Connect

Stories

Angela Tucker Betancourt 33 Civilian

New York, NY United States

On July 31st 2008, my husband and I were driving home from a Yankees game. An USPS 18-wheeler jackknifed on the New York State Thruway and came across a concrete divide crashing into us. Six weeks later, I awaken at Westchester Medical Center and learned that my husband was killed in the crash. We would have celebrated our first wedding anniversary while I was in the coma. After spending six weeks as an inpatient at Helen Hayes hospital, I continued a year of outpatient therapy at CarePartners in Asheville, NC, where my father resided. That is where I first met Lee Woodruff who was speaking at the annual brain injury conference. I could not read because of my double vision, so I enjoyed "In An Instant" on tape. I met my independent living goal and returned to New York City in 2009 an attended my first Stand Up For Heros event last year. It was humbling to share the Beacon Theater with so many servicemen and women who were heros long before their traumatic brain injuries occured.