City: Ewa Beach

Brain Injury: In 2013 I was hit in a crosswalk by a SUV.  I was in ICU and in a coma for a long time. My family thought I wasn’t going to make it.

Explanation of Mask: As a victim of a pedestrian accident I want people to know to please be careful about other people, esp. pedestrians. The price I paid is very high.  I lost my mobility and became disabled. I lost my job of 30 years as a preschool teacher and my cognitive skills. I now have short term memory, have nightmares, and constant pain in my body. The challenging part of this experience was when I was in a wheelchair and I had to do therapy to learn to walk again. Brain injury effected my speech. I had to go to speech therapy to learn how to talk and to keep up with my language skills.  I used to be able to do things for myself but after the injury I had to depend on my brother and sister for a long time to do things for me.  With therapy I can do things for myself again.   I had to pick up the pieces and be strong to get my mobility and skills back.  I’m happy to be alive.

Making the mask shows how I can have mobility again and that I prove that someone with a brain injury can still function.  Through arts and crafts I am able to express my feelings. God gave me back my life and wanted me functioning again to join the Brain Injury Support Group to see what others experiences are and know there are others like me with TBI. Blue feathers represents sadness. Some people don’t understand and not educated about TBI, brain injury.