Jill Mason: "It Couldn't Happen to Me"

Jill C. Mason

Jill Mason, author of Couldn't Happen to Me: A Life Changed by Paralysis and Traumatic Brain Injury, was the featured Speaker at our TBI Group Meeting, March 16, 2010. 


She told the story being hit while cycling by car driven by an intoxicated driver and of surviving the debilitating effects of paralysis and TBI. But she gave more time and emphasis to a second story, the story beyond basic survival, the story of her moving on to write the book, of public speaking to a variety of audiences about about her experiences, and of volunteering to work with people with similar injuries.  


Ms. Mason was well received by the group with many members asking questions which she responded to with aplomb, direct engagement, and insight.


At its conclusion, her presentation was rewarded with a strong round of applause.

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Below is a reflective review of Couldn't Happen to Me by Steve McManus of The Sacramento Bee.

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Book Review 

By Steve McManus, The Sacramento Bee, FEB. 25, 2010

Couldn't Happen to Me: A Life Changed by Paralysis and Traumatic Brain Injury 

By Jill C. Mason, 

November 2, 2009

Paperback

Years after drunken driver paralyzed her, ex-triathlete Jill Mason puts experience into book.

She had been an English major in college, so naturally she wanted someday to write a book.

One problem, though.

"I really didn't have a topic," Jill Mason says.

True, in her mid-20s, Mason felt she hadn't done enough living to tackle a memoir or even fiction. Not that she didn't have a full life. She was a triathlete, had run marathons, worked in marketing for a Silicon Valley firm and had found love with a high-tech engineer and fellow triathlete, Alan Liu.

Life was going swimmingly, to say nothing of the running and cycling.

A training ride along Highway 12 near Santa Rosa on Easter morning 2004 changed all that. Liu and Mason were hit by a drunken driver whose blood-alcohol level measured more than four times the legal limit.

Liu was killed; Mason survived – barely. Her spinal cord was severed, permanently paralyzing her. Injury to her brain limited her motor function – her right arm is numb, essentially useless – and leaves gaping holes in her memory and cognitive ability.

Now 32, living independently in a house she owns in south Sacramento, Mason works closely with Every 15 Minutes, a program that educates students on the perils of drinking and driving. She volunteers to help physical therapy students at California State University, Sacramento. She mounts her specially equipped hand cycle and heads out on the road for solo training rides, albeit much slower ones than in her triathlete days.

And yes, Mason has written that book.

[The article continues.]

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http://www.sacbee.com/2010/02/25/2561989_years-after-drunken-driver-paralyzed.html