(lohud) – Thirty years ago this March, Steven Benvenisti was struck by a drunk driver while he was out for a walk in Florida on spring break. His parents were told he was unlikely to survive and if he did, he would be completely disabled.
When he awoke from a coma weeks later, the then-21-year-old Bergen County, New Jersey, resident was unable to walk. He suffered from a traumatic brain injury. After undergoing 10 surgeries, Benvenisti was flown north and admitted to Helen Hayes Hospital, where he faced five more surgeries.
Despite the daunting road ahead, he eventually made a full recovery after working with the hospital’s rehabilitation team.
as”As soon as I arrived … the professional and other staff instilled in me that I should never lose hope and that they were determined to help me achieve my dream of being able to walk again and function cognitively as I did before,” Benvenisti said on Thursday. CONTINUE