Jake

I met Jake while I was in Parkwood. He was in his mid thirties, super polite, all around nice guy. He was always wearing a Gilligan hat and he spent a lot of his time in the lounge, mostly playing pool. I saw him around quite a bit, but never had taken the time talk to him. One day I went to the lounge to escape the noise of the nurses station and he invited me to play pool with him. I said “sure” but told him that I would not be very good. He offered to teach me and said I could use the bridge. Once we got started he suggested that I take three shots for every one of his…

While I struggled to get any ball into any pocket we talked about why we were in Parkwood. Now, when I say that we talked, this is true, but I had to give Jake a lot of time and some help to find his words. It was a bit of a guessing game, he would start to say something but then could not remember what the noun was he was looking for. Eventually I learned that he had fallen off his bike and hit his head on the sidewalk. As a result, he had a brain injury that made finding the right words very difficult.

Jake had not been wearing a helmet when he fell off his bike. I am guessing that he wore the Gilligan hat to cover the scar and/or damage to his skull.

I was wearing a helmet when I was hit. In fact, we still have it - down in the basement in a bag - still covered in blood and gravel. Even with my helmet on I had a concussion and major damage to the skin on my forehead and chin that required plastic surgery. I, still, have trouble finding words. If I had not been wearing a helmet I am pretty sure I would not be writing, I may not have even been alive.

Two weeks from now I will be one of three guest speakers at the Building Bridges to our Future Gala fundraiser event. I plan to talk about how my helmet saved my life. I also plan on auctioning off a brand new one to get the fundraiser going.

So when you go out today, on this most beautiful spring day, and get on your bike - don’t forget your brain bucket. Because you just never know.