Former resident shares brain injury story

Life can change in a flash.  

In October 2010, Brandon La Forest, a 29-year-old Macomb County resident, sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from which many medical professionals doubted he could recover. But two years after the incident he is well on his way to recovery thanks to sheer determination, an iron will and intensive therapy and rehabilitation. 

“I learned how to walk again, but my biggest recoveries were in speech and remembering the names of things. I could see what I wanted to say in my head but could not find the words,” said La Forest, who underwent treatment at Special Tree Rehabilitation System, a company that specializes in brain injury and spinal cord injury rehabilitation.. “Things like when I first started at the rehab facility, everything I heard was amplified and I had to wear ear plugs and couldn’t even talk on the phone. I deal with pain constantly, and I’m very off balance, though not as bad anymore. I’m finishing my recovery, I want to go back to work. These are small steps, but they are in the right direction to get where I was before the accident.”

Then a 27-year-old, La Forest was working towards a successful business career with a college master’s thesis underway at Central Michigan University (CMU.) While on his way to a work function in Lansing, his hard work, and his life, were thrown into jeopardy when a driver traveling 80 mph and texting slammed into him while he slowed for traffic. His car was hit again and again, once by a car traveling 70 mph in the accident which involved five cars.

Paramedics told his family he had a two percent chance of survival and that living would likely end with La Forest in a vegetative state. In addition to his brain injury, he was in a coma, for over a month, had a broken back, a crushed lung, broken ribs, blood clots and more. After the coma lifted, he woke up in Special Tree’s inpatient care facility and began his recovery. 

“I remember waking up one day not knowing where I was and seeing all these IVs hooked up to me. My mom was there and told me that I was in a serious car accident and that this was a place for my recovery,” said La Forest. “I spent almost 7 months at (the inpatient facility) and kept fighting to get better. I learned how to walk again and had speech therapy that I am still doing to learn how to spell again. I can see the picture in my head of what I want to say, but I can’t find the word, which is very frustrating. But I don’t let these things get me down - I take everything one day at a time.”

With his determination, La Forest was soon pushing forward with his recovery and education simultaneously. He continued a weight loss regimen he began before the accident, losing a total of 101 lbs. On special leave from CMU, he was granted extra time to finish his thesis, which he did with the help of Special Tree Speech Therapist Bethany Dory. With 22 pages written before the accident, La Forest wrote an additional 30 pages to finish the paper, and he was able to walk and receive his masters degree last December.

“With the severity of his injury, Brandon is a unique case because of what he’s accomplished.   He talks about his determination and it really shows when you see how hard he works to achieve his goals,” said Dory, who worked closely with La Forest to improve written and verbal communication skills for school work and future employment.  “He had the determination as well as great problem solving skills, but we needed to improve his thought organization, memory, and spelling to finish his thesis. We communicated both inside and outside his sessions, especially towards crunch time when graduation was in sight.  He always completed his assignments and had the kind of initiative and follow through that you don’t often get with people who have a brain injury.” 

La Forest is adamant about sharing his story with others and last December spoke to students attending Baker College about the importance of determination. Citing his own experiences, he says that anytime a doctor or anyone else said he could not do something it only inspired him to push harder. 

“Doctors just shake their heads when they see my records and they say they have never seen a recovery like mine with how serious my injury was,” said La Forest. “They say that of all the people that had injuries like mine only one percent recover and never to the extent that I have. They tell me that the man upstairs has a reason for me to be here.

“I just tell people that when a door closes you have two choices: give up or keep going. Let them shut you down or prove them wrong. We all start somewhere, but it’s where you end up that counts.

La Forest continues to seek out further venues for speaking opportunities, especially with Brain Injury Awareness Month just around the corner in March. The month of recognition is heavily supported by the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) and their network of state affiliates. La Forest will help to share his knowledge of brain injury and recovery when he speaks at CMU on April 9

Special Tree will participate in the month of recognition to promote awareness, understanding, and prevention for brain injury. For more information, visit the BIAA’s website at biausa.org/brain-injury-awareness-month.htm.

About Special Tree
Family-owned and operated since 1974, Special Tree is one of the Midwest’s premiere rehabilitation providers for persons with brain injury, spinal cord injury, and other disabilities.  Special Tree provides a full range of care for children and adults including inpatient, outpatient, residential, home and community services at over 25 locations throughout Southeastern Michigan.  With a person-centered approach to healing and recovery, Special Tree has achieved accreditation from CARF and the Joint Commission, and received the Michigan Quality Council’s highest award for quality excellence in 2010.