Evangeline Lilly has opened up about a serious but optimistic health update in a recent social media post.
On Friday (January 2), the Ant-Man actress shared an Instagram reel revealing the results of a recent brain scan following a concussion she suffered last May. At the time of the accident, Lilly sustained several injuries and later explained in a Substack post that she had fallen “face-first into a boulder” while at the beach.
“I have had ‘absent’ and fainting spells since I was a little girl,” Lilly wrote. “The doctors checked me for epilepsy when I was young and then settled on the idea of hypoglycemia (without doing any testing). For a good chunk of my life, I went with that – hypoglycemia.”
However, after eventually ruling out any glucose-related issues, Lilly shared in her Instagram reel that her “brain is functioning at a decreased capacity.”
“So, I do have brain damage from the TBI [traumatic brain injury], and possibly other factors going on,” she explained. “Now, my job is to get to the bottom of that with the doctors and then embark on the hard work of fixing it.”
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a traumatic brain injury is typically caused by an “outside force,” such as a hard bump or blow, and can lead to short-term or long-lasting problems with how the brain functions.
Lilly also admitted she isn’t exactly excited about going through more medical treatment, noting that it often involves a lot of “hard work.” Still, she found a silver lining. “That’s okay, my cognitive decline since I smashed my face open has helped me to slow down and helped me to have a more restful finished 2025,” she shared.
The Lost actress went on to say she’s enjoyed “the most restful” holiday season she’s had in a long time and feels “extraordinarily grateful” to be alive.
“Verdict’s in…I do have brain damage from my tbi,” Lilly wrote in her caption. “Comforting to know my cognitive decline isn’t just peri-menopause, discomforting to know what an uphill battle it will be to try to reverse the deficiencies.”
Following the injury, Lilly stepped away from acting. Her most recent role was in the 2023 MCU film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
