Freedom House Survivor Stories Part 6

RON MAYER

Following, is the story of Ron Mayer beginning with the accident that changed his life forever, and his journey back to being an active and productive member of his community. In 1971, Ron was riding his small motorcycle to his neighborhood community center to practice basketball. On his way, he rode into some sand that was left on the street. He went into a skid and was thrown onto the pavement. He sustained a brain injury that left him with short term memory loss and a tremor in his right hand. In addition, his left hip was injured. Ron considers himself a careful rider, but of course, not on sand! Fortunately, there was a doctor and nurse close by at a Pop Warner football game and they quickly came and gave Ron medical help until an ambulance arrived. He spent the next three weeks in a COMA at Sharp Children's Hospital, followed by seven weeks in rehab.
After being discharged from children's rehab, Ron lived at home while continuing to seek treatment to improve his short term memory. He required a lot of supervision, including help with mood swings.
The accident occurred during Ron's junior year in High School. He had been and honor student with a year ahead in school. After three and a half months in the hospital, Ron was still not well enough to return to school. He spent the rest of the year with a home teacher.
At that time there were no programs or resources for people with brain injuries. However, through his high school, he found out about a relearning foundation for slow learners. He spent three months in the program part time working with a tutor. With the help of the home teacher, he returned to the twelfth grade the following year with a requirement of three subjects. With the help of his tutor, he finished High School with his class.
After High School, Ron went on to Mesa College for six years, taking some classes over, and earned a two year AA degree. He worked in the printing field for about five years. In those days, it was very difficult for disabled people in the work field...They weren't accepted very well. He was let go from many of the printing jobs...they required too much lifting and more speed than Ton could handle. His last job in the printing field was at a bank. He worked there for three months and again, they informed him that he was too slow. After that experience, he decided that the printing field was not for him.
In 1978, Ron decided to return to college. He went to Point Loma Nazarene University and stayed in the dorm to regain his independence. He was one of the college photographers and worked on the yearly Annual, as he had experience in photography in Jr. High School. He finished the junior year. In spite of finding the bookwork quite stressful, Ron felt it was a great year. Then, in 1987, he returned to Mesa College, this time to take Hotel-Motel classes. He went for three years and did so well that the teacher offered him a desk clerk job at Hotel Del Coronado.
Ron worked in the hotel field for about six years, holding many jobs during that period. After his last job ended, Ron drew unemployment for about a year. During that time, he attended the Brain Injury Foundation meetings. One day, there was a teacher from Mesa College talking about a new program called ABI. The following fall, he began attending the ABI classes. They proved to be a valuable experience, as they gave him reassurance to look forward to the future and focus on improving himself.
At that point, he decided he wanted to learn the computer. Through ABI, he was enrolled in a computer class for a year. After his computer class was over, Ron applied for a job at Miramar Naval Station doing Accounts Payable and Receivable. He was hired, but the job required more speed than he was able to handle, so the boss gave him a new job doing payroll and ordering office supplies. Ron worked there for three years, enjoying the job very much. However, as often happens, there was a change in the office and many people were laid off, including Ron.
Then, Ron's boss from the Naval Station suggested that he should go on SSDI, as he should have enough credits from all his jobs together with his medical history, to qualify. That proved to be true, and he was able to go on SSDI.
Today, Ron is doing very well and is involved in life. He has a part time job in the video field, and volunteers making videos for the members of the Brain Injury Foundation. He still retains some loss from the accident that injured him so many years ago, but he has a positive outlook and continues to strive to make each day a good one. Ron has come a long way in the 36 years since his accident and is very grateful to his parents for always being there for him, encouraging him to keep going and to not give up.
Ron's father, Leslie Mayer, was one of the original group of people who created and started the Brain Injury Foundation. After that, came the Brain Injury Support Group, that gave survivors an opportunity to meet with and talk to others who have gone through similar experiences. He was a great mentor and an inspiration to all who knew him. He passed away in 2005, and will be greatly missed.