Ross Burger - Brain Injury Survivor

Can you share about the brain injury event itself?
My severe ABI occurred on August 15, 2003. I was the backseat passenger in a one car accident.

How did you feel during the first days, weeks, or months after the injury?
The first memory I have is from several weeks afterward, and that memory is hazy, as if I were dreaming. 

What kind of rehabilitation therapies or treatment have been most helpful through the process of recovery?
I completed inpatient and outpatient rehab at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you or your loved one has faced during recovery?
I know the uncertainty surrounding my recovery was very difficult for my parents. First, the doctors did not think I would survive. Then, they did not know to what extent I would recover. With brain injury, there are so many unknowns about the course of a recovery.

How has your life changed since the brain injury?
I have always been an introvert, but I think I am now more contemplative.

What role has support from family, friends, or community played in your journey?
My family and friends were next to me throughout my recovery. Brain injury forces you to go inside yourself and asks you to put in hard work both in recovery and afterward, and it is very challenging. But the experiences are also hard on the people who accompany you through recovery, and their presence makes a difference.

I was in high school at the time of my accident, and I later met my wife in college. She has been by my side in every challenge I have faced over the years since then, some of which are related to my injury.

What has surprised you about this journey with brain injury?
I did not want to even think about any aspect of my experience for many years. It was painful to think about, and I just wanted to distance myself from it.

There remains a sore spot in my thoughts when I think about it even now, but eventually, I was able to do so and to realize both the magnitude of my recovery and that the experience shaped me in many ways.

What do you know now that you wish you knew at the beginning of this journey?
Struggles and recovery are challenging. But they also result in growth. Eventually, you can look back on the experience from the future.

What does "hope" mean to you?
I think hope means possibility.

If you could share one encouraging message with another survivor or family, what would it be?
The path of recovery from brain injury is made one step at a time. Sometimes those steps are small, and other times they are much bigger. Just keep stepping.