So. Funny story. I was mountain biking on January 2nd, 2016 and something happened. I wish I knew exactly what to describe, but it just isn’t a memory I possess. I woke up in the ICU of San Francisco General Hospital with a neck brace and no feeling from my chest down. I was told that I had injured my spinal cord and needed surgery. Groggy and concussed, I agreed and was whisked into an operating room. Twelve hours later, the surgery was complete but the lack of feeling below my chest remained.
About three days later, I managed to move the big toe on my right foot and the journey back to mobility was off and running (probably a poor choice of words). It’s still ongoing, but I’ve reached a point in my rehabilitation where progress and healing are beginning to plateau, and thankfully I’ve left the wheelchair, grandpa-like walker and forearm crutches behind. More importantly, my creative juices have been bottled up for far too long and I need to get back to doing the thing that I've done for most of my life.
Come to think of it, it’s not a funny story at all. Sorry about that.
Prior to the unfortunate incident, I was directing commercials as one half of a duo known as Only Child. Prior to that, I was writing ads at DDB San Francisco (2003-2013). I arrived there from Leo Burnett in Chicago (1996-2003). And pre-Burnett, I was delivering Chinese food in a Honda Prelude without A/C after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Journalism (1992-1996).