A Saga of Poems

About the Book

My name is Michael. I am 20 years old. I began writing poetry in middle school. The reactions I received from teachers and others let me know that they enjoyed my work. My writing was interrupted when I was in an auto accident in 2003. I was in a coma for 4-5 months. My condition is called Traumatic Brain Injury. It has taken me three years to regain my interest and my skills: writing, speaking, walking. I continue to work on my physical recovery today. Recovering from such a serious accident takes a long time. I am happy I was able to regain the ability to talk and write within the first two years of my rehabilitation. Along with my tutor, Ms. Mary Cantwell, we have continued to write poetry and express the feelings I have inside of me. The first part of this book contains the poetry I wrote before my accident. The rest is a collaberative work of Mary's and mine. Writing has been an integral part of my recovery. It helps me realize what can be accomplished even from someone in a wheelchair!

About the Author

Hello! I am Michael. I live in Indianapolis, Indiana. I was born on January 28, 1987. I was a good student, an athlete and a musician. I have a great family: Sharon and David are my parents, Daniel is my younger brother, and Jake and Sirus are my dog and cat. On June 13, 2003, I was driving home from a party. I was not drunk or using drugs. But as a relatively new driver, I was inexperienced enough that when I hit a bump and was going too fast, I lost control of the car I was driving.

My condition is called Traumatic Brain Injury. I was hospitalized for 5 months. When I came home I was still not breathing on my own. I could not walk, talk or eat. Lucky for me, my skills have slowly been returning with the help of therapists, teachers and, most importantly, the Grace of God.

I've always enjoyed writing poetry. Now it is also an important part of my recovery both in the writing process and the expression of feelings I carry inside of me.

Mary Cantwell is my homebound teacher. She is a 30 year veteran of teaching Special Needs children. She began working with me in May of 2004. Since I could not talk and my only physical response was to 'point', she used pictures with me to stimulate language. She read to me, mysteries, and she would 'bet' with me on 'who-dun-it'! Since I've returned to school part time, Mary comes to my home, works with me on school work when I need it and we write poetry together. She is my co-author, my editor, and my friend.