On August 6, 2005, Arthur Moss III, left home to join a group of nine friends heading to Sturgis, South Dakota, to fulfill a lifelong dream.  By the time he got to Utah, that dream had turned into a nightmare.  Riding the 1999 Honda Shadow Aero he had customized himself, Moss and others were completing a pass, when suddenly, with no signal, a Chevy truck towing a horse trailer traveling in front of the group of motorcyclists, turned left in front of them, causing the drivers to scatter around to avoid collision.  Moss was forced head-on into the horse trailer, at approximately 40MPH.

Luckily for Moss, two LA County EMT's were riding with the group, and their quick thinking and command presence saved his life.  "They instinctively knew that Arthur's neck was broken and that he had sustained a severe brain injury," said Lisa (Eichenlaub) Moss, Arthur's wife of 18 years.  At the EMT's insistence, Moss was flown...

Valerie Forker was devastated when her 20-year-old son, Jeff, suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in a car accident four years ago. In an instant, Jeff Forker went from an independent young man with the world in front of him to one who required care 24 hours a day, seven days a week — possibly for the rest of his life.

Valerie — a single mom — had to quit her full-time job to become her son’s full-time caretaker. She helps transfer her 6-foot-tall, 200-pound son in and out of bed and helps him reposition in his wheelchair throughout the day. She also assists with his speech, physical and occupational therapy. As one can imagine, this level of care leaves Valerie very little time and money to maintain the family’s Apple Valley home, and her insurance was threatening to cancel her homeowner’s policy if she didn’t make some repairs.

Thankfully, the Forker family belongs...

A Thankful Young man My name is Chris Thornhill and I am 20 years old. When I was 18, three months after I graduated from high school with a 4.0 GPA, I got a brain booboo. I was driving to fast and took out a light post. I was in a coma for 10 days and in the hospital for 2 months. I had a severe brain injury, I broke my right arm, four right ribs, collar bone, leg, and fractured my pelvis. I also had severe lung contusions. When I came out of a coma, I couldn't talk or anything, I just laid in bed. That was in September of 2007. I have been going to therapy for a long time. Now I can walk and talk and do most things normally. My biggest struggle is my memory, my memory, and worst of all, my memory. I am currently enrolled in my first online college course, hopefully I survive! My hope and goals for the future are to be completely healed, to drive again, to be a professional...

BY SARAH BOYER STAFF WRITER 

After Kelley Hyland suffered a traumatic brain injury in a motorcycle accident on Nov. 1, 2007, doctors told his family on several occasions that there was “no hope.” But his family says they have learned that sometimes God has other plans.

Hyland was returning home to Phelan from work in Moreno Valley, where he was a deputy for Riverside County, when a truck pulled in front of him on Highway 138. Hyland struck the rear of the truck and was then airlifted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. He remained in a coma for nearly nine months.

“The doctors told us he would be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life,” recalled his wife, Vicki.

But on Christmas Eve 2008, Kelley returned home, where he has continued to recover.

“He can read, write and drive his motorized wheelchair around,” said his mother, Marcia Hyland. “It is only by God’s grace, mercy and a multitude of prayers from around the world that Kelley is alive today.”

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Recovering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be both frustrating and overwhelming for both the victim and their family members. Spring Valley Lake residents, Lois and Jim Cawthorn, can attest to that. Jim suffered from TBI approximately 8-1/2 years ago from a horse riding accident. “The horse got spooked, threw its head back, hit Jim in the head and the face and threw him to the ground,” recalled Lois. He spent one month in a coma and was also on life support. Once out of the coma, Jim spent 5-1/2 months in rehab. “He had to relearn how to do everything all over again...brush his teeth, comb his hair, walk...everyday was a challenge,” said Lois. Today, Jim is no longer in therapy and although he uses a wheelchair, he is able to walk with the assistance of a walker. He does, however, have problems with ataxia which involves the coordination of voluntary muscles and affects his balance....

The Story of a Minor Who Had So Much

The day was July 19th, 2004, at about 4:20 in the evening, the summer before my senior year in high school; I was on my way home from work, working at my dream in a law office the day of my accident. The office personnel had already informed me that I would be welcome to join their firm once I did obtain my law degree, which would, granted, be many years in the future. But still, to already have job security at the age of 17. How many kids can say that?

I had done exemplary in high school the three years that I had attended prior to my near fatal automobile accident; achieving nearly perfect grades in all academic areas. Then, of course, there was my personal life. I was very popular among my peers, mainly because I treated everyone the same; regardless of race, gender, or creed. And unfortunately, what matters in high school, how...

The disruption of my brain began when I woke up one morning in June of 2006. I got up, started down the hallway and noticed my balance was gone. I kept bumping into the wall and couldn't read. I knew right away something was wrong. I woke up my son and instructed him to drive me to Loma Linda Hospital to determine what was going on. I called my girlfriend and explained to her what was going on she said she would meet us at Loma Linda. Once there, the surgeons ran tests and diagnosed the brain had bled deep on the right side of my brain because of a malformation of a blood vessel and the effects of the blood in the brain resulted in dramatically reducing my motor skills and muscle control on the left side. In the beginning it was so bad I couldn’t hold my head up or keep it straight. The Loma Linda physical therapists worked with me and corrected the motor control on my neck with the website...

My day started as an ordinary one. I got up and fed the kids, talked to an instructor who had become a friend of mine at the University of Wyoming, (UW) where I was in my first year of college at age 36. Though I had no idea what my major was going to be I had reasoned with myself that there were certain general education requirements that had to be met for a degree and I may as well start there. I had recently separated from my son’s father and left him a distance of 325 miles, on the south western side of Wyoming; I was now in Laramie, the south eastern side of the state.

The separation was difficult on the children and I knew the situation that lay ahead was going to be hard for them. I had determined in my heart to stay close to them, to be there for them through it all. Their father and I could not work out certain situations in our lives and so therefore I left. I wanted to get out on my own and do something with my life instead of just living as a wife of a man who I felt didn’t even like me. I was full of bright sunny optimism even though there was a divorce on the horizon I was still somehow relieved. The last time I spoke to my then husband was when he was visiting his sons and had them at the hotel in Laramie. He had told me that night to go file for divorce. This was about two weeks before the crash.

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In every person’s life there are times in which one’s life takes a turning point. These events can stimulate changes for the better or the worse; in either case they shape the rest of that person’s life. Although they may vary in importance and frequency, they equally shape us into the unique individuals that we are. The most profound of these experiences are often traumatic incidents which occur early in life, in childhood. Such is the event that has shaped my own life and made me much of the person I am today; a cruel trick of fate that victimized my siblings and me early in our lifetime. I still remember that deceivingly tranquil spring day; I remember playing on the swing set in the warm Wyoming sun while a faint breeze made the chartreuse canopy of leaves above applaud at the beautiful green carpet of grass which had sprung from the ice of a bitter winter. My mind has photographed the yellow-brown wheatgrass that grew by the creek across the street and the tinkle of the shimmering water flowing in between...