TBI means Traumatic Brain Injury? Howabout: TO BE INSPIRED or TRANSFORMED BY INJURY

You never know when your life might take a turn for the worst - it’s your choice how you respond...either take the easy route and give up...or KEEP FIGHTING....

Gratitude for being given a 2nd chance after my severe traumatic brain injury helped me to keep moving forward and not give up (when that is all I wanted to do), after I failed out of college and failed a driving test at 23 years old, couldn't think of basic words to communicate or even order food on the phone, and thought my old life was over...then to become the best driver ;), still graduate college, succeed in my job and become the best version of myself...although it took years.

There are reasons things happen to you, and just think: you have a 400 trillion to 1 odds of JUST BEING BORN AT ALL. That should be enough to stay grateful and remain positive when life throws you a curve ball.

It's not about what happens TO you, it's about what happens FOR you, no matter how traumatic, to teach you who you are and teach you essential life lessons, to help you grow as a person,

*Click Blue Rectangle Below to See Recent Update & Where I Am Today*

PERSISTENCE WILL PAY OFF

*Under construction*

My family created this site for me while I was in a coma (hence WakeJake) after I fell down a flight of extremely steep concrete stairs (fluke accident) on October 27th, 2012 sustaining a severe traumatic brain injury, which required my head to be drilled into by the ER doctor to release the pressure inside my skull (which would have killed me) after being sedated into a drug-induced coma.

At that time, I was just 2 classes shy of obtaining my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University (which I did get, just 2 years later), with a job offer, large friend group and a bright future ahead - the timing of the accident probably couldn't have been worse, yet I kept pushing!

Take a look at "The Accident, Recovery and Jake Today" section at the top to see much more about my accident, my long recovery process and where I am today.

I run the site now, and A LOT of work is yet to be done. It is truly a miracle I recovered 100% and (potentially) more intelligent than before, based on my IQ score in my last neurospych evaluation. Also, currently writing a book about my story and how persistence / willingness to try will take you further than anything in life, even intelligence.

I am in the process of transforming this site into a TBI / Mental & General Health blog from all the things I've learned from my accident; as well as my own personal blog

I have ZERO experience in web design (other than HTML coding) so it will take me some time to get everything up-to-date *Excuse any typos as well*

Feel free to contact me at Jake.Schonhoft@gmail.com to learn how I was able to bounce back so quickly; believe me, it was the most difficult thing I've ever had to endure, and I hope no one has to experience the suffering and hopelessness I went through.

It DID teach me that PERSISTENCE / WILLINGNESS TO TRY will take you farther in life than anything, even intelligence - I am grateful for everything my brain injury has taught me about life and for everyone who stayed by my side.