On August 30th, 1982 it was raining lightly and I was walking home alone after midnight. I had been drinking. I don't remember leaving the plaza that night where my friends and I frequented. As I was walking home I took a usual short cut through a construction site. I didn't come out the other side. As best that we can figure I was on one of the concrete door steps and jumped off landing on both feet. My feet landded on a slifgrht hill of mud. My feet went forward and cane out from under me. I struck my head on the doorstep.

The morning had come and the construction workers came in and found me unconscious. People were contacted trying to find out the identity of the male found in the construction site. My identity was discovered and I was taken to the hospital. Parents were contacted and they came to the hospital where I was still unconscious. They had shaved half of my head and inserted a tool into my skull that was to measure the pressure. My mom has told me, "The doctors and nurses were becoming increasingly panicky as they were rushing you down the hall on the gourney, as we were signing the papers that permitted them to operate." After the operation the doctor said to my mom, "What you see is what you get."

I was in an induced coma for some time. then I was transferred to a hospital fo rsick children where i underwent more tests and relearned. Talking, walking eating as well as toilet duties. It has been 16 years of uphill battle. My life now is probably more than what it was then. Afterall I have quitg drinking, quit smoking and now i am working. It is not full time but it helps.

I live in Hamilton Ontario Canada now. The accident was in Toronto. I came to Hamilton 10 yrs after the accident for rehabilitation. I went to the Center for Behavior Rehabilitation where I learned the skills required to keep a job in a lesser capacity than a full time position. I found a girlfriend for myself and now am in my own apartment. This wouldnt seem like a major accomplishment to see me. I have no paralysys and seem to be without injury.

I attended the Hamilton Wemtworth Head Injury Family Support Group where we had some 20 members. I used to do some motivational speaking there. I would try to keep the people up in spirits. When someone would say a negative about themselves or what someone had said that made them feel bad I would take a portion from a book I had read. "When the speaker of the seminar gave the instructions to his class, he told them what their positions in life were. Where they were on the ladder in their job status and how valuable they were, for what they had accomplished in life. Their task was to decide amongst themselves who was the top dog. Well they started. Oh its me I am a lawyer and earn lots o f money and give to the poor. No its me cried another, with their explanation of why they were the better. Then the man giving the seminar said , "Don't you see, what I wanted was for all of you to form a line across in front of me stating that you had fininshed , and that youre value as a person is not measured on a scale. For each and everyone of us is as equal as the other."

That was one of the stories I remember telling them. you see, I was suffering from lack of motivation myself. The first book i read was Born to Win, then Your Erroneous Zones and there were about 15 or twenty others. Being the Best was another. I found great pleasure in reading these books because instead of someone else telling me I was good, I would read it and be telling myself. It was much more believeable.

This was one of the things that I found really helped me get to where I am and if your daughter is willing I hope that she will find solice here as well.

Thanx for listening and let me know what you think. Of my story and my suggestion. I am getting really tired and its after midnight. So excuse any of my missed spelling errors and goodnight

Brian Turmon