You had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) when you were 18. What happened?
I had finished my first semester at San Diego State University and was riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) with some friends on a pier. We were just goofing around, and none of us was wearing a helmet. Like many 18-year-olds, we thought we were immortal. That changed when my ATV flipped and my head slammed into the ground.

How serious was your injury?
I was rushed to the nearest hospital, where I lay in a coma for a week. My mother and siblings visited me every day. When I regained consciousness, I had to relearn everything, including how to walk, talk, and feed myself. I didn't know the names of my sisters and brother. Once I was stable, I was discharged. A month later I was accepted as an outpatient at a rehabilitation hospital, where I underwent physical, occupational, and speech therapy for a total of 21 months over four years.

What was your recovery like?
I made great progress, but I had periodic lapses of attention and problems with memory and speech. I had many dark moments in the first few years. I often felt I had nothing to live for.

You eventually returned to college. How did that come about?
I had a speech therapist who really believed in me. I wanted to make her proud of me. She refused to give up on me, especially on the days when I thought all was lost. One of my proudest moments at San Diego State was getting a 95 percent on my term paper. It took me a long time to graduate, but I did it.

After college, you entered a graduate program at the University of Southern California. What did you study?
I pursued a degree in social work and gerontology. Through USC, I got a paid internship in Washington, D.C., where I looked into drug pricing and nursing home reform. Through that work, I got a full-time job as a lobbyist with the National Association of Social Workers and then as a researcher for the Public Policy Institute at the AARP.

Did you continue to work as a lobbyist?
After two years in D.C., I returned to California, where I got a job with the state's department of public health in the division of maternal and child health. I researched issues related to access to care for mothers and children, including those with disabilities. I retired in 2020 after 30 years.

Do you have any lasting difficulties related to your TBI?
I have short-term memory problems, speech impairment, and trouble expressing what I'm thinking. I also have periodic lapses of attention.

What accounts for your success?
I credit my extended stay at the rehabilitation center. If it weren't for a passionate speech-language pathologist who dreamed big for me and a devoted social worker who watched over me even after I left the center, I don't believe I would have become a husband, father, and successful professional.

You've written a memoir. Do you hope to get it published?
It's called Without a Helmet, and it's being represented by literary agents. It took me two years to write and about 25 years, on and off, to rewrite. It has a foreword by Lee Woodruff, whose husband, Bob, sustained a TBI in Iraq in 2006, and endorsements from experts in the field of rehabilitation.