Matt's Story

Matt, a promising 19-year-old college sophomore and outstanding athlete, was involved in a head-on collision during which he suffered a severe brain injury. Matt was in a coma for months. Doctors told his family that he may never walk again, talk again, or for that matter, survive at all.

Matt began to regain consciousness and was transferred to Inpatient Rehab at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center where his rehabilitation path began. Herb, an occupational therapist and Matt formed a great bond. With a tremendous amount of hard work, incredible family support and the remarkable rehab team, Matt made milestones in his recovery.

Linde, a speech-language pathologist, tells the story of how Matt reached a pivotal point in his recovery. “As part of our community reintegration program Matt and I took trips away from the hospital to test his problem-solving skills,” said Linde. “Matt was anxious to have some pizza so we planned a day where he would order the pizza and we would go pick it
up together. Matt was in his wheelchair when the wheel snapped and we couldn’t get it to move,” she continued. “Stuck, I asked Matt, what are we going to do? He figured out we needed a taxi, called one, and when we got to the restaurant I secured the pizza and Matt and I had a pizza party when we got back. Matt said it was the best thing he ever had in all those months. He went from requiring a feeding tube to finally eating his favorite
food...pizza!”

Matt’s amazing spirit and optimism led him to great accomplishments. He earned his Master’s degree in Gerontology and is pursuing a career working with seniors. He lives in his own condo, works out at the gym three times a week and takes public transportation when meeting friends at a café or for dinner. “I had no other choice but to rise to the occasion and get better,” says Matt. “And doing so has paid amazing dividends.”