#24 July 2006

We went on our honeymoon to San Francisco because I'd never been there and he has and he loves it. I lived in CA my whole life and never really went to San Francisco! So it was really nice! I love love love that city! Now we're home and we had a "open house" at my parents house up here in Provo. It was totally casual, like we were all in jeans and we had J Dawgs (these amazing hot dogs) cater to event. It was so fun. I'm not taking classes this summer, but I'll be starting up again around the end of August. Eddie doesn't like the idea of me sitting around without a car or anything, so he wants me to get a job to keep me busy. I'm working on that.

#23 June 24th 2006

Ok guys, the reception was wonderful. Most people who were their I knew they knew about my injury, but there were a few I'm not sure knew. To me, that is so embarrassing! I want people to understand why I am how I am. I'm not all the way normal and I think I have an incredible, totally understandable excuse. It's kind of an excuse for everything, really. I hate that people will hear me talk, for example, and not know that it is completely alright. I'm doing so much better than is to be expected, so I want to be seen as an exceptional person, because I know I am. I don't want people to think I'm retarded when they hear my voice and they see my shaky-ness or if I say something dumb. Because I'm not! I've come farther in less than a year than is to be expected for me to ever improve.

But anyways, that's just a little pet peeve of mine now that I know what it's like to be living handicapped. The reception was great! Here are some pictures, thanks to our wonderful photographer, Jonathan Canlas.


Isn't my new husband so suave!


...and he and his groomsmen are in a boy band


My Dad is so important to me. When I was a kid he actually let me have horses in Orange County! And then when they tried to kill me he moved to Utah and he still works in CA and flies back and forth. Wonderful.



Eddie had a button maker from his band days so we made wedding buttons! Beat that!


Eddie's parents found some bobble head like maker in China and had these made for us!


Check out our fish! That, apparently, were flushed down the toilet after the reception.


Jon Header (AKA Napoleon Dynamite) and his twin brother, Dan, were buddies with Eddie their freshman year of college. Jon coming was the red carpet moment of our reception.



And we left for our wedding night at the Balboa Bay Club. And about there is where I will stop talking about my wedding. For lots of reasons...

#22 June 24th 2006

My aunt and uncle opened their house for us to have a "luncheon" for family members and close friends to spend time at and eat between the temple and the reception. It was very nice and totally enjoyable. I went their in my wedding dress and changed out of it until I go to the reception. My grandma kept asking me what kind of dessert I wanted, and I told her I love just frosting in between graham crackers. She said it wasn't "nice" enough but I told her thats all I wanted. And she had fortune cookies made that said "A happy eternal marriage- Bree and Eddie June 24th, 2006." Everything was just great. Can you tell I loved my wedding!

Again, Jonathan Canlas was our photographer! Check out the quality we got

How sweet is my dad's car?

Here was us getting there


These are the chocolate filled graham crackers held my Eddie's brother Kendall



Here is my Dad holding a fortune

#21 June 24th 2006

Eddie and I finally got married and sealed in the temple today! I have been waiting for this! When I first woke up I kept thinking "Man, I wish Eddie and I were sealed for all time before I die! I don't care if the honeymoon is in the rehabilitation unit; I just want to be with him forever!" This way, if another freak accident occurs, we'll be sealed so I can still be with him forever. It was wonderful.

Here are some pictures from the temple. We're having a luncheon soon and then the reception.

This is Eddie's family...well, now my family too I guess


Here is everyone at the wedding in front of the Newport Beach Temple


Eddie and I, obviously...



Here was the "wedding party," mostly my cousins and Eddie's little brothers...can you pick out Eddie's brothers?

Our incredible photographer was Jonathan Canlas... He was amazing, I strongly recommend him if you plan to me married soon. Or if you just want great pictures...

#20 June 23rd 2006

Today was the wedding rehearsal dinner. We had dinner at some restaurant at the Four Season's in Newport Beach, CA. It was pretty incredible. My family and Eddie's family was all there, plus a couple friends and bunch of my cousins. The food was wonderful and I am so excited for tomorrow. I'm not nervous, all I worry about is that I'm not worried. This is supposed to be a huge decision that people freak out about but I'm making a great decision. I put Eddie through a really good test! He must really love me if he will go through what he did. I accidentally made sure he is in it for the long haul. Through the thick and thin.

