City: Asheville

Brain Injury: Bicycle Accident 

Explanation of Mask: Life is like a sport, you find out what you’re good at while growing up, then consistently hone those skills to increase efficiency with each passing year.  The task(s) become more automatic and the quality is satisfactory.  There’s reliability, a certainty that comes with each new day in one’s profession, all is comfortable and progressing well.  The unexpected traumatic brain injury, at age 39, became an all-stop action on my profession, and some cognitive abilities. This injury put me in the position to start over again.  Though not from ground zero, it required me to open-up to a much greater degree than I had experienced before.  I forced myself to go deeper within my heart to identify what was of interest post injury, and still within my capacity level.  What could I do with an acceptable level of competence in our culture that I would fully embrace?  Helping others as a recreation therapist was revealed at the vocational rehabilitation screening.  “I can do this,” was my immediate feeling.  I received help from many new friends as I headed on a journey to become a certified therapeutic recreation specialist.  I use recreation as a tool to help individuals discover their current ability level and maximize their participation in any recreation activity of interest.  My new journey came with many small failures, requiring me to adjust, adapt, and improvise as necessary to achieve acceptable standards on my new career path.  The journey was worth it.  Now it is 15 years post injury, and I’m working part time at Hinds’ Feet Farm. I learned to let go of what no longer served the new me, and I accept my present level of human capacity, interests, and feelings about life’s issues.  I have found a comfort zone with myself and my team of supporters.  Notice my mask and the color of my face.  I admit, my ability to mix paints and generate the natural color of my skin tone deserves an F minus grade.  I am Not green!  Just because I cannot work with paint doesn’t exclude me from participation in this mask project.  I believe in enlivened hope and the joy of living one day at a time with present abilities, including accepting those less-than moments.