I was 25 years old and after my brain injury I was not able to go back home to care for my young son (he is now 9 years old) and is with his father. I had to re-learn how to walk and talk. I cannot drive (though I snuck out and did it a couple of times). I now have to write with my opposite hand.

My husband was very understanding and helped me a great deal (I wouldn't be walking if it had not been for his help), but he could not take care of both me and our son. I would wander off and no one knew where I was. I also get seizures.

I have been in many hospitals and rehabilitation programs. MANY! Too many. Seattle, Wisconsin, other places I can’t remember. When I was in Wisconsin, I was also in a vocational program, but my job was folding napkins and filling ketchup containers in a restaurant That’s it! I was very depressed.

My parents found out about the BRAIN BOOK^® System and visited Kathy and the school around Thanksgiving in 1996. My mother is a school speech pathologist and my Dad has Ph.D. in agriculture and is also a congressman for the state of North Dakota, so they are knowledgeable, educated people. I guess the were impressed because next thing I knew, I was in Medford, Oregon, with this big book in my hand.

At first I hated it. I didn’t think I needed it. I didn’t want it. But Kathy told me that if I learned to use it, she would get me work in a law office! Can you believe it? A law office. No more folding napkins!

So I worked very hard learning the BRAIN BOOK^® System’s program. I was a difficult student. I always wanted to do things my way, not the BRAIN BOOK^® way. But they won. I guess because they were right. My way only worked for folding napkins.

The BRAIN BOOK^® way got me back into the law. At the law office I learned to file legal documents (much of my old learning was still in there). I was able to record my time (for my time card) and do reports on my productivity. I wrote memos and found mistakes others had made with the files.

I also started volunteering at the Sheriff’s office (I like hanging around law enforcement types). I gave speeches at the county “Crime Victim’s Impact Panel” and I know I turned around the thinking of some of the people there who had gotten caught driving drunk. I know because they told me.

While I was in Medford, I learned to use the cab system to get around town. I took care of my own banking and errands. I learned how to use the Internet. I made friends. Life still isn’t perfect. I could not work in the law firm because my seizures were too bad. But I could and did continue volunteering at the Sheriff’s office, and I loved giving speeches (I was told I was good at it too).

In the summer of 1998, I moved back to my hometown in North Dakota, where my mom and dad and brothers all live. I live in my own apartment and do volunteer work in the community. I even work with the legislature to get the laws changed.

Could I have done all this without my BRAIN BOOK^®? Part of me wants to say, “Sure” because I would rather not need it (it reminds me of getting hit by the drunk driver). But I know it is my friend. I even call it my “Buddy.”

I am in Kathy’s video (the television reporter followed me around from the foster home I was living in, to the law firm where I was working). And in the news story I tell people that I now “have a life.” This is true. With the help of Kathy and Linda and the rest of the gang, I have learned how to make the best of a difficult situation.