I basically I had one foot in the grave, which is really sad to say, yet here I am today. We lived on the west coast in Naples, Italy, I was at a factory on the east coast and was making a long drive back to Naples when I got hit by a truck. I got involved with BIAC because my family needed to know that there were services out there for people with brain injuries.

I have been married for over 30 years. I have a wonderful wife, she has been very supportive of me. I have 2 grown children—a daughter and a son who is very successful in New York City. He got a lot of help from BIAC himself. He realized he had a life to live he had given up his life to be a part of my life for 2 years. And he realized from BIAC that he was able to cut the cord and go on and pursue his career. BIAC convinced Paul that he didn’t need to be a part of my recovery because BIAC would take care of that piece.

It’s great knowing that I’m not the only person out there with a brain injury, and knowing that I am not alone. Without the services that BIAC provides, I would be closed up in the closet, that’s the sad truth of it. I would be quite isolated. They helped me get connected with my past and my current disabilities and learn how to deal with it.

I am grateful to BIAC for saving my life. I knew I was in trouble when I realized my home’s heating oil was running low, but my oil company refused to make a delivery because the path to my house was covered in snow. A brain injury survivor of 13 years, I was ill with both bronchitis and pneumonia at the time and didn’t know where to turn for help. Unable to clear the path myself, I called every municipal office in my town, including the fire department and the mayor’s office, looking for assistance. They never returned my calls. Out of desperation, I even tried to contact one of the local news channels for help, with no luck. Then I remembered BIAC.

I called BIAC’s HelpLine and spoke with one of their brain injury specialists. They were kind, compassionate, and most importantly, willing to help. Thanks to their efforts, my heating oil was delivered the next day and my story has a happy ending. They were the only organization that helped me, and I don’t know what I would have done without them.

In 2012 I graduated Vassar College and moved to Berlin Germany where I worked as an artist while learning German. In July 2013 I went to the Dolomite Mountains in Italy on a climbing trip. On the trip, I had a freak accident and fell 100 feet. I spent one month in the ICU in Bolzano, Italy, and was then flown to the states where I spent one month in Hartford Hospital. I then went to the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain, Connecticut for rehabilitation and was inpatient there for 17 months!

I was discharged from the Hospital in February 2015, and am still going to the Hospital for Special Care for outpatient rehab. I also go back every month to the brain injury support group at the hospital organized by BIAC. I’ve been going since I was an inpatient and truly feel the support group provides me with a special TBI family. I feel I have grown to accept my predicament a little better from going to these groups.

Lastly, throughout my recovery I have continued to set goals for myself. Which is a very important step in rehab. For this year’s BIAC Walk For Thought I set my goal to walk my farthest walk yet or 2 miles (post accident). I successfully completed my goal by going 2.1 miles! I set this goal and accomplished it to raise money for BIAC and the great work they do brain injury survivors and their families.

Living with a brain injury can be very difficult! Your life as you knew it has changed dramatically. But, with family, support, hard work, determination, and courage, you can push through and come out on top. There’s no point in getting all dejected about what you’ve lost, working with yourself and those around you can persevere.