The Resilience Project: While recovering from a brain injury Annabelle Collins launched a business and helped fight Covid-19
This story is part of The Resilience Project , a Stuff and Sunday Star-Times investigation into how people have survived life shocks. When the doctor first gave Annabelle Collins her prognosis, she refused to believe it. "I thought 'no, thats not happening'. It was definitely [a] surprise, a little bit of horror, like 'I cant afford to lose this much time. Ive got things to do'. A PhD student at the University of Auckland, Collins was in 2019 diagnosed with a brain injury and told it would take her at least a year to recover. READ MORE: * How a car crash and brain injury changed an Auckland woman's life for the better * Coronavirus: From a brain injury to helping fight Covid-19 by 3-D printing PPE * Christchurch woman bashed in her car by stranger at traffic lights Originally from the UK, Collins moved to New Zealand in 2017 for research, hoping to develop treatments for tuberculosis. But her brain injury , believed to have been sustained in a serious car crash , left the 24-year-old effectively "illiterate". The crash on Aucklands northern motorway saw her walk away with no serious injuries. But after she returned to home she slept for nearly two days straight. When Collins arrived at work the next week she couldn't read the words on her computer screen. She was told she likely suffered a brain injury when her brain hit her skull as her head snapped forward and backward during the crash. The injury affected her memory. She had to relearn to read. After taking three months' medical leave and on specialists advice, Collins made the "heartbreaking" decision to leave her PhD programme. That meant losing a scholarship worth $27,000 per year her main source of income. Because the funding was not technically a salary or wage Collins did not qualify for ACC loss of income payments. Her anxiety worsened, and she spiralled into depression. Fortunately, loved ones offered support, which made a "world of difference." Eventually Collins saw a therapist, which gave her coping techniques like mindfulness. Keeping a journal also helped. On especially tough days she would focus on all the beautiful things in her environment, from the bark on a tree to the reflection of the sun on metal. But Collins quickly became bored. Watching TV gave her a migraine, so she occupied herself with reading, colouring in, and walking to the playground. One of her favourite games to play with friends was Dungeons & Dragons . She started 3D-printing and painting pieces for the game, which used a spatial part of her brain which was not injured. Soon, Dungeons & Dragons fans were asking to buy her creations and Collins saw an opportunity. This year she launched her e-commerce business Modular Realms, which has been inundated with pre-orders. A Kickstarter page to help fund the start-up has raised nearly $40,000. During the coronavirus pandemic , she used her 3D-printing skills to make free personal protective equipment for medical professionals in the UK and New Zealand. Her resilience came from recognising when she needed help "You dont get points for having pride and once you (seek support), man it makes a difference and n hindsight, she believed the change had been for the better. "Its weird because obviously little bits of who I was disappeared for a while. Some of them came back and some of them didnt. So Im not really the same person I was a year ago. To start a business and completely change myself this is not somewhere I thought I was going but man am I enjoying the ride.