Montana
City:
Brain Injury: Motorcycle Accident
Explanation of Mask: The title of my piece is “Tears of Joy” because I had to go through hell just to share my story with you. Thirteen years ago, I moved to Hawaii with a friend, I was running from my addiction. So anyway, I was in a terrible motorcycle accident, I fractured C2-C5 vertebrae in my neck, broke a rib, punctured a lung, and caused severe brain damage. I was life flown from the big island of Hawaii to Honolulu where I was at Queen Ann’s hospital for three months, where I eventually was stabilized, so I could handle the 9.5 hr flight back to the main land. I was flown to San Diego where I was admitted into Edgemore Hospital and stayed for ten months. The blood represents the pain that I had to go through to write this piece and the joy is the way I feel about life today!