Ask HN: How to navigate the world as a brain-damaged 17 year old?

Hello. I'm 17, in the UK, doing A levels. I was previously highly successful for my age, academically and in extracurricular programming projects. I was reasonably competent at programming, and have created and deployed dozens of small-medium projects, some in teams. Computer science, physics, biology, and maths were easy; I got top of the class without trying. I went to a technical school that was almost perfect.

I had a pretty clear plan: Apply to Oxbridge. Failing that, do a degree apprenticeship at GCHQ etc.

March last year my friend was attacked by bullies at school. I tried to help, I was kicked in the head multiple times. The perpetrators got away with it because of our pathetic "justice" system. I was off school for 6 months and I have post-concussion syndrome. I am now below average intelligence. I am constantly fatigued. I have constant headaches. When symptoms are particularly bad I can barely walk or process speech. When I've been able to rest for a extended period I feel almost like I used to, but everything degrades whenever I try to actually do something. My doctor has been helpful and sympathetic, but I am still waiting on specialist help via the NHS.

I am a year into my A levels. I have done nothing but study this year. I wake up, go to school, stay awake with caffeine tablets and strong painkillers, get home, revise, then sleep. It's the same at weekends. Studying is extremely difficult and I retain far less information. I optimise my time with Anki, spaced repetition, and Obsidian. Despite this effort, I had to drop an A level (further maths), which made my already infitesimal chance of Oxbridge zero, and I am barely staying afloat in other qualifications. My current A levels are maths, physics, and compsci.

I don't do much programming now, but when I do I'm significantly worse. The most noticeable difference is in my working memory; where previously I would just write something, I now become overwhelmed if I don't meticulously plan and break the problem up first.

I have no clue how to continue. At the current rate, I will get good enough grades to get into one of the local unis. I think I'd be OK with a computer science course, as I already know much of the content. However, I don't think I can do an apprenticeship or other form of inflexible work - I am not reliably awake, and I'm simply not that intelligent anymore. I plan to take a gap year whatever I do to get some rest.

I've considered trying to work as a freelancer running a software business (after A levels/degree), as that would hopefully allow for more flexibility regarding symptoms. However, I have absolutely no clue how I would go about doing that, or if it's a good option. I can do desktop or web dev, I know Python, Rust, and TS well.

I'm not really sure what I'm asking. Is the freelance idea a good one? I really don't know how to do things as someone who's motivated, and retains a lot of knowledge I learnt before my concussion, but struggles to learn new things and stay awake. I'd appreciate some advice.

First of all, Oxbridge is not that big a deal. I went there, it's just a bunch of people studying the same stuff they study everywhere else.

Second, what medical help are you getting? Seek out professional advice on whatever condition you've got.

You seem like you're still brighter than most people in your cohort. Don't be disheartened. If you can code, there will be things for you to do.

But find out about your condition first, and worry about uni afterwards. It's not the end of the world taking some time out either, just to de-stress.

Hey, sorry to hear about the bullies, I don't understand why everyone tolerates the tragically broken school systems we have (I'm in the U.S., and my experience with school wasn't great either. Nobody cares here either.)

I can't give much in terms of life advice, but maybe you'll find this video from Strange Parts interesting, a YouTuber who almost lost everything due to a head injury and got terrible advice from well-meaning medical professionals. I have No idea if this could possibly be useful, but I hate the idea that someone might be able to recover still but never gets the right help.

https://youtu.be/Gs790JOeN3Y

There's so many different kinds of head injuries, though, and I'm sure they are all very different. But, I still wish you best of luck in recovery.

Brains heal, but very slowly. (My wife has brain damage.)

I recommend more rest for a few years.

Also, learn to fight back hard.

Get a university degree. The quality of the university does not really matter, especially not in the long term.

I went to a shitty unknown school in France but I got hired in Amazon as a new grad and have been working there for years now (in the UK since 2 years). I have constantly people from top companies reaching out to me with job offers.

Going straight for freelance or any type of work after A levels is simply a total waste and a terrible idea. Get your degree, get a decent job and start your freelance business on the side. Only go full time once you have enough work to sustain yourself.