11/28/2025
HOW FITNESS CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF MY TBI RECOVERY
🗣️ Most people know me as the creator of The Harkins Method™ and founder of Neuro State of Mind™ and now, The Harkins Project, VRx™, … but before ANY of that?
I was an 18-year-old girl from Rowlett, Texas living alone in El Segundo, CA who had just survived her first severe traumatic brain injury.
📸 Picture 1 — Age 18 (First time EVER to share my TBI photos publicly)
Wearing a neck brace, smiling after flat-lining, waking from a coma, and overcoming temporary quadriplegia + a bruised spinal cord.
It was the very beginning of my TBI journey — the one that would test me, shape me, and reveal who I would become.
After doing one single push-up in my tiny studio apartment, I decided I would still try to become a firefighter + EMT… my childhood dream.
After all, I had been given another chance at life.
I started working out when my body felt broken, my identity was shaken, and my doctors told me:
“This is as good as it gets.”
The pain was physical… but the internal battle was worse.
The overwhelm overwhelming thoughts, and emotions of “What if…?”
I hit a point where I realized I could surrender to the diagnosis — or fight for my future.
So I chose to fight.
After all, it takes courage to heal.
And in our weakest moments, we discover just how powerful and strong we truly are.
And I wasn’t alone — God was with me.
Fitness became the catalyst of my healing — the foundation that changed the trajectory of my recovery.
Not because I wanted to “get in shape,” but because movement gave me proof that healing was still possible.
I relearned to walk while relearning to speak.
Then I ran.
Then I lifted.
I rebuilt my atrophied muscles and worked two jobs to afford a trainer who helped me rebuild from the ground up.
But the REAL transformation didn’t happen until I did two things right:
1️⃣ I trained my mind with the same intensity as my body.
2️⃣ I learned how to activate neuroplasticity on purpose — training my mind + brain as a team.
That’s when everything changed.
📸 Picture 2 (Diagnosed Healed & A Thriving Career
Standing with Dr. David Kawashiri at Cedars-Sinai — hearing him say:
“You’ve healed yourself, Shawnee.”
The protocol I created (now The Harkins Method™) restored my brain + nervous system after 3 TBIs and years of complications.
Today, I help others do the same.
Our brain CAN heal, rewire, adapt, and transform after trauma.
My mission is to implant hope for every TBI, ABI, concussion, and stroke survivor — and anyone navigating anxiety, depression, or PTSD — who refuses to give up.
If you relate to ANY part of my story, drop a ❤️ below.
To the survivors + caregivers keeping their eyes on the prize — you got this! 🏅🕊️
Pass the love. 🫶
Share the light. ✨
Chase Greatness. 🌈
