Texas Mom Writes Book About Traumatic Brain Injuries

Aug. 06--"Be careful" -- two words Rebecca Kozowyk says she will never say again.

The last time she did was nearly six years ago, speaking to her then-16-year-old son, David, who was getting ready to drive home from his girlfriend's house.

About an hour later, David -- alone in the family's truck -- accidentally drove off the road and into a creek.

He was airlifted to University Hospital where doctors treated him for a traumatic brain injury, or TBI, and collapsed lungs. His injuries were so severe, his prognosis so grave, that doctors told Rebecca and her husband, Joe, to gather their family and begin making final arrangements for their son.

"They basically told us people don't usually survive that," Rebecca said.

Still, she didn't lose hope. That's because, for her, the situation was depressingly familiar. Nearly 30 years earlier, her father suffered -- and recovered from -- a similar brain injury.

Just as her father survived, so did her son.

And when he returned home, almost two months after the accident, she decided to write a book about her experience with TBIs and how she turned to God for help. Released last month, "Beautifully Broken" chronicles Rebecca's journey from a neighbor delivering the news of her son's accident to his graduation from high school a few years later.

"It is the story about his injury, his recovery and what our family went through," she said. "But more important, it's a love story. A story of God's love for us."

About a year after the accident, Rebecca began to suffer what her doctor diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder. At the time she would have good days and bad days, but even on the good ones her heart would, on occasion, begin to race wildly, and she would tremble uncontrollably. She also experienced some depression.

"You do grieve what was lost," said Rebecca, who no longer experiences these symptoms. "Not one part of your life goes unchanged after a TBI, and I really feel like (the TBI victim's family members) are survivors, too, because it affects everyone who loves and cares for that person."

Rebecca wrote "Beautifully Broken" to give other families hope.

"There's power in prayer," she said. "I didn't know where else to turn but to God. This was definitely a miracle that he blessed us with."

There are at least 1.7 million TBIs each year in the U.S., according to Dr. Richard Senelick, a neurologist who serves as medical director at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Institute of San Antonio.

The severity of a TBI is determined using the Glasgow Coma Scale, a clinical tool designed to assess coma and impaired consciousness. David scored a three -- the lowest score -- meaning his TBI was "severe." He suffered injuries to several parts of his brain and was in a coma for an extended period of time. He was unable to breathe on his own or communicate.

"If you have severe traumatic brain injury it's very hard to come out of it clean," Senelick said. Although he did not treat David, Senelick oversees the treatment and rehab of many TBI patients and has written a book for patients and family members who have sustained a TBI.

TBIs are most prevalent among males 15 to 25 because they tend to be more impulsive, take more risks and lack sound judgment, Senelick said, adding that it's "remarkably unlucky" to have two TBIs in one family. Incidents usually involve fast driving and alcohol, often in combination.

David's accident occurred around 11 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2007. It was a Saturday night, and he had borrowed the car to drive the eight miles to his girlfriend's house. When his mother called around 10 p.m., he told her he would be home soon. She and her husband went to bed.

At around midnight, she heard knocking on the door.

"David!" she gasped, bolting out of bed.

It wasn't a question. She said she just knew something bad had happened to her son, even before their neighbor stood in the doorway and told them about the accident.

David had apparently fallen asleep behind the wheel of the family's dark green Ford pickup and flipped the truck into a creek only a mile from their San Antonio home.

The couple scrambled to get dressed and rushed to University Hospital where David remained for nearly a month -- first in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and then in the Intermediate Care Unit.

David spent most of his time at University Hospital in a coma. Doctors put him on a high-frequency, oscillating ventilator to allow his lungs to heal. When he awoke, he could not eat, drink or breathe on his own. He tried to communicate, but could only scribble random lines on pieces of paper or type random letters on his cellphone.

As David's state improved, he was transferred to Christus Santa Rosa Children's Hospital for inpatient rehab. On Dec. 22, he was released, but he continued with outpatient therapy for three years.

Senelick said it is uncommon for patients to undergo such long-term outpatient therapy because most insurance plans don't adequately cover TBI. The Kozowyk family was fortunate because whenever their insurance company refused to cover a medical expense, such as an electrical stimulator for David's muscles, an employee benefits representative where Joe Kozowyk worked would aggressively argue for the family -- and usually win. The family also received $50,000 from Ford Motor Co. to help with the expenses, although no lawsuit was filed.

During his rehab, David and his grandfather, Coy Boone, bonded over their similar injuries. David asked his grandfather to drive him to and from therapy every day, even after David was cleared to drive, so the two could discuss David's progress.

"It's kind of like when you work at a place, you can talk the job with co-workers or talk sports with other athletes," David said. "We were able to talk about our injuries. I was just starting, and he had been through it."

In November 1979, David's grandfather was injured while serving as a sergeant with the San Antonio Police Department SWAT team. An officer had fired his 12-gauge shotgun at a suspect who allegedly had shot a patrol officer and then barricaded himself in an abandoned house. Buckshot ricocheted off the house and hit Boone, damaging his left temporal lobe, striking the left side of his neck just millimeters from his carotid artery and breaking one of the knuckles in his right hand.

"One of the paramedics actually stepped over him to get to someone else" thinking he couldn't be saved, said Rebecca, who was just 12 at the time. "That's how bad it was."

Both David and Boone had to relearn such basic skills as walking and talking. They also dealt with such common TBI side effects as sensitivity to loud noises, an inability to concentrate and impulsivity. Rebecca said David once touched a girl's breast and made inappropriate comments to her in his high school's choir room.

Boone said he was out of work for about a year and, when asked to retire at the age of 34, he fought to be put back on the force. He continued to serve as an officer for nearly 25 years after his injury.

In 2010, David graduated from high school. He completed a few college courses before going to work as an electrical apprentice at Nathan Alterman Electric Co. The 21-year-old is married, and he and his wife are expecting a baby boy next month.

Rebecca said it took her almost five years to write the book -- a process she found therapeutic, allowing her to confront the struggles she had endured.

"It's not a very long book, but I could only write it in small increments because you're pouring your soul into it," she said. "I had to kind of relive that nightmare, but I also got to relive the miracle."

She continues to see improvements in her son. In the last month, she's noticed that David is able to focus longer and has more control of his impulses. His maturity level is where it should be for his age. He has also regained function of his left arm -- the last physical evidence of his injury -- because he is forced to use both hands at work. She feels blessed with her new normal and accepts things the way they are.

And not once in the six years since David's accident has she told anyone to "be careful." Instead, she uses phrases like "be safe."

"Beautifully Broken" is available on www.amazon.com, www.zoelifepub.com and the University Hospital gift shop for $16.95.

emiller@express-news.net

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