This is everyone watching the video that Eddie made. It's really good, I'll have to show you all soon.


These are Eddie's parents Tony and Susan King and Grandma Genevieve King


These are my wonderful parents, Scott and Julie Everson


This is my Maid of Honor/Sister Kelsie Everson


And the guests of honor, Eddie and I

#19 April 2006

Eddie and I decided when we are going to get married! We're getting married on June 24, 2006. A year late but oh well. Sometimes things get in the way...

I'm so excited. It's only a couple of months away but we wanted to make sure I could do it so we've been putting off deciding. I just can't wait an extra day! So we just decided on a day because I'm not going to get much better with in the next year or so. I'm still recovering, but I will be for the rest of my life. At that time Eddie's parents will be in the states and everything (they're living in China).

Eddie takes me to a parking lot to practice driving. It's weird because I remember it all in my mind, I just have a hard time communicating that from my mind to my hands. It used to be so natural... This driving instructor guy comes and picks me up and we go driving around Provo. He tells me such dumb things because he's use to teaching 16 year olds. But it's fun to practice because I am so excited to get my license back!



We took these engagement pictures before I got hurt

#18 April 2006

I finished my personality class. I got a "B" in it, so thats good. My grade I can not go below is a "B," so I'll take it. I'm going to finish school and get a degree. Its really convenient that I'm a psychology major because the dean of psychology is Dr. Bigler, who is really high up in the brain injury world and he and his doctorate students are doing a bunch of testing with me right now. They're kind of repetitive, like I'll have to repeat lists of words a million times to test my memory. Even though I do it a million times I still have a hard time with it and I can't actually remember the words. Maybe the reason I think it's so boring and stupid is because I can't do it.

Well, it looks like I'll be in school for a while because I'm going to take classes slowly (so not to get a grade lower than a "B!"). I use to like school so much and I'd be alright with it taking forever, but now I'm a little bummed about it.

#17, March 2006

School is really rough now. I hate it. I don't get the same responses that I used to...both from peers and professors. No one listens to me anymore...people assume I'm stupid because I don't talk normally. I mean, this goes for the general society as well as school. I'm treated like my opinions don't count.

I don't know if its because now I have such low self-esteem about my intellect since that I've been hurt and I just imagine and predict I'm being treated as unintelligent, or if I'm really being treated that way.

I can't even drive. I'm like a twelve year old who asks her Mommy and Daddy for rides places. I'm trying to be positive about this whole thing but I'm not feeling like being positive. I guess you need to roll with the punches. I learned from Lion King that you can't change the past...

If you look at the pictures on my comp that are arranged by date, they go from normal pictures and the next one is this picture...

#16 January 2006

I started school back up. It's definitely not the same as it was before I got hurt. I can read a paragraph 10 times and not even know what it's talking about. Even if I tell myself before I start to make sure to pay attention, I have a hard time with it. I took my first test and I got a "C," which isn't so bad considering, but I don't get "C's!" I try to listen in class but it's tough. Before I got hurt I LOVED school, I don't think I'll be loving it any more. I was really good at it and I just enjoyed learning. Now the stuff I just studied I don't even remember so it's not really "learning" anymore. My memory is so very bad and I can't even pay attention to a question I ask that I really do want to know the answer too.

These are two of my favorite cousins/friends, Karli and Jordan. This was the first time I was out of the hospital.

#15 October 2005

My occupational therapist made me throw up. I'm never going back to him. He put me in front of this board thing where I had take a piece and look at the assigned letter. Say it was "A." Then I had to find the "A" on the board and match it up. I told him if I did that I would get sick. He said "Well suck it up. You need to get used to it some time." And so I did it. He went to take care of business and I started matching letters up. My sister, Kelsie, was with me. I told her I was feeling sick, so she had me sit down. Soon after I started walking to the bathroom while throwing up on myself and everything. So they gave me hospital clothes to change into and I went home.

I'm sorry, I just shared with you one of my worst experiences ever, second only to being in a coma. Yeah, well, throwing up is not my occupation either. Another poor guess on the part of my occupational therapists! If it wasn't for the fact that these people saved my life and taught me to walk and stuff, I would be furious with them all.



