By Daniel Massey
Richmond Hill’s Herb Davis does not like to rely on others for help, but after a car accident 10 years ago he had little choice.
Davis, 52, suffered a severe brain injury and nearly lost his left leg in the June 23, 1992 accident. The cerebral contusion inhibited his eyesight, left him with significant short-term memory loss and led to aggressive behavior.
“I was very sick,” he said. “I couldn’t function, I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t do anything. Everything just went dead. “
But Davis, 52, has walked a long and successful road to recovery, thanks in part to the state’s Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver program. Last month, All Metro Health Care, a home health agency, paid tribute to that journey in a special ceremony where it recognized Davis for overcoming tremendous obstacles on the path to independence.
“We are honoring Herb because he has made remarkable progress in the program,” said Michael Arroyo, director of programs for All Metro. “He’s more sociable and he’s a much happier person than he was before.”
When Davis first began the TBI waiver program, he was angry, had difficulty managing money and was constantly frustrated. His aggressive behavior interfered with his development and limited his social contact with others, Arroyo said.
Davis, a former Army platoon sergeant, spent time in the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Brooklyn and The Greenery in Connecticut before joining the All Metro’s special TBI Wavier program. Last month’s award was the second such honor bestowed on Davis. Due to his progress, The Greenery had previously named an entire unit at its Middleboro, Mass. facility after him.
The All Metro program is part of a federal initiative that allows states to waive certain Medicaid rules, enabling a portion of the population on Medicaid to receive specialized services for long-term care not available to all recipients.
It is geared toward giving patients with traumatic brain injuries access to services and programs, including independent living skills training, behavior counseling and day programs, so that they can function in their own homes.
“Now if stuff needs to get done, I do it,” said Davis, who lives alone in a Jamaica Avenue house. “Cooking, cleaning and everything. No help. Don’t need nobody. It makes me feel good.”
Davis spends three days a week in an All Metro day program, where he now serves as an inspiration to traumatic brain injury victims who are in the early stages of recovery that once frustrated him so much.
He even has hopes of joining the ranks of the employed sometime in the near future.
“I would like to work,” he said. “I think work would keep me very active. Right now if I’m not in the program, I’m in the house. If I can get a job, I got somewhere to go.”
After the accident, Davis could not walk and was confined to a wheelchair. He now uses a cane and motorized scooter, but will not be satisfied until he gains independence from those devices.
“I still have a little more work to go,” he said. “I got a cane in my hand. I want that thing out of my hand. I walk around the house without it. I want that thing out of my hand.”
Reach reporter Daniel Massey by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
