The Hills star Lo Bosworth talks brain injury: ‘It’s hard’

Lo Bosworth revealed last week that she had secretly suffered a traumatic brain injury two years ago.

The Hills star passed out on the floor after a door came off its hinges and hit her in the head while she was enjoying a friend’s birthday party at a New York City restaurant.

Now the 34-year-old has told E! News how difficult it has been to recover. ‘It’s hard to get words out, harder to find the words that I’m looking for to express myself,’ she shared.

When she woke up she realized she had a huge bump on my head and a black eye. ‘The doctor told me if the door had hit me an inch further back, it could have been a really serious accident.’

She was bedridden for week and she could not think as fast as she used to: ‘I hardly have a recollection of those first few weeks. I was terrified.’

Lo added: ‘I was struggling to tell him the difference in monetary value between a quarter and a dime. It took me a solid 30 seconds to figure it out. It was during appointments like that that I realized, Wow, I really need to take it easy.’

The Love Wellness founder knew it was time to slow down.

‘My team just stepped in and took charge,’ she said. ‘My family and friends, everyone cheered me on and was understanding of everything I was going through.’

But she was afraid to tell her fans.

‘I just felt some hesitancy, maybe I felt like the severity of it was not valid enough.

‘It’s very challenging when you look OK on the outside, but you’re not OK on the inside,’ she admitted. ‘If I had not been through this experience, I probably would also think, You look fine. I’ve asked you out to dinner three times. Why can’t you make it? People were like, “What’s wrong with you?”‘

She was diagnosed with mononucleosis – which brings crippling exhaustion – three months after her accident. The stress of her accident may have triggered it. 

A week ago she told her Instagram followers about still having trouble recalling words and difficulty expressing her thoughts, at times.

‘2 years ago in March I suffered a traumatic brain injury I didn’t tell you guys about,’ the reality star captioned a video of her doing an at-home workout.

She continued: ‘I was at a restaurant in lower Manhattan (which shall remain nameless bc accidents happen) and while sitting in a banquet had one of the swinging kitchen doors fall off it’s hinges and on to my head.’

‘I was in the hospital and suffered a moderate to severe concussion for months. I took weeks off work and the road to recovery was long,’ the Love Wellness wrote, before noting the severities of her injuries. 

A few weeks after the incident, Bosworth found herself ‘feeling totally lost on 3rd avenue and 21st street’ and not sure ‘which direction to walk in.’  

‘I still struggle to recall words from time to time and get my thoughts out coherently 2 years later,’ she added.   

The entrepreneur concluded her message by saying the post is a reminder that health is ‘precious and sometimes taken for granted.’ 

‘If you have it, take advantage of it. All my love,’ she told her fans.  

In response, Venus Williams commented ‘happy to see you doing well and recovering and inspiring others!’

‘I also have memory issues/ lose my words due to brain fog from autoimmune issues. I know the feeling!’ the tennis player, who suffers from Sjogren’s syndrome, admitted. 

In 2017, Bosworth spoke about battling depression and anxiety on her blog, The Lo Down.  

‘Can you imagine having a 60 day long panic attack? I can now – I lived it,’ she wrote after suffering from a ‘racing mind, impulsive behavior and insomnia for ‘almost two months without any relief.’