Another game from occupational therapy.

#14 December 2005

I'm going to this new physical therapist. Its a vestibular therapist in Salt Lake City. She said that my vestibular system isn't working at all right now and so she gave me assignments to do every day and I go see her about every two weeks. Right now, the exercises are working on standing on a foam pad with my eyes closed and doing this thing where I move my head back and forth. That makes me so very dizzy; I hate it. Standing on the foam pad is so hard.

She said that all people with a TBI go through a time when they're very sad and cry a lot and she feels bad for people who haven't gone through it yet because she knows they will. She said that there is a time of morning because a part of you is gone forever. It's like the You you knew died. I get what she's saying, and I really hope I'm going through that right now because it is not so bad!
[side note, I wasn't and hadn't]

#13 October 2005

My parents bought the house and we moved in. I like the house; I'm sad I never had the chance to throw a party here. People are still working on it and stuff - I really don't do anything. I sit on the couch and watch everyone else get stuff done. I just go to therapy and sleep. Eddie comes over every night after he goes to work.

I'm going to start up school again soon. Because I didn't defer for fall semester, I have to reapply to BYU. Can you believe that? "Sorry, I was a little preoccupied with a coma." My parents and fiancee were wondering if I was going to live so they weren't thinking about my schooling. Understandably, that was the least of their concerns. If I did wake up, they didn't even think I'd be able to go back anyways. So I can only take night classes right now for this winter semester. It kind of limits my class choices. I'm a psychology major so I think I will be taking this class on personality.

Their new house.

#12 September 2005

My Mom thinks it's necessary to end my contract with where I was at before my injury. I don't know why...maybe because she was sleeping on the floor? So we're staying in my aunt Virginia's guest room in Provo while my parents are trying to close escrow on a house here in Provo. I like the house-- its really cool. It's amazing how much of a house you can buy in Utah after you sell a house in California.
The other day my old physical therapist took me to go ride a horse that belongs to a friend of his. I still love horses. They were leading me around the arena with someone walking close to me in case I fell. Oh please, like I'll fall off a horse when it's walking in a circle. I wanted to go faster. Its like walking or driving-- I totally remember in my mind how to do it but it's just hard to get my body to do comply. So riding isn't as smooth as it use to be. It's going to take more than a kick to the head to get me to stop riding! It is so funny how my parents and Eddie are so rigid about me wearing a helmet!

This is me riding Elle when I went to Pennsylvania. I think she is only 3 or 4 as of this picture.

#11 September 2005

I cut myself shaving very badly! Before the hospital I shaved my arms (I thought the hair was disgusting) but I woke up and my arms were all hairy. I should have taken that as a hint that I WAS in a coma. Well one of the first things I did when I got home was shave my arms. You know how your left hand isn't as good at stuff and my I call my left hand my Parkinson's hand because it shakes so much. So I cut my right arm up a lot, and shaving injuries don't bleed right away, so I thought it wasn't too bad. I got out of the shower and my Mom and Eddie were there and they kinda freaked out. At that point my arm was just dripping in blood. I tried to play it down like it was no big deal. It looked like I stuck my arm down a disposal!

My therapists and I

#10 September 2005

I MOVED HOME! Yay! The only problem I have is that I'm not better all the sudden like I hoped. I thought I just needed to be home but I guess not.

I moved back into my old apartment with my best friend, Ani. My mom is here too. She sleeps on the floor in the living room. My cousin brought her a mattress to put on the hard wood; she is the kindest person for helping out my Mom. My Dad had to go back to CA for more work, but he comes back to my us in Utah every other week or so.

My Mom keeps a baby monitor in my room. Like I'm an infant. I sleep quite a bit; a nap everyday. But besides that I just go to physical, occupational (I got a new therapist and I hate going; it's a waste of time, since I have so much to do...) and speech therapy. I have visitors every so often, but most came while I was in the hospital. And my other cousins, Jordan and Karli, come visit every-once-in-a-while.

