It has been a tricky 12 months for lots of households. Some are nonetheless coping with pandemic stresses, and plenty of are nonetheless feeling the monetary pinch of inflation.
However for Scott Cannon, 2022 has been notably troublesome as he has battled the aforementioned, whereas additionally battling for his life.
In December, he was admitted to North Suburban Medical Middle in Thornton, Colorado with a traumatic mind damage. He doesn’t keep in mind the way it occurred, however it put this as soon as lively, outdoorsy father and data technician in a coma till he wakened in February, unable to talk effectively and unable to recall a lot.
“It was very scary,” he mentioned. “I keep in mind a bunch of different folks had been like, ‘Scott’s again! We weren’t positive when you had been going to return again or not,’ as a result of I used to be out of it.”
“He had very extreme head accidents and so they really needed to take away a part of his cranium,” mentioned Amanda Morian, an occupational therapist on the hospital who was tasked with serving to Scott redevelop his speech and motor operate.
At first, it was gradual and irritating. Cannon couldn’t stroll effectively, and he had hassle formulating his ideas into phrases, however figuring out his background in IT, Morian reached out to the hospital’s senior technical analyst, Darien Huffman, and so they determined to present Cannon a pc contaminated with viruses to see what he may do with it to spur his development. Abruptly, Cannon began making strides the place has was beforehand stymied.
“It’s a well-recognized job so it’s form of already arrange within the mind’s pathways to make it a little bit bit simpler for therapeutic,” defined Morian.
“It was actually difficult as a result of I had to determine what I’m attempting to say after which determine the best way to repair it,” mentioned Cannon. “It was very nice as a result of once I was really in a job it was the identical form of factor. Like, ‘OK, determine it out, Scott. Let’s go. We don’t know precisely what’s occurring, so you bought to repair it.’”
Cannon nonetheless has some speech difficulties as he struggles to seek out sure phrases, however for probably the most half, he’s leagues above the place he was only some months in the past.
He was launched from the hospital in July and moved to a restoration heart the place he receives assist, however he nonetheless returns to North Suburban Medical Middle weekly to volunteer and do for different sufferers what the workers did for him.
“I’m wanted,” he mentioned. “And it’s actually factor as a result of it doesn’t matter if I’m placing in gloves. Simply doing that it’s like I’ve a goal now.”