City: Westminster, MD

Brain Injury:  Skiing Accident

Explanation of Mask: I have aphasia, which means I don’t remember words very well. I had the idea to use three different colors in the area of the brain because, that is what is different, the rest of me is still Sandra.  Brown means stability and that is very important in my life because everything isn’t as stable as I thought. Dark red means I have a longing to be normal and have courage.  I’m being told, and I believe, that it takes courage to go through this traumatic brain injury. The blue in my mask means trust and loyalty.  This is very important to me and always has been.  I now realize that people have to earn my trust.   I have a master’s degree and I am a registered nurse and have been for 40 years.  Before my injury, I was writing policies and regulation for the government for Medicare.  I acquired my brain injury in January of 2015 when I was skiing.  My husband taught me to ski well and I was on the very difficult slope when I fell in an ungroomed area of the hill.  We were in Maine and I was rushed to the hospital where I was thankfully helped by a neurosurgeon.  For many years I did not have awareness of what was going on.  I am now becoming more aware of life in general.