And my sister, Kelsie, is here so it's great to spend time with her. She was at the horses with me when I got kicked and since then we are so much closer than we were growing up. She got me to the hospital and called Eddie and got my parents here from CA that day too. She is so important to me know. I never realized how amazing she is. To tell you the truth, I hated her growing up.


This is Kelsie and I...loving the emergency evacuation device.

#9 August 2005

I moved into my new room! It's got a queen sized bed plus this other twin sized bed that Eddie gets to sleep on. He's been moving up in the world: at first it was the floor, and then a cot, now he's got a real bed. Yesterday my occupational therapist had me do my own laundry (which is funny because my occupation is NOT to do laundry) which I totally remembered, so it was easy.

The only problem is that I was hoping this new room would mean they would try to make it like home as much as possible and stop going to the bathroom with me and showering me. It is so very awkward. They go into the bathroom with me and they say "ok honey, now pull down your britches!" Ok, first off, I don't have britches. Also, if they really want to walk me into the bathroom, that is fine, but then get out! Have they not heard of performance anxiety?? And then someone always showers with me. It's usually my occupational therapist. Again, showering is not my occupation. My sister, mom, and cousins have all showered with me. At first, they were right, I would have had a hard time showering myself. But now I'm just fine. Then again, this whole experience has been embarrassing. I have no dignity left. I asked Eddie if I farted while I was in a coma, he said yes, but he said they were "cute farts." What does that mean?


People saw me like this.

With my stuffed animal holding up my tube.

#8 August 2005

Good news! The nurses told me that I was about ready to go home, so they're going to be putting me in a new room in a couple days. It has a normal, non-hospital bed, in there. Its supposed to be more like home so I can "get acclimated." Every step that takes me closer to getting out of here is wonderful!

#7 August 2005

Yesterday my physical therapist came to my room. He said "Lets go to walk up and down some stairs to practice." I agreed, and we went down this set of stairs and at the bottom there was a door, so he said "Hey, lets go in to here." It was the gym and he made me work out. What a mean little trickster. He knows I hate working out so he gave me a little fake-out. Meanie. I complain about him so much but my parents keep making me go. Its not like the things he has me do at the gym are hard but its frustrating because all I want to do is stay in my bed. But I get why I have to go-- I shouldn't just stay in bed my whole life.

And he head Dr. of this brain injury unit comes into my room at like 7:00 AM every morning with the widest eyes and he's so chipper and he's says "Good morning Bree, time to wake up!" And I want to kill him. I hate to wake up, I always have. They say I do all my healing while I sleep, so why don't they let me sleep more?

I just want to go home. I think I'll be fine if they just let me go back home. But oh no, my parents don't want me to go home yet and the Dr.s say I have to stay. I don't get why a Dr. has the right to tell you if you can leave or not.


My dress came while I was in a coma. I found pictures of it online and I called to find out more, but it was around $2,000. I've got better things to spend my $2,000 on so I sent pictures to a tailor in Hong Kong and took my measurements and sent those to them too. It was only about $200. Yay for me! Too bad I can't wear it yet.

#6 August 2005

The hospital lets me leave every-once-in-a-while. Eddie and I left once to go enjoy some time in a park, and I've been to my cousin's surprise anniversary thing, and last night I went to my other cousin's rehearsal dinner thing. That means my wedding was supposed to be one week ago exactly. I wouldn't have been a good, capable wife then but I wouldn't now either, although I am getting better very fast. It was great to see my relatives-- they are wonderful! But it was sad to see what I missed out on.
Tonight I'm going to their reception. I really did get screwed. But I'm happy that someone got to get married.

#5 August 2005

Last night I woke up and I needed to go to the bathroom. The nurses have been making a big deal about going to the bathroom for some reason. So I yelled at Eddie but he couldn't hear me (my voice is super weak!) and for some reason it didn't occur to me to push the button by my bed to call the nurse. So I tried to walk myself to the bathroom. Everyone is right, I can't walk well, especially not alone. So, as soon as a stood up I fell. That woke poor Eddie up! He came running over to help saying that I could have hit my head as I fell or something. He was all worked up over it!
We decided not to tell anyone because he feels bad because I fell on his watch and I don't want to give people another reason to fuss over me. Thats getting old. My Mom always has someone here watching me.
Here is our solution: we took a soda can and put pennies in it. That way I can shake it to make noise. I would do this with the horses, but the intent there was to scare them so the would run.

