Name: Katie M.

City: Anchorage, AK

Brain Injury: My mom was in multiple car crashes resulting in permanent neck and shoulder damage and a brain stem injury.

Explanation of Mask: I tried to represent the world my mom lives in. The black band across the eyes is her changed perception, both physically and in the fog of frustration I know she always feels. The swirls are vertigo, the small red marks pain. The blue and green lines are the outside world invading and overstimulating. The jumbled letters represent all her difficulties communicating, and specifically aphasia and word salad. I chose the darkened base tone because this trauma is like a shadow over my mom – as much as it is part of her now, it’s not who she feels she really is.