Wear a Helmet ~ For Your Mom

02/23/2021

TBIs are forever. ⬇️


It's about 3:15p & all i've had to eat is a diet coke & some chips. Not because I don't have food... just haven't had time to cook.
BUT I have:
💢 given medications
💢 given a couple of feedings through the peg tube
💢 changed several diapers
💢 bed bath & hygiene stuff
💢 taken vital signs
💢 oversaw a nurse home visit, a physical therapy evaluation & a speech therapy evaluation
💢 did dishes
💢 & took care of my plants
I slept in this shirt BUT I did put jeans & boots on... soooo progress 🤷🏻‍♀️ I'm tired & hungry. Nothing a nap & a meal won't fix though 😉
If you don't wanna live this life you should make sure your loved ones are wearing helmets. 🧠

03/10/2020

This is one of my favorite pictures of young Matthew. Caught unaware... not posing. Just so handsome in his natural beauty. 😍
I remember that little boy like it was yesterday. 💞 how I loved him! 😍 He was the best! He was such an easy baby. Never fussed. Always laughed. & such a big heart. he loved me... & hugged me & gave me kisses & I always felt so much love from him. My first baby. I always told him... & still do "how did I get so lucky to be your mom?!"
Never... EVER in a million years would I have thought we'd be living the lives we're living now. But what do you do but take care of the ones you love?! 🤷🏻‍♀️ at least that's what I do
Anyhow....All of this because he didn't wear a helmet THAT ONE TIME. Yeah, that's all it takes... THAT ONE TIME to get a brain injury that changes your life & those that will stick around to help. Because I GUARANTEE ... very few stick around.
I try to always be positive in life... but remembering my little boy growing into a young adult with dreams & aspirations... all gone in a flash. ... it breaks my heart 💔
& I sit here typing this all alone in my home.... ugly crying... & trying to convince y'all to PLEASE WEAR A HELMET & to put a helmet on those you love. That's all I want. .

03/02/2020

It has been just over 9 years since my son, Matthew had a motorcycle accident causing his severe traumatic brain injury. Now I try to educate & bring awareness to brain injury & to get people to wear helmets.

12/03/2019

"According to SafeKidsUSA, there are about 275,000 non-fatal bicycle injuries every year involving kids. That’s about 690 kids a day.

Kids ages 0-14 using roller skates or roller blades average 38,155 injuries per year. There are about 61,000 skateboarding injuries per year, and in 2004 there were 18,743 skateboarding-related head injuries treated. That’s a lot.

It has been estimated that bicycle helmets could have prevented 75 percent of fatal head injuries and 85 percent of non-fatal traumatic brain injuries in kids injured while riding their bikes. That’s a pretty big impact, by a parent insisting their child wear a helmet while riding their bike.

It’s also been estimated that if kids wore bike helmets every time they got on their bike, it could prevent 135-155 deaths, 39,000-45,000 traumatic brain injuries and 18,000-55,000 scalp and face injuries per year."

With summer here, many kids will enjoy the sunshine and warm weather by playing outside. Riding bikes, rollerskating, skateboarding and riding scooters are all ways for kids to get much-needed exercise outdoors. Children need to be taught to wear proper protective equipment while doing these activit...

11/20/2019

Almost 9 years later & my son, Matthew:
➡️ still has a severe traumatic brain injury.
➡️ still needs a wheelchair
➡️ still can't talk or walk
➡️ still suffers from seizures
➡️ still needs round the clock care
There is no cure for traumatic brain injuries.... ONLY prevention. Wear a helmet. Teach your kids the importance of wearing a helmet & tell your friends the same.
Matthew brings so much joy to my life with his smiles, laughs & hugs. I'm fortunate to still have him here but this is not the life he nor i ever imagined.

10/04/2019

Nothing feels as good as putting a free helmet on a friend's head! 💞

09/28/2019

I was asked to write a testimony regarding Matthew's motorcycle accident for a new friend lobbying for a helmet law here in Texas.

This is what i wrote up. I did it quickly & without edits. 🤷🏻‍♀️ i thought I'd share.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
In the early morning hours of New Year's Day of 2011 my son was thrown from his motorcycle. He wasn't wearing a helmet.

At that time Matthew was 21 years old. He was planning on returning to UTSA after taking a semester off. He was a Political Science major. His plan was to graduate & join the Air Force as an Officer. After that he was going to join the government as an attache & after a few years he planned to come back to the states and run for office.

All that changed in a moment.

