After serious car crash, Guelph nurse finds new lease on life

Living with chronic pain is a daily struggle for Brittney Campagnolo, after a car accident nearly killed her and her two children almost two years ago.

Since then, realizing the importance of self-care, the Guelph ICU nurse decided it was time to invest in herself. Today, she hopes to inspire others to feel empowered with the opening of her own medical aesthetics boutique in Puslinch, No Filter MedSpa.

“I am passionate about the therapeutic aspect of the medical aesthetics world. I want to pass that on to other people and to make treatments more accessible, because some clinics have very long wait lists,” Campagnolo said.

“I want to be able to offer all of the things that were offered to me.”

In June 2021, Campagnolo was travelling in a car with her two sons when an impaired driver in a stolen SUV, crashed into her vehicle on Norfolk Street. The crash left her with a serious concussion, severe neck and back pain and debilitating migraines.

Campagnolo and her two young boys, then aged three and six, were taken to hospital. Her children suffered only minor injuries.

“Thankfully, my kids are fine. They just had some bruising and cuts. But after the accident, they had nightmares and they were so scared of the car. But kids bounce back quickly,” Campagnolo said.

“It was horrible knowing that they were in the car. It just added to the trauma.”

Guelph police charged the man with 15 offences and reported purple fentanyl was found in his vehicle following the arrest.

Working as an ICU nurse as well as a teacher at a nursing college, Campagnolo says the incident left long-lasting impacts, both physically and emotionally.

“It’s been a struggle. I will probably never be the same,” Campagnolo said.

Initially after the accident, Campagnolo suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I had pain head to toe, I wasn’t sleeping, I couldn’t work, so there was a financial burden. I was off work for about four months. With post-concussive syndrome, I could barely walk in a straight line. I had about eight to 10 medical appointments a week,” Campagnolo said.

“I’m a single mom, so trying to take care of my kids, it was difficult.”

Coping with chronic pain, constant headaches, trouble hearing and sleeping, brain fog and nightmares, Campagnolo visits a pain clinic every two weeks to receive lidocaine injections.

"I also get chronic migraines and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in my jaw. Therapeutic Botox for my migraines gave me a new lease on life. I was getting 30 migraines. Now I only get four," Campagnolo said.

"For muscular pain, I see a chiropractor, physiotherapist and an osteopath, so I have three appointments a week."

The 36-year-old says much has changed in her life, but despite her struggles since the accident, some good has come out of her experiences.

After the accident, she wrote a poem to the man who almost killed her and her children.

“I wrote poetry in high school and I got back into it during the pandemic. That really helped, especially working in the ICU. It was a scary time. I used poetry to cope with the pandemic,” Campagnolo said.

“The poem addressing the driver of the vehicle after the accident took me a long time to write because of my concussion, but I found it very therapeutic.”

Today, by practicing self-care and realigning her priorities, Campagnolo says she is feeling more refreshed, energetic and is a more confident version of herself.

As a certified nurse injector and owner of No Filter MedSpa, Campagnolo wants to help others practice self-care so they too can feel empowered in their own skin.

“I’ve had a few people come in so far. I’ve redone the whole space from the flooring to the walls. Everything is customized. The clinic is really beautiful and I’ve received a lot of wonderful feedback about it,” Campagnolo said.

Campagnolo plans to roll out services one at a time as the spa gets comfortable with each treatment.

No Filter MedSpa offers nonsurgical cosmetic and therapeutic treatments including neuromodulator, hyperhidrosis treatment, double chin treatment and dermal filler.

“Migraine therapy is quite complex, but my goal is to be able to offer this eventually, because therapeutically, it really did change my life. It’s so hard to live with migraines,” Campagnolo said.  

Campagnolo says along with nursing and teaching, she is excited to be business owner.   

“I just love people. I want to interact with them and provide them with treatments,” Campagnolo said.  

“Because when you feel amazing, you really can tackle any of life’s challenges.”