AMERICA | 21-year-old, Carrisse Samuel who faced a serious brain injury during her studies, has defied the odds to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Digital Enterprise Management from the University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada.
During her second year, while preparing for exams, Samuel began experiencing short-term memory loss, according to the university’s website. She told a friend over Skype that she could not remember anything she did that day.
Concerned, a family friend took her to the emergency department, where doctors initially dismissed her symptoms as exam-related anxiety. However, her condition worsened. She had to return home, and at one point, she stopped recognizing her mother.
Samuel later suffered two grand mal seizures, with the second one leading her into a coma
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Doctors later diagnosed Samuel with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a rare autoimmune disease that attacks the brain, often referred to as “brain on fire.” The condition is commonly caused by teratomas, tumors that usually form in women’s ovaries. In Samuel’s case, doctors discovered multiple teratomas.
Her mother, Bernadine, a nurse, understood the severity of the illness and prayed tirelessly for her daughter’s recovery. After spending five months in a coma, Samuel miraculously woke up.
However, she had to relearn everything from scratch—speaking, eating, walking, and even reading. “I woke up in a daze, surrounded by bright lights, machines and me hooked up to wires. A man in white asks me my name, and it takes all the strength I have to mutter my own name,” Samuel recalls.
Beyond the physical and cognitive struggles, Samuel also had to relearn social etiquette, emotional regulation, and respecting boundaries. Her personality changed drastically—once calm and collected, she became moody and impulsive.
She also underwent surgery to remove both ovaries, a difficult reality that led to depression. However, she found hope in a support group for individuals with acquired brain injuries, which helped her cope emotionally.
Despite the doctor’s prognosis, Samuel recovered faster than expected, driven by one powerful motivation: graduating on time with her peers.
“My motivation was that I needed to graduate school. That was something that lit a fire under me. I wanted to finish and walk across that stage and say, ‘I did it.’ That was really important to me,” she said.
Determined to complete her degree, Samuel resumed school part-time after rehabilitation. Though she initially struggled to focus and was advised by doctors to take a break, she persisted and enrolled in two summer courses.
She credits the university accessibility services and her patient, supportive professors with helping her manage her workload by providing accommodations such as extra time to complete assignments and tests and allowing 15-minute breaks from class.
Even though she passed just one of the courses, given the circumstances, it was a clear win for Samuel and she was able to return to school full-time with some ongoing accommodations.
She graduated from the University of Toronto in four years and is on her way to full recovery. Samuel is now fully focused on her postgraduate plans and hopes to pursue a Master of Information degree at the University of Toronto, Mississauga.
Despite losing some memories from her time of illness, she is grateful for her second chance at life and is on her way to a full recovery.
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