Anna Pope
03.11.2025
Brain Injury Awareness 2025

October 24, 2010

Hello! My name is Anna. I am a very severe Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor. I
acquired my brain injury from a vehicle accident I was involved in wile I was a passenger in a
truck on October 24, 2010. This accident occurred after a wedding, a best friend’s wedding, I
attended with a friend, ex-boyfriend. This friend and I were no longer dating but agreed to go to
our friend’s wedding together.
I have been told the wedding was beautiful, but I do not remember any of the wedding. I
know I attended in a feather dress that I just bought for the wedding, and I was in love with it!
Well, I wore it once, and it had a great time, but was then cut off of me by emergency personnel.
I am very fortunate the accident I was in was discovered by a surgeon, doctor who just got off of
work from Sacred Heart Hospital on his way home. I do not remember any of this because I was
unconscious. I was told when I asked who found me sometime after I woke up from my coma, I
was curious, and was informed this information. Upon seeing the truck against a tree, the Doctor
called an ambulance, emergency transportation, for me. They thought the Driver was dead, but
then they heard him breath so he was taken to the hospital. From this point we were picked up
and taken to Baptist Hospital.
I am giving you a description of the truck we were in, in the accident. It was a Black
Ford F150 Harley Davidson edition with a red stripe all the way around the trucks side just
below the bed of the trucks top. He did not T-bone the tree, it was an off-center crash that
resulted in the dashboard coming off and hitting me, “and taking me down” where the his was
off center. It is not always necessary, but I do say it occasionally while describing my accident
by saying, “And the dashboard took me down” where in the picture it does show where my
passenger seat is going perpendicular, not parallel with the truck’s dashboard. The picture does
show how could anyone survive this accident.
When I arrived at Baptist Hospital, I was taken to Nursing Intensive Surgical Unit
(NISU) where I received immediate emergency Brain Surgery from Neurosurgeon Dr.
Giovanini. After surgery I was placed into a Medically Induced Coma. After I woke up from
my coma, I then took a really cool ride in a ambulance to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta,
Georgia to continue with my recovery and learn everything all over again.
Here I was a 25-year-old woman who felt like a 5-year-old girl and had to learn
everything all over. One unique story that I can remember is one day Shepherd Center therapists
took us all recovering individuals to a room, took us to our seat then placed some objects in front
of us giving us instructions on what to do with what was in front of us. I was and am hard
headed so I thought “Seriously, what are they going to have me do. I am 25 years old, and I can
do anything”. Placed in front of me were some coins, and I was instructed to count the coins to
see how much was in front of me. I thought, this is ridiculous, I can do that. I then looked down
with a half smirk, or what I could do of a smirk on my face and well, I did not remember. I was
confused. I played with the coins then I realized I may need some help so I raised my hand. A
Therapist came over to see what I needed and I can’t remember what I said, but I think she
noticed I needed some help. She helped me.
One thing I really needed assistance with was my balance. I always had to wear the belt
with a therapist next to me, or I was in a wheelchair. My wheelchair was my amazing Bentley!
So, I can always say in my life I drove and controlled a Bentley, and brag, or explain my Bentley

Anna Pope
03.11.2025
Brain Injury Awareness 2025
rode smooth and I loved it! I did many types of therapy while at Shepherd center, was fed and
exercised my mind and body. Each day I was exhausted.
One exercise we did with a collection of those in recovery along with their therapists was
loading in a Shepherd van transporting us to a grocery store. At the grocery store our therapists
gave us a list and explained we need to find the items on this list. Each therapist traveled
through the store with us while having the basket. When we found the item on the list, we would
show them to get approval then we could put it in the basket. I only remember a small bit of this,
but this was a fun therapy adventure.
I was doing therapy’s every day, not one, not two, but many different types of therapies.
Each day was different. I was finally excited the one day that I got approved after passing and
graduation that I could go home! My date that I returned home was March 3, 2011!
In summary, one thought that comes to my mind is “Why did I get in that Vehicle”? I am
a completely different person now than I was when I got into that vehicle. I love waking up
every morning despite the amount of sleep I get or don’t get, but I am ready to take on another
day!
Brain Injury Awareness is important to everyone. I want every person to know that a
brain injury can happen to any person anytime, at any place, and at any time, and we will always
be unprepared for living the new life of a Brain Injury Survivor. I encourage everyone to love
their life, live it and always smile!

Anna Pope
2010 Survivor