few out there in her condition, or something similar,” said Lisa. “No one knows what this is like unless you are going through it, too. It really is nothing like anything we’ve ever encountered.”

Dealing with school has been a stressful experience to say the least, Klick said. The school has given her a tutor, math teacher Alan Vassel, to help teach her the math she can’t learn on her own. For a while she had two tutors coming, but with her unpredictable health she wasn’t able to keep a consistent schedule, so they dropped back down to one.

“It’s really hard to concentrate or even stare at words on a paper with a brain injury,” said Klick.

Despite doing her best to stay caught up and having a tutor, she is incredibly behind, Klick said. With her inability to focus for a long period of time, the constant headaches and the various medications doing schoolwork is very difficult.

“The first year after Brenna’s accident dealing with the school was very difficult,” said Lisa. “Everyone was doing their best, but I was given a lot of misinformation that hindered Brenna’s education and condition.”

Although there are so many new things they have to deal with, they try to do things to distract the family from what is going on, Lisa said. Some fun activities they do are, going on short walks, talking trips to Eastern Market and checking out flea markets.

“We try to also do any other thing that may be outside or dimly lit,” said Lisa.

Brenna is not desperate for anything, but having people around to spend time with her and distract her means more than many people know, Lisa said.

“Even if you don’t know Brenna, take a chance and give her a call, what is it going to hurt?” said Lisa. “Everyone is so busy these days, it is easy to forget that there are people out there that need you.”