Founding Moms

We’re Amanda and Erin — two moms who have walked the long, uncertain road of brain injury recovery with our children. Between us, we’ve witnessed miracles, heartbreaks, and everything in between. We created NeuroMoms Collective as a community for caregivers and survivors of brain injuries — a space to be seen, heard, and held.

Here, you’ll find:
Stories — real and raw — from those navigating this journey.
Honest conversations on our upcoming podcast with survivors, caregivers, professionals, and friends in the brain injury world.
Connection and care — for anyone just beginning this path or decades in.

This is not a place of pity. It’s a place of truth, tenderness, and strength. A place where you can exhale. We’re so glad you’re here.

Erin Palmer

My name is Erin Palmer. I am the captain of my son’s recovery team. Dallas was an officer in the Space Force when he suffered an AVM rupture in August of 2022 at the age of 24. He later experienced obstructing hydrocephalus. He has spent an aggregate of almost two years in a total of 10 hospitals around the country enduring eight brain surgeries and one spinal cord surgery. He was in a coma, paralyzed on his entire right (dominant) side, and unable to speak. He’s had to learn to walk, talk, and function twice in three years. It’s been beyond devastating on him, to say the least. It’s also been a nightmare for his entire family and community. 

I’ve been with him most every day. I’ve moved through all the emotions that watching your child suffer brings. I’ve also seen my own life change; my marriage, my ability to be a good mom to my daughter, my relationships with others, my professional ambitions, my emotional health, my financial situation, and my body have all changed.

We started NeuroMoms Collective to provide you a space to have real conversations about the best of and worst of working through brain injury recovery for someone you love. And I’m here to show you that there can be true joy and beauty in your life, even after tremendous loss and suffering. And I promise to never tell you that “everything happens for a reason.”


(Pictures taken nearly three years after recovery began.)

Amanda Ream

Hi, My name is Amanda Marie Ream.  On April 13, 2016, my family’s life changed forever when my daughters were in a devastating car accident. What followed is a long and complex journey of healing — physically, emotionally, and as a family. One of my daughters sustained lasting physical and emotional trauma, while the other faced invisible wounds that run just as deep.  MacKenzie at the age of 17 suffered a C2 fracture, thoracic fractures, frontal lobe trauma requiring a craniotomy, left side paralysis requiring her to learn to walk again, multiple facial fractures; multiple surgeries, hospital stays and rehabilitation centers.

As a mother navigating recovery, grief, and the ever-shifting dynamics of a blended family, I’ve learned that healing isn’t a straight line — it’s a process filled with setbacks, small victories, and constant growth. Through this space, I share our story — not because we have all the answers, but because we’ve lived the questions.  

I am here to listen and help find the light in the hardest moments, learning how to support loved ones with brain injury trauma, and discovering what resilience truly looks like in real life.  Our journey reminds us that healing in marriage isn’t about perfection—it’s about showing up for each other, even when it’s hard and meeting each other with grace and mercy. My hope is that our journey helps others feel less alone as they navigate their own.