When He Couldn’t Find A School for His Daughter, This Father Established His Own

Patrick Donohue’s life changed when his daughter Sarah Jane was born on June 5, 2005.
Five days later, his life changed again when he noticed Sarah Jane was noticeably lethargic and he decided to take her back to the pediatrician.  A number of tests were run and a few weeks later, they discovered that she had lost 60 percent of the rear cortex of her brain — the result of being violently shaken by her baby nurse.
“I’ll never forget, the first day we took her back to the hospital and they were trying to stick an IV in her,” says Donohue, who lead a successful career as a political consultant. “Tears were rolling down her face. Her mouth was wide open but because of the brain injury she couldn’t cry. From that moment on I knew I needed to be the voice of Sarah Jane.”
Ever since, Donahue has been advocating for children with brain injuries. In 2013, he founded the International Academy of Hope, which is the only school in New York City that specializes in kids with brain-based disorders. Currently, the school has 24 students and 50 full-time staff members, causing a year’s tuition to run $135,000. The cost is reimbursed by the New York City Department of Education, but only after parents sue, claiming that there is no public school to serve their child’s needs.

When a Bomb Left This Veteran Without Legs, He Decided to Help Others with Disabilities

In 2003, Robert “B.J.” Jackson was deployed to Iraq while serving with the Iowa National Guard. While there, a roadside bomb exploded, destroying his Humvee and causing a traumatic brain injury (which left him with PTSD) and the loss of both of his legs.
Back home in Clive, Iowa after grueling rehab, B.J.’s wife Abby thought he could use a night out. The two went to a nightclub for New Year’s Eve, but the bouncer turned them away, saying that the custom tennis shoes Jackson wore on his prosthetics didn’t meet the establishment’s dress code.
Abby protested, but B.J. wanted to slink away. When the club’s owner found out what had happened, he apologized and paid to fly B.J. to a veteran’s event. More importantly, though, the incident sparked an idea in B.J., who had been demoralized by his injuries.
“That night gave me a new outlook,” he tells Daniel Finney of the Des Moines Register. “I was ready to just let it go, like there was something wrong with me. But my wife and my friends said, ‘Hey, no, that isn’t OK.’ I realized there’s a stigma on people with disabilities. And I was going to do something about it.”
B.J. and his wife, who now live in Florida with their six children, founded The Right to Bear Stumps, an organization that raises awareness about the challenges faced by people with disabilities and raises money to help them. B.J., who struggled to learn to talk again after his brain injuries, is now a motivational speaker — delivering his message at places like churches and the Harley Davidson rally in Sturgis, S.D.
Through the Right To Bear Stumps, B.J. also helps build modifications to houses to accommodate disabilities and organizes golf outings for people with prosthetic limbs. Although he still struggles with issues stemming from his injuries, he jokes with Finney, “The biggest challenge I face right now is getting all the kids in the van.”
MORE: Cheer On These Inspiring Wounded Navy SEALs As They Reach for the Sky

This American Hero Was the Victim of a Scam, But These Volunteers are Saving the Day

After sustaining arm and leg injuries from shrapnel and a traumatic brain injury from a suicide bomb attack while in Afghanistan, veteran Everett “Alex” Haworth thought that life was on the upswing: He and his wife Mallorie closed on a house in Olmsted Township, Ohio and moved in with their baby daughter.
But unfortunately, their troubles were just beginning. Their remodeled ranch home passed its inspection, but once the family settled in, they discovered rampant mold behind the new drywall — rendering the house unlivable.
The family relocated, moving in with Mallorie’s mom, but they still had to pay the mortgage on their ruined home, a difficult proposition with Alex still in rehab and Mallorie completing her master’s degree in psychology, all the while raising their daughter.
“We put money in our house and in our attorney. We ran out of money both ways,” Mallorie told Regina Brett of the Cleveland Plain Dealer back in February. “It hurts. It’s been a few months of no hope. We’re not the kind to ask for help. We want to be the ones helping.”
But this month, a group of volunteers from the Home Depot, the Carpenters Union and members of the VFW are tearing out the damaged parts of the Haworth’s home and refurbishing it, providing new bathrooms, paint and even landscaping.
Alex tells Enrique Correa of Fox 8 Cleveland, “We are gonna have more than a home; we are gonna have our lives restored…It’s amazing and very humbling to know that people you never met a day in your life before, are coming to help you out.”
These very deserving homeowners should be able to move in by the end of October.
MORE: This Community Wants Veterans as Residents, So it’s Providing the Down Payment on New Houses
 
 

Her Husband Fought Overseas. Now She’s Fighting for Him and All Wounded Vets

When the Army medically retired Capt. Charles Gatlin after he sustained a traumatic brain injury in Iraq in 2006, his wife Ariana Del Negro realized that her family’s fight was just beginning.
In fact, five years later, Gatlin was still suffering many problems in the aftermath of the detonation of a bomb less than twenty yards away from him, including dizziness, severe headaches, hearing loss, and anxiety, all of which left him unable to drive a car. But when he visited Montana’s Fort Harrison VA Medical Center for a complete evaluation, the VA decided to drop his disability rating from 70 percent to 10 percent, cutting his benefits significantly.
Del Negro believed the staff was incompetent at evaluating Gatlin’s complex brain injury, and she filed a complaint against a psychologist she thought was performing tests he wasn’t licensed to give. The Montana State Board of Licensing agreed with Del Negro, and as she told The Missoulian, the psychologist began referring veterans to neurologists for the appropriate tests after she “made enough noise.”
Del Negro continued to make noise, advocating for veterans and pointing it out whenever she felt her husband and others were not receiving the care they’d earned by serving our country. For her tireless efforts, she was named a fellow at the Elizabeth Dole Foundation in March. This organization focuses on helping military families, and named one caregiver from each state as fellows. Del Negro is the representative from Montana because of the improvements her advocacy work has brought about for veterans suffering from TBIs.
“I’m not an 18-year-old private,” Gatlin, who is now a graduate student at the University of Montana, told Eric Newhouse of the Great Falls Tribune. “I’ve got resources that I can bring to bear. But I’m really worried about those guys that don’t have the benefit of an education or other resources. I’ve done my part. I’d like just to go back to school and enjoy it, but that’s not happening. I’ve become an advocate because I want to make the system work not only for myself, but for others.”
Del Negro and Gatlin make an impressive advocacy team, serving on the advisory board for the Montana Brain Injury Center in Missoula. And as long as they are watching out, no veteran in Montana should go without treatment or benefits.
MORE: This Veteran Suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury in Iraq. Now He’s Got a Chance to Win a Medal.