#4 August 2005

So I told Eddie all my theories because I trust him so much. I told him I think it might have been my parents, but a better theory that is a bit more realistic is that it's my school. Like they're doing research? Or maybe the hospital is doing research? But Eddie told me I have to believe it. He had me feel this scar doing up the back of my head and he told me to check the side of my right rib cage. I guess they needed to operate on that part too when I was having surgery because my lung collapsed. I looked and there's this big, lumpy, purply scar there. But neither of them hurt?

I really don't get it but if thats what Eddie says maybe it's true.

Now that you mention it I have this dream-like memory thing where I was getting an MRI and this other one where Eddie's parents were showing me pictures on their computer of Eva Longoria. I really trust Eddie and my parents but its all so dramatic. That doesn't happen to anyone. I'm just some normal girl with a perfect life. If it's all true, then its not perfect anymore.

#3 August 2005

I learned to talk finally! My first words were to my hot fiancee, Eddie, the day of his birthday. When he was leaving for work (he sleeps in my room on a cot because my parents always want someone with me) I told him I love him. Cute, huh? The good thing about re-learning to walk and talk and stuff is that it makes for some really cute stories.

Being wheelchaired/walking with lots of support from nurses, we went to the hospital gift shop. The hospital gave me $20 to buy something for Eddie for his birthday. From the first second I walked in there I knew Eddie wouldn't want anything from there. It was just a typical tacky hospital gift shop. Or hospital "gift shoppe," if you will. So I just opted to get him a card and some balloons. The card is the ugliest thing ever but I was so tired standing I just took the first one I saw.

When Eddie got home from work I was so happy to see him and I even tried to steady my hand enough to put make up on for him for his birthday. He said I was so cute! He better think I'm cute, he asked me to marry him!

I wasn't with it and I was pretty tired, but from what I hear my Mom made him a cake out of brisket with frosting covering it. He said that he tried to cut it, but it was pretty tough, so he was thinking that my mom made the hardest cake ever. But then he discovered in was a big piece of meat, with the plastic bag and all. A while ago I told my mom that Eddie says he'd rather have a brisket than an actual cake. He's weird; he doesn't like sweet stuff.

#2, August 2005

My Dad is at work in CA so my therapist, Ron, wants me to walk to him when he gets back so I will have some work to do. But its so hard and tiring. Every day I have therapy where I go down stairs to go to my speech therapist, Paul, to work on learning to talk again. They say I will be able to talk normal pretty soon after I get talking. I guess its "cerebellar mutism," whatever that means. Then I go to the gym. They put me on this stepping machine thing to get me used to the walking motion again. I remember everything. Like I remember how to walk and all the words, but I just can't get my body to balance on my feet and my mouth to say the words. I still haven't figured this whole "coma" thing out yet.
They put me on this machine thing where you lay down and you're kind of crunched. Then you use your legs to push yourself up so your extended. It's supposed to strengthen your legs but it just made me throw up. I don't know, I think it was the motion or something. Gross, huh? Ron better not do that to me again!

#1 August 2005

Everyone keeps telling me that I was kicked in the head and was in a coma but I don't believe it. I am in a hospital but I don't know, my head doesn't hurt. I love horses and I've been riding them since I was 9 so I don't think they could do this to me.
My Dad said I can't talk, but I was just thinking "well, thats what he thinks because I won't talk to him." I think he's doing this to me. I think he's giving me pills or something. This whole thing does not make sense. I really feel fine. I don't get it.

This Blog

I was kicked in the head by a horse on July 7th of 2005. I went into a coma and I didn't wake up for a month. While I was in the coma, I had part of my cerebellum removed. To make it even better, I got kicked when I was 5 weeks from getting married. So, needless to say, I didn't get married on my original date. I had to put it off for a year so I could re-learn to walk, talk, read, write, eat, and everything else one does.
So here I am. I'm going to start recording my thoughts starting with when I woke up. I'll remember this even less in another year or 20 so I'm going to write it down now. I'm going to let people know what its like to have a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and let other survivors know that they are not alone with their struggles. And it is a struggle.