22 Jun 2016
Over the next four years I strive to attain a Bachelors Degree in Packaging Systems and Design while studying at Virginia Tech, and to complete my Masters in the research field of Bio-Sustainability.
In the first week of March, 2016, I was airlifted to the MCV Hospital of Richmond Virginia with severe head trauma that was later diagnosed to be two separate hemorrhages and a skull fracture that reached from the base of my neck to the peak of my skull due to an outdoor sporting accident in which I was thrown to the pavement without wearing proper safety equipment. After two and a half months of physical and cognitive behavioral therapy, along with medication and much needed rest, my recovery had seemed to reach it’s peak, my fracture was nearly healed and I was ready to begin my transition back into my University studies that I so suddenly had to abandon.
I can honestly say that I feel blessed to have made such strides in recovery, however I am not nearly the same person I was before the accident, and assigned neurologists have told me that there is a chance I will not make a full recovery. Although I consider myself far more fortunate that many others diagnosed with TBI given my able state, there are still many difficulties that I find myself trying to overcome- such as dizziness when my head is in any position other that upright. When I wake, I find myself confused and detached from reality, unable to form coherent thoughts therefore I find myself waiting patiently until I again feel ready to start my day. I suffer from nerve damage that causes high rates of fatigue and “tingling” in my entire upper body, from my chest to my fingertips. It is difficult for me to retain information when I am reading, I find myself reading and re-reading novels and dissertations covering materials in my field of study that I have read before at a very slow pace, and this puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to working my way back into my major. The head pain has thankfully decreased, but it does come back in small, awful bursts, and unfortunately I can to nothing but “wait it out.”
I am far from giving up hope in myself, and I have been encouraged by so many including the amazing medial staff that helped get me to where I am today. Unfortunately there are other factors that have affected the lives of my family and I, such as medical expenses. Even with our insurance, the bills that continue to come to pay off the medical treatment I have received are overwhelming, on top of the student loans and tuition my father and I are struggling with.
I am a Packaging Systems and Design major, which falls under the College of Natural Resources at Virginia Tech, and have been focusing on Bio-Sustainability, or the science of “green” packaging. I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of four interns to work with the Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design at Virginia tech at the beginning of my sophomore year- the year of my accident. Although I was absent for the last two months, my instructors gave me much more than a paying internship, but hands on experience in the industrial world, ISTA certifications and the knowledge to head-start a career I truly feel can make a difference in the world, and I want nothing more than to get back on my feet and finish what I started.
To the Law Office of David D. White, I want to extend my appreciation for your consideration, but more importantly for the time and resources you place in assisting those who have suffered traumatic brain injury. This is a fairly new life I am adjusting to, and I am blessed to have so many friends, family members, professors new and old supporting me, and strive to find myself constantly pursing goals I set out at the start of my time with Virginia Tech.
Thank you for your time,
Arnold