My name is Jose Sanchez and I am a member of Jodi House. I currently live at Care Juliet, a residential care program.
I sustained my brain injury two years ago when I was riding a bike and I didn’t see an oncoming car that ended up hitting me. I was in the hospital for a month and had to move back home with my mom while I recovered. I felt ‘slow’ after the accident and could not understand a lot. I came to my care facility, Care Juliet, because I needed more help with recovery. Care Juliet told me about Jodi House when I moved in.
My favorite part about Jodi House is the meditation classes. I love the classes and they have helped reduce my anxiety. The Brain Workouts help me with out with my focus and memory. I remember things from my past that I didn’t before. Now I can talk better and remember better. I tell my family that at Jodi House, I am taking classes that are good for my brain and they encourage me to continue.
A major accomplishment I have achieved at Jodi House is being able to memorize things a lot better and recall things from my past. Meditation has really calmed down my anxiety, and I don’t even take medication for that anymore. I am currently trying to get off as many medications as I can and I am getting there.
My biggest goal was to be able to walk again without a walker and I am now able to do that. Next, I want to go back to school and get my GED so I can rejoin the workforce as a policeman. I want to be able to cook again; I helped tamales at Christmas this year and it was fun, even though I didn’t remember each step. My mom and sister helped me along the way.
I am not the same person I used to be before my brain injury. I used to cook and I miss that a lot. My kids still love me as I am, but I want to be more like I used to be before my injury. I want to get a job because being on disability is not enough to live and I want to support my family and work hard.
Something important to know about brain injury survivors like me is that we can still find ways to be the person we want to be before we sustained our brain injuries.
A note from Jose’s roommate and fellow Jodi House member, James: I can attest to all the time and effort to where Jose is now and where he wants to be. He is a nonstop energy package. He has goals and sees many doctors and therapists. I admire his tenacity in getting to where he wants to be. He has education and career goals in mind. With the help of Care Juliet and Jodi House staff he’ll get there, I’m sure.
