Pam Cook:  

In April 1994, I was riding my bicycle in Austin, Texas, training for the MS 150, which is a bicycle ride from Houston to Austin, Texas to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. I was hit from behind by a drunk driver in a pickup truck the week before the ride. He did stop and call 911. He was not given a ticket and he was not found to be legally drunk. There were no witnesses and I was knocked unconscious. My bicycle helmet came off my head at some time during the wreck. I don¿t remember anything about that day. I suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for about a month. My injuries were so severe, I was given a 15% chance of survival. I had a lacerated liver and was bleeding internally and had emergency surgery as soon as I was taken to the hospital. I also had an emergency tracheotomy. As a result of the severe blow to my head a quarter of vision is missing in that eye. Three vertebrae in my back were cracked and my left ankle was broken. I was transferred from the intensive care hospital to the rehab hospital when I came out of the coma. I don¿t remember being in the coma or coming out of it, but my friends and family remember it all. I went through daily rehab to work on my memory and my right hand. I had a hard time remembering what day it was or even what month it was from day to day. This was so frustrating because I didn¿t care what day it was. I just wanted out of the hospital. My right arm and hand are partially paralyzed so I have to type and write with only my left hand. (I was right-handed.) I lost a lot of weight while I was in the coma, and they wouldn¿t let me out of the hospital until I gained enough weig...Expand for more