He was found in the street by a passing car that called 911. Fortunately he wasn't far from the medical center in San Antonio, Texas. They rushed him to University Hospital where the neurosurgery team saved his life. It was several days before they could tell us that he was not going to die from his injuries, but that he would be completely disabled & would need care for the rest of his life.

That was nearly 9 years ago.

Matthew can't talk. He can't walk. We don't know how much he can see because he can't tell us. He wears diapers. He is fed through a tube in his stomach. He can barely move his right arm or right leg. His left side is better but is still limited in purposefulness. He has a shunt in his head. A baclofen pump in his abdomen. A Vagus Nerve Stimulator [VNS] implanted just under his collar bone with wires that are wrapped around his vagus nerve. This is to manage the seizures he began having about a year after the motorcycle accident.

After the accident he lived in various hospitals, rehabs, skilled nursing facilities & finally a nursing home for the following year & a half. I finally brought him home to live with me in June of 2012. That was very difficult. I have another child. My daughter Sydney Love. She was in middle school when the accident happen. She had to deal with very adult situations at a very young age, too young. My relationship with my daughter suffered because of this accident as did several other family relationships. Matthew's father [he was already remarried] couldn't deal with seeing Matthew like that [his words] so... he just doesn't. We haven't seen him in about 5 years & he lives here in town with us. In 2015 my sister died from cancer & then 2.5 weeks later my father died. This was the last straw... i had to face the fact that after taking care of Matthew in my home for 3.5 years i just couldn't do it any longer. I had to move him into a nursing home in Feb. of 2016, where he continues to live.

I can't even remember how many surgeries he's had over the years [although i can figure it out eventually] or the number of times an ambulance had to come take Matthew to the ER because of seizures. He's been intubated [a breathing tube shoved down his throat] & a ventilator breathing for him so many times now that he has tracheal scarring. oh.. & the countless tests, needles, x-rays, ct-scans... so so so many procedures.

At the beginning he had his father's insurance, but Humana eventually dropped him. He's been on Medicare & Medicaid for several years now. Which means that everybody else is taking care of my son's needs. He's only 30 now.

All of this because he wasn't wearing a motorcycle accident. & it's not over.

The repercussions of not wearing a helmet go far beyond the person involved in the accident. Even further than the immediate family. Death isn't the worst thing that could happen to a person or their family.

Watching your son live a life far less than he deserved is truly, horribly, heartbreaking.

Michelle Ann Jimenez Reyes
aka Matt's Mom
founder of WEAR A HELMET

09/25/2019

Traumatic brain injuries [TBIs] is a diagnosis. a very serious diagnosis, for sure. But brain injuries come with a slew of other potential problems ranging from physical to emotional well-being to overall quality of life.
Remember, TBIs can't be cured... they can only be prevented. WEAR A HELMET. Everyone who loves you will be glad you did.

09/23/2019

CALL TO ACTION: We're looking for your stories [written or in video form] about motorcycle helmets; either, how a helmet saved your life or how not wearing a helmet has impacted your life. or your family's life. The only requirement is that it happened here in Texas.
My new friend, Kelly Pennington will be going to Austin later this week to lobby for a helmet law in Texas. Her husband is now dealing with a TBI after a motorcycle accident earlier this year.

09/18/2019

HELMET PAINTING UPDATE: i have delivered 3 helmets & will be putting 2 more in the hands of another artist very soon!! That's even more than i had asked for....
But i do have more helmets that could be painted if i get more volunteers. 😁 DM me. Or text me 210.508.2277

09/16/2019

This is my son, Matthew. He's the reason i started this entire helmet awareness thing. i took this pic Saturday night [9.14.19] while he was in the ER. He's since been moved to ICU.
He was having seizures & this time around required hospitalization. This is his 4th hospital stay just this year!
Matthew had a motorcycle accident in Jan 2011. The seizures started happening the following year in 2012 & have continued for these past 7 years. All because he didn't wear a helmet that one time.
Not wearing a helmet can have long-lasting repercussions. Wear a helmet. Save that brain of yours.

09/04/2019

I've got an idea. It's not totally fleshed out on the fundraising side... but i know it'll work out!
I'm looking for 4 San Antonio artists to paint a helmet for the cause. You pick the theme. I just want to make the helmet look cool. Be aware that you'll be donating your talent to WEAR A HELMET
I've got 1 helmet painted, the one on top, & another helmet in the hands of another artist... 4 more to go.
P.s. i have more helmets if we get more interest.
Dm me or text me at 210.508.2277 ~Michelle