Jason Ferguson. Still here. Still standing.

His story

From a coma to a clothing line.

The night he owns

Before the crash, Jason worked in the music business as a sound engineer: long nights in loud rooms. One night in December 2002 ran until almost dawn, and he drove home far too fast and without a seatbelt. His car clipped a truck and he was thrown from it. He does not dress that night up or put it on anyone else. In his words, I did this to myself. He is grateful nobody else was badly hurt.

The coma and the first steps

Jason was in a coma from mid-December into the new year. He spent about a month in a trauma center and then weeks in a rehabilitation hospital. Doctors said he would not walk again and would need supervision around the clock. He walked out of rehab. He was weak, he had lost about 75 pounds in six weeks, his speech was slow and parts of his memory were gone, but he walked.

Rebuilding at home

For more than a year after rehab there was no formal therapy, so Jason built his own. Squeeze balls for grip strength and for the anxiety of crowded rooms. A peg-light toy for fine motor skills. Long walks to clear his head. Computer dominoes to unwind. And writing: more than 300 poems that helped him find his words again.

Giving it forward

Jason went on to work with a brain injury research center, serving on an advisory committee, and helped lead a program in which brain injury survivors help other survivors find their way back into community life. He has spoken publicly about his recovery, and he believes people who have lived through it see things that clinicians can miss.