Amy Rankin

I was unrecognizable even to family. When Kim saw me she yelled," That's not Amy!" Just before she passed out.

My parents also had a tough time recognizing me at first. because my eyes were black and swollen shut and I had two tubes coming out of my head.

The first time I was told that I had a brain injury, I immediately thought to myself, "I'm not crazy.

After the brain surgery, I started the hard process of recovery.

The first time he saw me, comatose with a head the size of 3 basketballs, he didn't even think it was me.

On Tuesday December seventh a lot of good things happened: they took the trach out, took the cast off my leg, and my PT, Maria, had me standing.

I never thought I'd be a teacher , but when I started doing it, I fell in love with it.

These days I have a ton of things to smile about. I feel like an adult again. I hope by reading this book, you or someone you care about will see that there will be things for you to smile about, even small things, as you work to recover from a TBI or another disability.

She continues to do her best to inspire and make others smile with her attitude of "it can always get better.

On the fifth day, they told my parents I was on the bottom of the chart, and there was nothing else they could do.

Some of the things that contributed to my positive attitude were rejoicing, smiling and acknowledging every small step I had made.

On Tuesday, December 7th, a lot of good things happened: they took the trach out, took the cast off my leg and my PT, Maria, had me standing.