Video: Woman tells how tripping over in a restaurant led to a life-changing brain injury

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Video: Woman tells how tripping over in a restaurant led to a life-changing brain injury

2019-02-21 13:05 Last Updated At：14:27

Emjaye Bowman is using music as her therapy as she battles through her life-changing diagnosis.

A woman who has suffered terrifying seizures and temporary paralysis since a fall in a darkly lit restaurant led to a life-changing brain injury is using music to raise awareness of “invisible disabilities,” after it eased her own symptoms.

After tripping and slamming her head into a metal DJ booth in the restaurant, causing her to black out during the 2006 drama, Emjaye Bowman, 33, of Central Birmingham, was rushed to the hospital and treated for a fractured face and bruising, before being sent home.

But, plagued by a throbbing pain in her head since the event, two years later in 2008 she was diagnosed with the functional neurological disorder (FND) and dissociative disorder (DD).

Emjaye, who is single, recalled her accident, saying: “One minute I was walking across the restaurant. The next I knew I had tripped over a box that shouldn’t have been in the middle of the floor and I blacked out.

“After the fall and the initial hospital treatment, I just tried to move forwards and carry on, but it was clear to me that something else was wrong other than fractured bones.

“I was blacking out constantly and even had seizures. I had no idea what was going on. I knew I had to get myself checked out again, so I ended up having plenty of observations and scans over the course of two years, which finally led to a horrific diagnosis.”

Discovering she had FMD – where mystery symptoms like headaches and blurred vision are caused by problems in the nervous system and DD, which causes seizures, paralysis and loss of sensation, resulting from a communication problem with the brain, according to the NHS – Emjaye was devastated.

Once forced to spend a whole week in hospitals throughout Birmingham, feeling completely ‘numb,’ as a result of her condition, Emjaye spent more and more time feeling “trapped” indoors due to fearing for her safety in public – until music became her salvation.

Now living with her friend and full-time carer, Lea Walton, 47, she said: “I have always loved music.”

She continued: “But I started using it as therapy by letting it connect to my thoughts and feelings around my condition.

“Somehow music has magically helped me. Whenever I’m listening to it or being creative, I have far fewer seizures. It allows me to express what I truly want to say about my condition. It’s been a healthy way for me to get used to my new life.”

Also a keen poet, Emjaye, whose health prevents her from working, finds writing verse a cathartic exercise – enabling her to express herself and talk about her condition.

“I love the impact poetry has when it comes to communicating how I feel, ” she said.

“Knowing how helpful poetry and music has been for me, I decided to branch out and invite other people with invisible disabilities like mine to join me.”

Late last year, Emjaye set up Warriors of The World – a self-funded group, inviting people with invisible disabilities like hers to come together for small music, poetry and performance events, which are based in Central Birmingham and can last for up to five hours – to raise awareness and provide a setting to meet people in similar situations.

Emjaye, who once worked as a senior performance administrator before her accident, said: “People who are blind, deaf, have chronic illnesses, mental illness, or other conditions we wouldn’t necessarily notice right away are the people I want to raise awareness for.

“People who show up don’t have to perform – it’s just a place for us to share our experiences in whatever way we are comfortable doing so.

“I want to break down barriers and challenge the stereotype of what people assume is a disability.”

Emjaye, also known by her persona Lady MJ on stage, recites poems about her health at events, which include lines like, ‘waiting for the lights to go out, feeling my last breath.’

“People constantly assume that because I’m young and look healthy, that I must have no complications,” said Emjaye, who hopes the performances will help people to understand what day-to-day life is like for someone like her

“While I have improved quite a bit since the accident, I’m still a work in progress and have a lot of complications I deal with.”

She added: “So many people walk around burdened by a secret condition that hardly anyone knows about. Now it’s time we made these illnesses more visible and spoke about them, so that we can get the awareness we deserve.

“I want everyone struggling with an invisible illness to find a release in music, like me, and to know that they’ve been heard and that someone sees them.”

Emjaye’s cause can be found at warriorsoftheworld.co.uk.

Mbappé scores twice as PSG beats Barcelona to reverse 1st-leg loss and reach Champions League semis

2024-04-17 06:46 Last Updated At：20:50

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Playing with an extra man for more than an hour, Paris Saint-Germain rallied against Barcelona to reach the Champions League semifinals.

Kylian Mbappé scored twice as PSG reversed its first-leg loss at home with a 4-1 win at Barcelona on Tuesday to advance 6-4 on aggregate and keep alive its hopes of a first European title in what is the France star's final season with the club.

Former Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembélé and Vitinha also scored for PSG, which took advantage of a 29th-minute red card to Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo after he fouled Bradley Barcola while trying to stop a breakaway.

“When it was 11 against 11 we were well organized. The sending off changes everything. The match changed completely,” said Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández, who was later sent off himself for complaining. “We would have liked to play PSG 11 against 11. That should not have been a red card.”

Barcelona had gotten off to a good start and opened the scoring with a goal by Raphinha in the 12th, but the visitors took control with the man advantage and didn't let Barcelona get back into the game. Xavi had to replace young forward Lamine Yamal with defender Iñigo Martínez after the red card to Araujo, who was deemed by the referee to be the last defender when he fouled Barcola.

PSG is back in the semifinals after two consecutive eliminations in the round of 16.

“I feel very proud," said PSG coach Luis Enrique, a former Barcelona player and coach. “We showed what we wanted to do here today. We conceded a goal, but we stayed intact mentally. We continued to play, to attack. We did everything we could to be better than Barcelona. My players showed a lot of character, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of desire.”

The Catalan side, which won the first leg 3-2 in Paris last week, made it to the knockout stage of Europe's top club competition after back-to-back eliminations in the group stage.

In the other quarterfinal on Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund defeated Atletico Madrid 4-2 at home to advance 5-4 on aggregate. PSG and Dortmund will meet in one of the semifinals.

Mbappé scored his goals in the 61st and 89th minutes. The France star is hoping to win what would be a first Champions League title for himself and for PSG before he leaves the club.

Barcelona opened the scoring in its first attack with a fortuitous goal by Raphinha after Lamine Yamal’s low cross from the right side bounced off the shin of the Brazil forward and went into the net.

PSG equalized about 10 minutes after Araujo was sent off, with Dembélé finding the net by the far post after a cross by Barcola. Dembélé, named the man of the match, was loudly jeered by the Barcelona crowd when he was substituted in the final minutes. He had also scored in the first leg in Paris.

“We didn’t give up, we knew we were going to score goals here,” Dembélé said. “A big shift from the whole team. We worked the entire week, tactically, with the coach. His tactics were perfect. Even though we conceded the first goal, we didn’t let our heads drop. We continued to believe.”

PSG took the lead when Vitinha fired a low shot from outside the area in the 54th. The visitors increased their lead when Mbappé converted a penalty kick after Dembélé was brought down by João Cancelo inside the area.

Barcelona had chances to get back into the game, with Ilkay Gündogan hitting the post in the 56th and both Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha squandering chances toward the end of the match.

Mbappé's second goal came from close range in a breakaway in the final minutes. He has now scored at least 40 club goals in all competitions for the third time in four seasons with PSG. He has scored 13 goals in his last 13 Champions League matches.

Xavi was sent off after kicking a cushion protecting a sideline camera in the 56th.

Video: Woman tells how tripping over in a restaurant led to a life-changing brain injury

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Video: Woman tells how tripping over in a restaurant led to a life-changing brain injury

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