Hello my name is Brian Dropkin. I suffered my injury on August 23rd 1989 during a high school football practice. Unfortunately, I was wearing a defective football helmet and was hit helmet on helmet and suffered a subdural hematoma which is a brain hemorrhage. I was flown by helicopter to the hospital and when I got there I had surgery on my brain to release the pressure.
The next 5 weeks I was in a coma. Unfortunately, while I was in my coma I suffered a stroke.
I was given a slim chance of living and the doctors recommended that they turn off the machines the first night because my coma scale was a 3. A 3 on the coma scale is very close to no brain activity. Luckily I woke up and it was apparent I needed tons of therapies to relearn everything over. The next 6 years I was in outpatient therapies at a place called
The Adult Day Hospital where I learned how to do the simplest tasks like eating, talking and walking etc. I was very popular before my injury and was an amazing athlete. I wanted to play professional baseball. I was so good. After I got out of the hospital my friends vanished slowly.
That was so hard and extremely depressing. I don't remember the first 16 years and 8 months but remember two months prior to my injury. I did loose half my vision and do walk with a limp now. I look like I don't have a disability. They call my disability the invisible disability. I know am having difficulties with relationships and working on getting my GED! I do live in an independent living house with another guy with a disability.
We have staff at my house 24/7 and I'm being very independent. I do my own laundry, shop for food and I'm an awesome cook.
My goal is to help prevent TBI's. It's not the journey I would have like to taken but it's the journey I'm dealt with. I'm making the best with what I got and I must say I'm doing extremely well.
Thanks to my amazing family and friends for all the sacrifices they have made for me!!!
