I would nominate Julia for president! That’s how fantastic she is.

I was a teacher on bus duty and when busses were lining up, I checked with one student to make sure they were in the right spot. His response was to push me onto the concrete floor. I don’t even remember it, because I had a concussion. But when I came to, I was dizzy and had a three-inch hematoma. My jaws were locked, and my blood pressure was close to stroke level. They called the paramedics.

While I was out on disability, the school district ignored me when I was trying to file a claim. I was struggling alone with this for a long time. My concussion expert explained that my dizziness and nausea came from vertigo, as the impact knocked the crystals around in my ears, which are needed for balance. I had to go to vestibular therapy to put the crystals back in place. I developed migraines from the concussion too, which became so severe I was dehydrated from being sick all night, and had to go to the ER.

My employer, the school district, sent me a long list of rules; things I could and couldn’t do, because of the legal aspect. I followed all these rules. In fact, I had been a dedicated teacher for the school system for 24 years and I could not believe they were treating me this way! I finally saw a neurologist who helped me get the migraines under control, and they too confirmed that I have basically been untreated for months by my employer. I had post-concussion syndrome. Then I got a letter from the school district saying that they retained an attorney. I had no idea what they were trying to do, but I called a lawyer friend in Texas who advised I needed to find an attorney. They did an online search, and I ended up with Reinhardt | Harper | Davis. And thank goodness I ended up with Julia!

When she first called me, I could not stop sobbing. I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me, and I was desperate.  She is proof of a benevolent god. She petitioned the Workers’ Compensation Commission to retrieve the tape of me getting pushed, as it was recorded by school cameras. The schools was given 14 days to produce the tape. She also subpoenaed a witness. The school district attempted to tell the witness they didn’t have to testify. But the witness told the school system that they are in fact going to obey the subpoena. Once that happened, the school finally decided to settle my claim.

Julia is fantastic. She realized that if she didn’t help me, I’d be in big trouble. I had an advocate. She embodies human decency, and when she went up against Goliath, she won.