The pair couldn't be more different. Carl is an attorney and former teacher. Ching is former college student. The two were brought together by both hardship and hope.
Three years ago, Carl suffered a stroke. Everyday life as he knew it would never be the same. He became introverted, and finding the right words can still be difficult. He was slow to respond in our interview.
Around the same time in 2009, Ching left a party with her ex-boyfriend who she says had been drinking. They got in his car. He started racing another driver, lost control, and flipped. Ching was badly hurt. "I was in a coma for, like, one month," she said. She still uses a crutch to walk.
When Ching and Carl heard about a pilot program for people suffering from brain injuries, they applied. Hawaii has little out there to help survivors transition into the mainstream.
"It will give us something to have a structured program after brain injuries, relearning. So relearning how to talk, relearning how to communicate, social skills, you know, our brain controls everything," said Mary Wilson, the Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association of Hawaii.
1.7 million Americans sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBI) each year, according to the Brain Injury Association of America, and almost 800,000 have acquired brain injury from non-traumatic causes. More than three million have lifelong disabilities due to TBI, and 1.1 million have a disability due to stroke.
Full Article and Source:
Brain Injury Survivors Help Each Other Recover
See Also:
Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network
2 comments:
Wonderful story and Hawaii too. Can't beat that!
A great story, as my sister has Traumatic Brain Injury...
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