Amy Grant's traumatic brain injury took away her “superpower” and led to a life change

Two years after Amy Grant suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bicycle accident, she is now only looking to the future.

In a new interview with AARP, the Christian singer-songwriter opened up about how she managed to overcome the depression she suffered after having her “superpower” taken away from her and explained why she decided to make big changes to transform her life.

“I've had to be very patient with myself,” Grant said. “I've shed a lot of good, hard tears. And I've been through depression. But everyone recovers from something. That's life. If nothing else, we recover every day from the shock of what it means to grow old. My memory used to be my superpower. Now I can't trust my memory. But there are hidden gifts in everything.”

Amy Grant talks about her “healing journey” after a head injury in a bicycle accident at the Kennedy Center.

“Our mindsets, the stories we tell ourselves, become our reality,” she added. “Find the tools you need to move forward.”

In 2022, the “Baby, Bay” singer was unconscious for about 10 minutes after falling from her bicycle. She was treated in hospital for cuts and abrasions as well as a concussion.

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“Amy is getting stronger every day,” Grant's manager Jennifer Cooke said in the statement at the time. “Just like after her heart surgery, we are amazed at how quickly she is healing. Although she is doing much better, we have made the difficult decision to postpone her fall tour so she can focus on her recovery and rebuild her stamina. She wants to be able to give 100% on her tours and unfortunately we don't believe that will be the case when rehearsals begin for the fall dates.”

Grant said doctors discovered a cyst that had formed in her throat during the accident.

“I had this bike accident and unbeknownst to me, I had a cyst in my neck that had exploded in size due to the trauma of the bike accident,” she told E! News earlier this year. “I had this five-hour surgery and they removed it.”

Amy Grant says she relied on her faith after a terrible bicycle accident: “It helped me not to be afraid”

Two years earlier, Grant had another health scare when she was diagnosed with PAPVR (partial anomalous pulmonary venous return)., This had led to complications with blood circulation in the chambers near her heart. She underwent open-heart surgery to correct the birth defect.

Speaking to Fox News Digital at the 45th Kennedy Center Honors later that year, Grant discussed her return to the spotlight and expressed her gratitude for her husband, Vince Gill.

“I was nervous that first day,” Grant said of the performance. “I forgot the lyrics to the songs I wrote. I'm on a healing journey right now. … You know, love and kindness are very healing too, and I'm not kidding – I feel fulfilled from head to toe.”

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“[Vince] was just so patient,” she added. “Vince has a way of grounding the space that we're in without saying a word. I think early on I asked, 'What if I'm different, what if I'm not the same?' and he said, 'Hey, every day we wake up a little bit different, and we love each other, and that's good.'”

For months after her accident, Grant told AARP, she couldn't leave the house, look at screens or use her phone. Although it was a difficult time, she found other ways to cope.

“I wait for the silence to find me,” she said of her emotional recovery, which she found alongside her physical recovery. “I have a daily ritual to connect with myself. I drink a cup of coffee and stand barefoot in the grass. I welcome the day. Less than a week ago, I was so excited about something, but I went outside in the grass that night… and sat there in silence, but I could recognize that I was a tiny part of a bigger whole. And I stayed until I felt peace.”

“I'm so glad I'm here! But I need to be more conscious about my health,” she added. “For example, I now drink non-alcoholic beer. I discovered swimming in 2021 and joined the YMCA because I travel a lot and there is a YMCA in most cities. I'm not cycling again yet because I still have some balance issues. But I'm working on it.”

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Grant, who is currently touring and recording, has also made a commitment to accept help when it is offered.

“No one accomplishes anything great alone,” she said. “As we get older, understandably some things fade, but problem-solving skills actually increase. For me, the adventure is in connecting need and surplus. I love gathering in a purposeful community. The best thing we can give each other is our presence, by actually being there for each other.”

“I've been saying for decades that I can't control other people's choices, but I can control my own,” she added. “We have to be intentional with the life we ​​have. The great thing about being in your 60s is that you don't feel the pressure to make a difference in life anymore. So I look at other people my age and say if we want to see change, it has to be our generation that does it. We're in the perfect place. We've done what we're going to do, but we're not dead yet!”

Source of the original article: Amy Grant's traumatic brain injury took away her “superpower” and led to a life change