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A Second Chance: Strength Finder and Purpose After a Brain Injury
- Michael Foglietta
- Dec 8, 2025
- 3 min read
🧠 A Second Chance: Finding Strength and Purpose After a Brain Injury
On December 10th, 2003, life changed in an instant. The rupture of an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM burst) in my cerebellum irrevocably altered my physical and cognitive landscape. This is my journey of survival, acceptance, and achieving the impossible despite the lasting effects of brain injury.
The Day Everything Changed: AVM and Instant Loss
The AVM burst required doctors to remove part of my cerebellum and brain, leaving behind damage near the brainstem and a lasting hole in my skull. The immediate consequence was devastating: nearly all of my life’s memories were erased. To this day, I live with significant memory impairment and a learning disability.
Before the injury, I cherished an active, outdoor lifestyle. I could spontaneously go snow skiing or water skiing—there were no limits. Post-injury, I could barely walk or turn my head. The physical and cosmetic changes made me fear public spaces. The cruelest realization came when I returned home after a month and a half in the hospital: I couldn't even engage with my one-year-old daughter—no bouncing her on my knee, no walks. Every aspect of my life had changed.
The Long Road to Recovery: Adapting, Adjusting, and Accepting: Strength Finder
The recovery phase was marked by years of being a "guinea pig." I endured countless new therapies and medications in the challenging search for the best quality of life. This process was often excruciating, involving significant pain. I quickly learned that acceptance is the best medicine.
While early occupational and physical therapy offered minimal help, the true breakthrough came from finding the right combination of medicines to mitigate my symptoms. Once the physical therapies ceased to be useful, I made the conscious choice to accept my life as it was. This acceptance was not defeat; it was the starting point for a new kind of life.
Finding Joy Through Creative Work and Hand Skills
Acceptance opened the door to new interests, focusing on skills I could still enjoy despite my disability: working with my hands and being outdoors. Although I couldn't return to my former career, I found satisfaction in new, challenging projects, strength finder:
Surfing Project: Living in Southern California, I attempted to make surfboards. Though it took months to complete a single board, the act of creation brought enjoyment, but i wasn't very good at it.
Boat Restoration: I spent over two years restoring the shell of an old boat.
These tasks, though extremely difficult due to my learning disability and physical limits, provided a powerful sense of accomplishment, but it did float and I got some good use out of it.
Overcoming Daily Physical Obstacles
Completing tasks also brought an awareness of my body’s strict limits. Overexertion immediately brought on dizziness, nausea, fainting spells, and spinning sensations if I turned my head too quickly—a condition that persists even 20 years later.
My survival strategy was simple: adapt and adjust. I learned from every activity and modified my movements. I avoid turning my head in ways that trigger the spinning and limit activities that cause nausea. This disciplined approach to changing how I do things has been the key to overcoming these daily physical obstacles.
The Impossible Goal: Conquering Academia and Memory Impairment
The most daunting challenge was intellectual. Because of my memory problems, learning was profoundly difficult. However, I found a new passion: international affairs. Slowly, through persistence, I began to retain small bits of information about how the world operates. This glimmer of recovery suggested my brain was still healing.
Following my divorce in 2018, I made a life-altering decision: returning to college to earn my degree in International Relations.
The Challenge: Time was my enemy. Learning took significantly longer due to my cerebellum damage and learning disability.
The Triumph: I had to invent new learning methods and utilize the university's helpful accommodations. Through immense hard work, dedication, and the support of loved ones, I graduated Magna cum Laude in 2022.
My Accomplishment: Proof of Resilience
Graduating college, despite everything working against me, is the ultimate testament to what I am capable of. The sacrifices and lifestyle adjustments were necessary, but the pride in this accomplishment is immense. My journey proves that acceptance is not the end of the road, but the foundation upon which new, incredible goals can be built.
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