Greetings...my name is Carlie.
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Growing up in Wisconsin, my home was chaotic and so I oriented myself around achievements. I to Wharton, studied finance, and tried out software startups and Wall Street.

My ego was destroyed when I obtained a severe traumatic brain injury in 2019, hit by a car as a pedestrian.  About 20% of my brain died. After four months of rehab, I was discharged for "plateauing" and told to accept how my life would be different now (now that I was disabled, for good). I was at the cognitive level of a kindergartener. Gratefully, I found my way to neuroplasticity therapies. These included somatic exercises, psychedelics, and neuromodulation technologies. The brain can indeed heal.

Most of my physicians along the way claimed ignorance to the idea of healing - it was either an unknown void, impossible, or worst of all: passive. Bewildered, I went back to school for pre-med coursework at the University of Wisconsin. I was preparing to become the lone neurologist who would speak truth about what the brain was capable of. I got to work. With the Vemuganti Lab of Neurosurgery, we researched mouse models of traumatic brain injury. I began patient advocacy with Concussion Legacy Foundation and Parkython.

Instead of medical school, I'm going to build the neuroplasticity revolution. I'm seeking to learn from psychiatrists, reseachers, and clinic operators that are on the same endeavor.

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.

Maya Angelou

Talk to me about these, please!
cognitive deficit
vestibular deficit
fatigue
insomnia
persistent headache
vertigo
photophobia
phonophobia
leaky gut
trigger tolerance
ableism
depersonalization derealization
loss of self
adult autism diagnosis
self advocacy
cold plunging
holotropic breathwork
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
Portable Modulation Stimulator (PoNS)
psilocybin
ketamine
ibogaine
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My calendar is open.
My email is rlietrom@gmail.com.

I've become highly skeptical of ego-clinging. However, I realize that you probably came to this website to learn something about me. Below are some identities I've possessed throughout my life.

Role models
Judy Blume - anti-stigma young adult author
Sal Khan - education for all
Philip Glass - space for light and dark together
Martin Parr - photography of the everyday
Osho - leader of rajneesh movement
Jim Carey - giver of laughter
John Lennon - genre definer, peace warrior
Frida Kahlo - expression of disability
Dean Taraborelli - founder of the Sanctuary Sedona
Stephen Hawking - cosmologist, educator despite disability
Tehshik Yoon - chemist, educator
Justin McDaniel - scholar, educator, peace warrior
Rick Doblin - lifelong psychedelic activist
Lady Gaga - multidisciplinary artist, queer advocate
Dr. Seuss - saw society clearly
Norman Doidge - The Brain's Way of Healing
Paul Bach-y-Rita - father of sensory substitution
Alvin Ailey - founder of BIPOC dance company
Ruth Bader Ginsburg - lifelong anti gender discrimination activist
Aaron Schwartz - internet activist
Isaac Chen - neurosurgeon