Sep 29
October 2024 Dylan Rivard
Dylan Rivard (as told by Holly Rivard) It was a cool fall afternoon on October 16, 2015. Dylan was fourteen…
BIAA - Maine
Survivor Stories
Read and connect with Brain Injury Survivors from every corner of Maine!
Latest News
Aug 27
September 2024 Jenn Williams
As people go about their lives, they don’t generally think to themselves “I’m going to prepare for disability at a…
Jul 31
August 2024 Margot McNamara
I grew up in South Portland and have lived in Maine my entire life. In 2004, when I was 38,…
Jun 27
July 2024 Lillian Bailey
January 13, 2013, will forever be remembered as my new beginning at life and the beginning of my personal growth…
May 16
June 2024 Emily Bane
Content warning: Detailed description of injury I Have By Emily Bane Have you ever felt the tug Of loose snow…
Apr 23
May 2024 Catherine Vaughn: Part II
For us, the last 18 months post-stroke have been a constant quest for knowledge. In the words of B.B. King,…
Mar 27
April 2024 Niels Mank
Niels Mank was born in September 1976 and died on February 11th, 2021. Niels 2.0 was born on February 11th,…
Dec 27
January 2024 Peter Kenyon
Content warning: mention of suicide In the early hours of April 8, 2020, I was involved in a motor vehicle…
Nov 27
December 2023 Deb McIntosh
This is not a pretty story. It doesn’t even have a happy ending, but I believe it’s a story that…
Oct 25
November 2023 Hoffman Family Story
“Everything you wanted to learn about yourself, you learn in 26.2 miles.” Bob Hoffman is a naturally gifted endurance athlete.…
Sep 26
October 2023 Mindy Forino
Sunday, September 12, 2010, started out no different than so many other days for me. Wake up at the hotel,…
Aug 28
September 2023 Colman O’Connor
Born and raised in Boston, Colman O’Connor has made his home in Wells for the last 20 years while he…
Jul 28
August 2023 Troy Morgan
Troy Morgan is a client at Goodwill NeuroRehab in Lewiston, Maine, and he recently became a published author. Troy’s lifelong…
Jun 22
July 2023 Catherine Vaughn
As the saying goes, “We make plans, and God laughs.” This is not to say that God allowed my husband…
May 24
June 2023 Beverly McLean
The day has come for me to write “The Story.” The story started many years ago when my son Gary…
Apr 25
May 2023 Tim Butterworth
Tim Butterworth’s Journey It was the phone call no parent ever wants to get. In 2018, my husband Frank’s phone…
Apr 03
April 2023 Kenneth Halmos
In the fall of 2002, I was 31. I remember the ride down to Boston in my friend’s van like…
Mar 03
March 2023 Alexis Wyman-LaBelle
March 7, 2016, is a date engraved in my brain forever– not literally of course– but it’s what I call…
Feb 01
February 2023 Travis Durepo
I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, a 2006 Graduate of Husson College with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in…
Jan 03
January 2023 Caribou Crowley Family
On a cloudy and snowy day in February 20 years ago, a 15-year-old boy was sliding on the new snow…
Dec 07
December 2022 Ed Russell
Love makes the world go around! We all do things for the people we love that we might not even…
Nov 01
November 2022 Enga Stewart
Life took a major change on the evening of July 17, 2019. Earlier that day, I had spent time gardening…
Oct 03
October 2022 Larry Marquis
Well, here it is seven years later. I wrote my story in 2015 after having two strokes in 2009 that…
Aug 29
September 2022 Sue Pilote
Committed: Sue Pilote’s Caregiver Story How often does anyone reflect on the vows they made at their wedding? On our…
Jul 28
August 2022 Lee Glynn: Part II
5 years. In some ways it was a goal, a made-up milestone to be reached. At one time it seemed…
Jun 21
July 2022 Joy Keane
In early June of 2020, Joy and her eldest son were on their way to visit her mother when they…
May 23
June 2022 Marion & Marianna
Marion Sellner and Marianna Russo have been through a lot in their nearly 18 years together. They both grew up…
Apr 28
May 2022 Tamara Osgood
Tamara Osgood is an Environmental Services Tech at a local hospital and didn't realize at the time that she was…
Mar 18
March 2022 Jim Beaudry
Jim Beaudry grew up in Thomaston, Maine. He was a Navy hospital corpsman working wards and treating patients during the…
Feb 22
February 2022 Celina McMichael
I have lived in Kennebunk, Maine since 2005 with my husband and family that now consists of two daughters ages…
Jan 24
January 2022 Fran White
I never expected that I would have concerns about my brain. Certainly, I had concerns about other aging parts of…
Dec 09
December 2021 Michaela Grass
My name is Michaela Grass, and I have not lived the best in the past. I have gotten mixed in…
Nov 16
November 2021 Jeff Hamel
It’s All About Perspective. How we see the world is a direct link to our own experiences. That's one…
Oct 19
October 2021 Gail Waitkun
On February 25, 2015, I experienced my 12th head injury. It was a seemingly innocuous jolt to my head that…
Sep 16
September 2021 Tom Broussard
This Thing Called Aphasia My name is Tom Broussard. I am 69 years old and, like all of us as…
Aug 11
August 2021 Natalie Howard
I was a passenger on a motorcycle in 1997 (24 years ago), hit by a drunk driver who fled, and…
Jul 07
July 2021 Brandon Clukey
You Don’t Need a Hero, You ARE the Hero My first accident was in 1996 when I was 9. I…
Jun 17
June 2021 Morgan Zenter
As a brain injury survivor, the road to recovery can be tedious and there may not come a date and…
May 11
May 2021 Annemarie Albiston
The phone rang in the early morning hours. It was my mother saying something was wrong with my father, and…
