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Your gift today is an investment in BrainTrust services that improve the lives of those with brain injury.
Donate Today
When Lisa Lauter took the stage at the West Coast Brain Injury Conference this October, she spoke as a retired nurse, a public health professional, an author and a survivor. Her session, One Step at a Time: A Multi-Targeted Approach to Healing from Brain Injury, shared what she learned rebuilding her own health after autoimmune encephalitis, and we’re proud to share her story here.
A diagnosis no one saw coming
In July 2017, Lisa had a tonic-clonic seizure at her family’s cottage in Ontario. It was the first clear sign of something she had been brushing off for months as the fatigue and forgetfulness of a busy life. It took almost seven months to find a neurologist who could name what was happening: LGI1 autoimmune encephalitis, a rare condition in which the immune system attacks the brain.
Autoimmune encephalitis causes inflammation of the brain and leads to a brain injury similar to stroke, meningitis, concussion and other acquired brain injuries. Depending on the part of the brain affected, it can bring seizures, memory loss, brain fog, fatigue and difficulty walking.
Healing one step at a time
With a background in nursing, Lisa knew she would need to do everything possible to recover. She researched how evidence-informed holistic approaches and a range of rehabilitation therapies could complement the conventional medicine that saved her life. Today she is in remission and feels almost fully back to herself, though she is the first to say that recovery is slow and rarely a straight line.
Her experience with a health care system that often feels fragmented shaped the message she brought to the conference: advocate for yourself, build a health care team around you, and take healing one step at a time.
Turning recovery into advocacy
Lisa holds a Bachelor of Nursing Science and a Master of Public Health, and her public health career has taken her from Beijing, China, to Houston, Texas. Since 2020 she has led a support group for the Autoimmune Encephalitis Alliance, and she is a member of the Alliance’s Living with AE Advisory Council. In 2021 she received a Most Inspirational Survivor award recognizing her work in the autoimmune encephalitis community.
The book
Songbirds Keep Singing: A Memoir of Healing from Autoimmune Brain Inflammation
During her recovery, Lisa wished for a guidebook on healing. So she wrote one. Using her experience as both a survivor and a nurse, Lisa explores the value of applying holistic concepts such as mindset, nutrition, exercise, gut health, hormones and the environment alongside conventional medical treatments to recover from a rare autoimmune disease that caused brain injury.
It’s a valuable resource for people with brain injuries and autoimmune diseases, caregivers and health care professionals, and for anyone navigating a complicated diagnosis who is curious about a multi-targeted approach to healing.
Listen
Lisa on CBC Radio’s Daybreak South
Lisa joined CBC’s Daybreak South to talk about her experience navigating the health care system after her diagnosis.
Connect with Lisa
Outside of her advocacy work, Lisa enjoys cooking, skiing and getting out in nature. She lives in Nelson, British Columbia, with her husband. You can find her at lisalauter.com and on social media at @LisaLauter.AE.