A Syracuse woman is turning one of the darkest pages in her family’s lives into a way to make a difference.

This month, the Brain Injury Association of New York honored Kelly Thune, who after suffering a severe concussion in 2017 was forced to give up her career and home.

She says with the help of her daughters, she has forged a new path by sharing her experience with others, helping them heal and discover the peace she was able to find.

“You just don’t know how quickly life can change,” she said.

Five years ago, Thune thought she knew basically what the remaining years of her career were going to look like.

“I have had a career as an educator. First, I started off as a high school chemistry teacher and then I transitioned into school administration,” she said.

But one day at work back in 2017, she says her life changed forever.

“I heard some screams behind a door,” she said. “I opened the door to try to see what was happening and the door was kicked shut on my head, resulting in a pretty significant concussion.”

While many people who suffer concussions playing sports or in an accident recover in a matter of days, she wants everyone to be aware that that’s not always the case, especially when it comes to repeat injuries, as was in her case.

“You can’t see a broken brain like you can see broken bones,” she said. “I have days where I can just be me, and there are other days where if I do too much, my symptoms surge and I absolutely crash. I need flexibility in my life.”

She said the fallout and lasting effects of the injury not only took away her career, leaving her unable to work in her field, she says her family lost their home and had to forge a new path.

But her daughter Mika said she doesn’t look back on the aftermath of the injury through a lens of negativity.

“I think in the long run, it just made us a lot stronger and it brought us together,” she said.

Now, Thune said she’s hoping to spread that positivity, inspired by the Finnish word Sisu, or strength, determination and resilience, to inspire others in her situation.

“Don’t be afraid to ask others for help,” she said. “It might be humbling, but people want to help you, and if it wasn’t for family and friends, I don’t know if I would’ve ever been able to make it through this.”

Through her book by the same name, she is forging powerful relationships with fellow brain injury survivors.

“I had an individual that also suffered a traumatic brain injury contact me, letting me know that he had a suicide plan and decided that he wasn’t going to follow through,” she said.

And despite all of those years working in education, she said she now feels that helping survivors and raising awareness is her true calling.

“I felt like everything that I had been through, as difficult as it was, was worth it because I am now giving back into the greater capacity than I have ever been able to give in my life,” she said.

Thune said she has had further discussions with other brain injury survivors who have contemplated taking their own life, and urges anyone to know that there is always help available.