What Having a Brain Injury Means to Me

About a year ago I met an incredible girl. She’s 11, lives in New Jersey and can sing Ke$ha songs better than, well, Ke$ha.

Mackenzie was one of our 2010 New Jersey Champions. She and her brother Michael represented the state in our annual Champions program. They had been treated at Children’s Specialized Hospital after surviving a horrific car accident that put them both in comas, and ultimately left them both with brain injuries they’ll live with for their entire lives.

I’ve loved staying in touch with Mackenzie and her family through Facebook. Recently, she tagged me in a Note she wrote on Facebook, “What having a brain injury means to me.”

I sat at my computer, just crying as I read it. I feel so blessed to know this family, and so inspired by what they have survived and continue to survive. Mackenzie and her brother Michael (as well as every other children’s hospital patient I meet) are a reminder to me of why supporting children’s hospitals is so important. They are living miracles.

Mackenzie (and her parents) agreed to let me share her Facebook Note with the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals family on our blog. I hope it touches you as much as it did me.

What Having a Brain Injury Means to Me

today in therapy with miss karen she asked me to write down what having a brain injury means to me. so I wrote these things down:

im not as smart as you

im special in a few more ways than average

im different

im not as independent as you

i need special help

im more sensitive than you

my body works different than yours

i get bullied more than you

i need special care

i don’t get along with some of your friends

im handicapped

i need to go to therapy

i make a few more mistakes than you

BUT DESPITE ALL THESE……I AM THE SAME!

Learn more about Mackenzie and her brother Michael at 2010NewJerseyChampion.blogspot.com