Apr 05
April 2021 Michelle Spencer
My story began with migraines when I was about 10 years old. My first diagnosis was from the pediatrician even…
Mar 01
March 2021 Guy Pilote
The Hike for Hope Just a Guy on the Trail Guy Pilote is known by family, friends, and the community…
Feb 12
February 2021 Chris Barr
I was sent out to Boise, Idaho from Maine for a work trip in September of 2019. It was an…
Jan 19
January 2021 Laurie Coldwell
March 13, 2010, is a date I will never forget. It is a day that I have no memory of.…
Dec 11
December 2020 Jenn Williams
10 Days by Jenn Williams “If I die, this is how it started,” I said as I cracked a joke…
Nov 09
November 2020 Heidi McCausland
In October 2006: I suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm. That morning, my cats had woken me up at 4:30. I…
Oct 21
October 2020 Jamie Bean
It was Sunday, December 9, 2018, and I was just getting home from watching a very unpleasant football game with…
Sep 11
September 2020 Kim Block
About a year and a half ago, in January 2019, I suffered a concussion, also known as a traumatic brain…
Aug 14
August 2020 Spencer Weigman
My name is Spencer Weigman and I’m 31 years old. My TBI was a result of a work-related accident. I…
Jul 07
July 2020 Jamie Patterson
My name is Jamie Patterson and I suffered a traumatic brain injury back in June of 2012. Like most survivors,…
Jun 15
June 2020 Ed & Robin’s Odyssey
We sometimes look at a brain injury as a singular event. Which it is, but like a stone tossed in…
Jun 15
May 2020 Bry Barrows
January 7, 2011, when I was 20 years old, my friend and I were on our way out. Around eight…
Mar 12
March 2020 Nitzana Aufiero
At 21 years old, I was enjoying the adventure of experiencing life in completely new environments. I was drawn to…
Feb 19
February 2020 Logan Hardy
February 3, 2016. I was 20 years old. It was just another normal day off for me. I got up…
Jan 13
January 2020 Monica Chamberlain
Twenty-five years ago, on October 9, 1994, I had just started college and I was looking forward to the typical…
Dec 09
December 2019 Allison Hepler
I am a State Representative serving my first term in the Maine State Legislature. One of the personal highlights of…
Nov 06
November 2019 Jesse Reid-Oliver
On October 4th, 2019 I was heading back home from my job in Unity like any other day. That was…
Oct 15
October 2019 John Nelson
My name is John Nelson, Sgt USMC retired, MOS Rifleman. I strive to not let my brain injury define me,…
Sep 05
September 2019 David Krempels
My name is David Krempels. I survived a severe traumatic brain injury from a motor-vehicle accident in 1992. That’s 27…
Jul 30
August 2019 Courtney Rowe
My name is Courtney Rowe. Back in November of 2009 I was in a car accident. This resulted in my…
May 02
May 2019 Rachel Glaser
My name is Rachel Glaser and I suffered a traumatic brain injury in August of 2004. My boyfriend at the…
Apr 10
April 2019 Jeffrey Kerr
I was sitting in a highchair when my grandmother got a telephone call; it was my mother and she had…
Mar 18
March 2019 The Goulet Family
The Goulet Family Michael T. Goulet was born September 30, 1989 and he was a vibrant, funny child who loved…
Feb 13
2019 Jaime Murphy
My name is Jaime. I am 30-year-old whose life has been changed forever. On November 20, 2017, I suffered a…
Jan 04
January 2019 Lee Glynn
In the early morning hours of October 29, 2017, my life changed forever. It was going to be a busy…
Dec 10
December 2018 Seth Vincent
I was 19 when I first uttered the words, “I have cancer.”I was fresh out of high school and just…
Nov 04
November 2018 Michael Pelletier
Michael Pelletier On June 29, 2012, I was home alone relaxing and watching TV when I felt a small pop…
Oct 17
October 2018 Julie Brown & Jessica Heath
Photo Caption: Jessica underwent treatment, Julie shaved her head in support of her daughter. To be given a brain tumor…
Sep 17
September 2018 Tina Callahan
Tina & Tom Callahan On Friday, September 13, 2002, Tina suffered a major stroke. It was a totally unexpected event,…
Aug 16
August 2018 Justin Barnes
Last night my stepson informed me that when he and my wife had been shopping a couple days prior, he’d…
Jul 27
July 2018 Gary Wolcott
In 1983, Gary's father Bernard began to experience dizziness and poor balance. After three months of investigations into inner ear…
Jun 20
June 2018 Deb Hanmer
During the summer of 1997, my life changed forever. I had been living with severe headaches for several years.…
May 18
May 2018 Eliza Edmunds
In 2005, Eliza Edmunds at 13 was a normal seventh-grader playing soccer, riding horses in the county fair, playing guitar,…
Apr 11
April 2018 David Lamont
It is me today, yesterday I was you, tomorrow you could be me. A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can happen…
Mar 15
March 2018 Greg Fraser
My father, Arthur Fraser, struggled with aphasia for two years before he passed away at the age of 90. For…
Feb 26
February 2018 Ralph Poland
Ever since my strokes, I have been trying to find the right words to offer insight for Loved ones,…
Nov 11
2017 Maine Survivor Stories Archive
January 2017 Debbie Salvador In 1951, at a mere six months of age, Debbie Salvador was sick with spinal meningitis…
Dec 31
2016 Maine Survivor Stories Archive
Stacie Linkel - December 2016 Growing up I was my own biggest mystery. Everything happened to me before I was…
Dec 31
2015 Maine Survivor Stories Archive
Catherine Breese - December 2015 My name is Catherine Breese I am a 37-year-old woman. I was a dental…