- My mom took us down to go to the spa today, and so we're in the steam room, and some people came in.

It's not like you're not gonna have deep, meaningful conversation in a steam room, and of course I'm talking and they said, "Where are you from?"

(cheerful flute music) I tried to say I'm from Woodbury, Vermont, and they're like, "Well, not with that accent, you're not."

And so then what do you do?

They're on vacation.

They don't want to know.

They're just making small talk.

So I'm like, "Well, no, I've got concussion "and it causes my voice to sound funny."

And she literally took a step away from me, looked across the room and just left, and I was like, all right.

Okay, now.

I normally sounds like your typical east coast Vermonter.

Cassidy, hey, there she goes.

Hey, Cassidy, did you just go up the stairs?

His roll little mouth was drawn up like a bow and the beard on his chin - I hear her bells.

- was as white as the snow.

- Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.

- Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.

- [Family] Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.

- Yeah, we come out and watch him.

Yeah, so it's gonna get exciting here in a second.

We'll go around the corner.

(laughs) Boy went right down in the ditch.

- Good?

- Yeah.

(laughs) Let's, see, oh, Aidens all snowy.

Mason must be next.

So January 15th, 2017, I was coaching part-time for ski racing.

I hit my head, and I didn't pass out or anything, but I knew I had got a concussion, and I decided I'd go back up on the hill just until the kids were done with their morning training, and I got a hit twice in the finish line by two, little 12-year-olds.

So within an hour I'd gotten hit three times, which is not good, and about four months in, something weird started to happen.

I started to get some complications.

It gets, that's a hard part.

And this just developed slowly over the course of a week and the last day, it's gotten quite severe.

I went to my cognitive therapy yesterday, and they could not really answer my questions.

- (sighs) You know, it started as a bump in the head.

You know, she hit her head skiing, and because the doctors, she didn't lose consciousness, she remembered the incident, and I'm not sure about this.

It's Christmas morning.

- Just until recently, it's been a silent household.

For a long time, we only had one light on in the house and no music and no television.

I had headphones and ear muffs on and sunglasses.

So I try to have a sense of humor about it, because this is kind of funny.

You talk so funny, but it's quite serious.

(sad piano music) - (sighs) So I'll start again.

So that changed in May when her speech became impacted, and that's when, I don't, I'm gonna just pause.

I don't know if I can do this or if I want, I don't know how to do it.

I don't know how to say it.

- They thought maybe I was having a stroke, 'cause that's what it sounded like, and turns out it wasn't having a stroke.

It was just a manifestation of the concussion.

It began to level out after that.

The doctors say that it's like the fight or flight symptoms, and it has to come out of you somehow, and they said that was just because of the anxiety in the brain trying to deal with what happened.

Every now and then, my own voice will pop out.

It'll last for like 45 minutes or something, and so I quick call my parents and my husband and be like, hey, it's me!

Hey, it's me.

Do you think I should get some beer for Beth and Mike or we have enough to give them?

I sounded Czechoslovakian for a few months.

I sounded a French-Canadian.

Well, I live in Vermont, and I have a husband and two kids and a dog and a bunch of chickens.

I've sounded Swedish.

Hi, it's me.

I's just calling to see how your trip was to Montreal and all the fun stuff you did going to Kinky Boots and call me.

I want to catch up, bye.

I've had this one, now, since, like January, 'cause I have Swedish for Christmas, so.

(laughs) - You think that it's kind of made up, and it's not, and you have to absolutely understand that this is out of her control, and once you accept that, it becomes much more easy to pallet, and up until that point, though, you're thinking, gosh, does she have to say those words like that?

- It was pretty scary, actually.

I don't think I really realized what was happening when it was exactly happening, but.

- Like when her accent changes, that's kind of weird for a while until I get used to it.

Irish was, kind of, annoying.

Yeah, the whole experience has been really strange.

(family talking over each other) - I think it's a little stressful for everyone to hear these words that come out that are so different than who she really is.

Like we bit and you're like, well, where do you get this stuff?

Unless, what do you go and study in the Irish accent or something?

I mean-- - Which I'm not.

(laughs) - No, I know you're not.

You know, so.

(laughs) - So yeah.

- Top of the morning.

Top of the morning.

- It is funny.

- We'll have a we bit.

- I don't say top of the morning.

I don't say that, but there are some things that just come out my mouth that you're like, what the heck?

I've never said that before in my life.

Tom will go.

He'll just shake his head.

He's like, who are you right now?

That's not, you'd never say that phrasing.

She's going for a run.

- You gonna hit it?

(melancholy piano music) - The speech is, I think, probably, it seems like it's the last thing.

So that's the final hurdle.

I think when that comes back, I think we'll all feel that, well, she's back 100%, and until then, I think it's she's not back 100%.

- [Gwynne] Hey, Mason, what are you gonna do?

- Jump.

- [Gwynne] Jump to where?

- To that deep in the pile.

- [Gwynne] All right, let's see you do it, wow.

- Wee!

- Wave to daddy.

- [Tom] Hi.

- You know, I don't know.

I don't like to think about it ever.

I get really upset if anyone says you got to learn to live with your symptoms.

(child yells indistinctly) - [Tom] Yeah.

- [Gwynne] I still stay positive that this accent will go away permanently, - [Tom] Wee!

- [Gwynne] and when, I don't know, but I'd like to say, It's gonna be tomorrow.

(upbeat Italian music)