new medical breakthroughs before the general public . The experts said that the brain never stops recuperating , but most of that recovery was in the first 18 months after the brain injury . Progress was slow after that .”
At first , Mary used a walker , then eventually a cane . “ One day , Jesus gave me the courage to walk across the entire room with no apparatus or wall to help me ,” she writes . “ I did it ! I was walking with no assistance .”
Throughout the book , Mary discusses the frustrations and disappointments of parenting from a distance . However , she recounts sweet moments like Andrew ’ s first visit to Louisville for Thanksgiving . “ Mommy , I know I do not see you very much ,” he told her . “ But I still think about you every day .” Now a college student , Andrew has a solid relationship with his mother .
After her heartbreaking losses , Mary achieved inspiring triumphs . She progressed to living in her own condo . Through the Brain Injury Alliance of Kentucky ( BIAK ), she met with other brain injury survivors . BIAK ’ s mission is to serve those affected by brain injuries and brain tumors by :
• Linking survivors of brain injury and their families to support from others with similar experiences
• Providing them with education and information about living and coping with brain injury
• Assisting them in locating resources for financial assistance
• Seeking to connect people with sources of emotional support
Dan was on the BIAK board , and his wife , Kimberly Alumbaugh , MD , came up with the idea of hosting a fundraising gala . The inaugural Brain Ball in 2004 was a “ magical night ” where Mary received the Inspiration Award . In the years since then , she has presented the Mary Varga Award to a brain injury survivor who has improved the lives of others . “ Every year as the Brain Ball gears up , I smile knowing that my family started it all , out of their love for me ,” Mary writes . “ I am most fulfilled when I feel like I am providing hope to others who are facing the same challenges as I did .”
Somewhat ironically , Mary drew on her passion for exercise to become a certified personal trainer and certified senior fitness instructor . She founded a business called SilverStrength in 2010 and teaches classes at facilities around Louisville .
Finally , Mary ’ s memoir is about her deepening Catholic faith and her personal spiritual journey . After a high school retreat , she started keeping a journal of prayers to God . Each chapter of her book begins with a relevant Bible verse and closes with a remarkably honest prayer .
REVIEW
Mary Varga ( image from baik . us )
For example , she discovers the power of forgiving her ex-husband , who had remarried . His response : “ That means so much to me . You are the strongest woman I have ever known .”
Mary explains the meaning of the book ’ s title , The Light Through My Tunnel , in this way : “ God ... has walked with me through the many years I have journeyed this dark tunnel of brain injury and disability . He has been the light through this dark tunnel I call physical disability . My main desire has been to show you the infinite ways Jesus has stayed by my side and sometimes even carried me through my new life as a brain injury survivor .”
If you know the Varga family , you must read Mary ’ s book . I also recommend it to physicians as the story of one patient overcoming tremendous odds . Perhaps you have patients — brain injury survivors or individuals with disabilities , mental illnesses and chronic health conditions — who would discover encouragement and hope in the pages of Mary ’ s book .
The Light Through My Tunnel is available at Carmichael ’ s as well as at Amazon ( paperback and Kindle ). Mary is contributing 50 percent of the proceeds to BIAK .
Ellen R . Hale was communications associate for the Greater Louisville Medical Society from 2009 to 2013 .
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