A medical, legal, and
informational resource
for persons dealing with
traumatic brain injury.

STORIES OF AMAZING RECOVERIES

Submitted By: Tammy Leusner
Submitted From: New Jersey
Contact via: Tleusner@comcast.net

In September of 1999, my boyfriend of 4 years was involved in a motor vehicle accident which left him in a coma with a closed head injury among other health issues. He was comatose for 42 days and his recovery process was typical, full of ups and downs. I took a leave of absence from school and work to be beside him and assist in his care. We were approached to donate his organs, participate in experimental studies, etc., and declined al offers in hopes that he would get better.

He had to learn how to walk, talk, eat, breathe, and do everything on his own from scratch. Miraculously, he was released to an out patient program in November and completed his therapy by April of 2000. Today, he is recovered. He works, drives and his deficits are at a minimal considering the bleak outlook we started with.

We broke up about 1 year after the accident, but the event is one that changed my life, so much so, that I have dedicated my life to working with people with TBI in the hospital where he recovered. They say things happen for a reason, and I never believed it, but through our grief and our struggle, we have been able to help others that are as we were to suffer from TBI. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and there is no injury to large to lose hope.