My name is Yareiry Alba and I am Albert's fiancé as well as his primary caregiver when he was in the hospital. This is how our story began...
On October 25th, 2015 Albert was involved in a motorcycle accident at age 29. He was riding home one evening from hanging out with his friends and lost control when he hit a patch of gravel in an area of construction. He had to undergo an emergency craniotomy and spent 2 weeks in a coma in the ICU. They had given us a 10% chance he would survive but could not tell us if he would ever wake up or in what state he'd be if he did wake up. His prognosis was that he would be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.
He finally woke up from his coma and just seemed to be getting better and better with every day that came. He was eventually moved to the hospital's rehabilitation floor after the 4th week, once Albert began to follow commands. His team of therapists were heaven sent! He had an occupational therapist names Sarah, a speech therapist named Miguel, a physical therapist named Vero and another therapist named Adrienne. This group of people welcomed Albert every day with love and helped him gain his strength in his legs to be able to walk again, worked with him in learning how to swallow and speak again, showed him how to bathe and shave himself, and helped him understand how to learn and have fun with his new limitations.
Albert could return to his previous position as a Special Education Transition Specialist 6 months to the day of the anniversary of his accident, which is unheard of. With the support of his supervisor Ofelia, co-worker Robert and the rest of the Special Education Department, Albert was able to adjust to his previous position with his new Traumatic Brain Injury. He found some difficulties, but overall, he had a very positive and hard-working attitude toward the entire process of his healing.
We relocated and moved to Orange County, California in February of 2017 and have already found a family of support here with multiple TBI support groups. Albert applied, tested and was accepted into the Acquired Brain Injury Coastline Community College program. He will be starting the program on April 3rd, 2017 and we are very excited for this opportunity.
Albert spends his spare time reading books, walking our golden retriever named Chance, and working out.
We are very grateful for the journey we have lived through and we both understand we have both survived this experience only due to the mercy of God!
Thank you for letting us join this supportive Family!
