On February 2, 2013, Tristan Humble was training for the Levi Leipheimer’s Granfondo bicycle race on a winding rural mountain road in Sonoma County. As he was rounding a corner during his descent, he was hit head on by a mini-van. He suffered severe head trauma and was in a coma for two months. He began his post-coma recovery at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose and continued through various Kaiser programs. He spent seven months in a special residential program at the Centre for Neuro Skills in Bakersfield and continues to pursue his goal of walking independently with daily therapeutic work on his own. The effects of the Traumatic Brain Injury to his left side make walking extremely difficult.

As of now, Tristan’s health care through Kaiser will no longer provide the therapies (Occupational-, Physical-, and Speech Therapy) he needs. He and his dad, Scott, go to the gym at least twice a week to build strength for the goal of walking. He continues to receive counseling and music therapy services through the Centre for Neuro Skills (CNS) in Emeryville for which he must pay privately. Whereas he is working on his own to perfect his piano playing with just his right hand, restoring his ability to sing requires the specialized neurotherapy that he gets at CNS. We are seeking specialized effective private OT, PT, and Speech therapy to augment the work he does at home. He has had good success with the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP) in Berkeley renting their three-wheeled recumbent cycles to ride paths around Aquatic Park and McLaughlin Park. He would like to have one of his own adapted recumbent bikes in order to take advantage of the several traffic-free bicycle trails in Sonoma County. They are quite expensive, especially with the adaptations needed for one-handed operation of brakes and gears. He will be trying an electromechanical leg brace to see if the device can improve his gait. It, too, is a very expensive item.