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Brain Go BOOM! Author/Survivor: John Cooper Acknowledgments: With the deepest and most sincere gratitude, I wish to thank every individual that has ever crossed my path in life; both good and bad. I have learned what to do and what not to do from sharing in your stories and experiences. Thank you to my grandmother, Eleanor Kelly, aka Nanny Kelly. When I was a young age she punched me hard on my right arm and told me, “You learn more in pain than you do in happiness, Johnny.” She couldn’t have been more right. I learned a great deal about myself and others these past five years. It was excruciatingly painful at times, but I learned. I would even like thank those RED LIGHTS, as they have motivated me to see things differently and to be a more compassionate, forgiving and understanding person. Special thanks to my neurosurgeons at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Neuroscience Building, Dr. Rosenwasser, Dr. Tjoumakaris and Dr. Jabbour, for saving my life. To their surgical teams and the superb nursing staff on the sixth and eight floors, I cannot thank you enough! I went to one the paramount hospitals on the East Coast for emergency craniotomy and aneurysm clipping; I stayed there and received first-rate nursing care. I had the best of both worlds. Nurses rock! Thank you to Dr. Cho, Dr. Mayer, Dr. Marino, the nurses, the physical, occupational and speech therapists at Moss Rehabilitation Hospital. Thank you to Donna and the entire outpatient rehab team at Doylestown Hospital. Thank you to my exceptional, NEW primary care physician, Dr. Purcell. And last, but definitely not least of my medical doctors, Dr. Cook, who possesses the insight to take the calculated risks in order for me to thrive as a survivor not a victim. He grounds me and subliminally motivates me, while reminding me, “You’ve got to cut yourself some slack, John. You have severe damage to your basal ganglia and right frontal lobe. Some things that were once easy are now not possible. Give yourself a break.” They believe in me. Page 152 of 167
Brain Go BOOM! Author/Survivor: John Cooper Thank you to my mental health professionals. Dr. Armstrong who helped me cope with my P.T.S.D., Dr. Ralph Petrucci who has taught me it’s alright to have bad days or weeks and that “…it’s okay to go sideways from time to time. I just don’t want to see you going one step forward then three steps backwards, but it’s ok to go sideways.” Dr. Bach for teaching me that I don’t have to wake up every day and wonder if I’m going to have another brain aneurysm and possibly die. Thank you to Dr. Berardinelli who is teaching me that what others may be thinking about me may be my own misconceptions and that I do posses the ability to change this. Her reinforcing therapy sessions and giving me take home assignments are working out well. We are working on it. She has also helped me create my own scheduling system; a system that may not work for most people, but works for me. They believe in me. Thank you to all of my fellow brothers at The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) Division 3 in Doylestown. Thanks to Jack O. and his big red truck with his grandson in the back seat (again, I am so sorry Jack). To Jerry, Denny, Jim, Donnie for not only taking the lead on driving me back and forth to ninety percent of my therapy sessions at Doylestown Hospital three times a week, they also reinforced their own belief and faith that, “You are one of those guys that will pull out of this hell hole and come out on top.” They believe in me. Thank you to my closest friends Billy and his wife, Jess, Frank and Dawn and Matt and his wife, Julie, for standing bedside Laura while I was in a coma and for supporting my family and, most times, putting our needs in front of your own. Thank you for the countless hours of conversations and for allowing me to cry on your shoulders. Thanks for the occasional punch in the gut to wake me up and keeping me on track. Also, thank you to Scott and Jen and Kevin and Lori. You never acted as if anything was out of the ordinary when I was wearing my big, oversized, white, Corky helmet. May times you took on the RED LIGHTS that were in my path. When people stared at me in disgust, there were many occasions when you would be more upset than I was and you had no problem addressing these people head on. Thank you for making me laugh and for motivating me to not let my brain aneurysm define who I was. Thank you for loving me. That’s what friends are for...keep smiling, keep shinning... They believe in me. Page 153 of 167
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