Help George raise money

Hi!

My name is George Farrington, and as of 3/25 of this year I became a 10-year brain tumor and brain injury Survivor!!!!  That was the day the doctors removed a golf ball sized hemangioblastoma of the left side of my cerebellum.  And to remove the tumor in its entirety, the doctors also had to remove a large part of the left side of my cerebellum.  Thankfully the tumor was benign, however the surgery to remove it left me with several cognitive, physical, and emotional regulatory disabilities.

The road to recovery has been a long one…10 years and counting.  The list of therapies that I have done and continue to do over the years just keeps getting longer.  Everything from cognitive and speech, to physical and occupational therapies, along with cognitive behavioral, DBT and the list goes on.  All these different therapies have been instrumental in my recovery.  Yet it was not enough.  Something else was missing from the equation.  Because despite all this therapy I still felt all alone.  Don’t get me wrong, my wife, kids, and extended family and friends have been an Amazing support system… the thing is they’re all “normal”, and I was…and still am in many ways far from being “normal”.  Despite my support systems bests efforts to keep me moving forward, I started to become very disheartened, and believed that there was no one out there that would ever Really get it.

That all changed one stormy summer night when my wife had Finally convinced me to go to a support group.  I will be honest; at the time not only did I not want to go to a support group meeting…I did not even believe in them.  I could not see how sitting around a table drinking coffee with a bunch of strangers, and listening to their “problems” was going to do anything to help me.  But I went because I promised Robin I would.  Only one other survivor showed up that night, but that was all I needed.

The other gentleman that attended the support group that night told his story first.  He was in a head on collision when a car crossed the median of a highway and struck his car something like 20 years prior.  He was a retired Air force pilot and engineer going to MIT at the time.  Then he started to describe some of the symptoms of a brain injury that he was still dealing with…brain fog, wasn’t able to concentrate in class or even understand anything, difficulty at work, sleep issues, headaches…” Holy crap am I on this is your life” is what I was thinking as I was looking around for hidden cameras.  Did I Need all those therapies I was going to?  Of course I did, and still do.  However, I had just found the next key piece to my recovery.  That support group was hosted by the Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts (BIA-MA), and thus began a blossoming relationship between myself, my family and BIA-MA.

Around the same time, I started attending a brain injury community center in Worcester, Ma, where I found even more people “like me”.  Slowly my confidence began to grow, and I started to dabble in what I wanted to do since the day of my diagnosis, which was to become an advocate for the brain tumor and brain injury communities.  I started to take part in a few roundtable discussions at the community center I belong to, that a few BIA-MA staff were also part of.  The next thing I know I was asked to give a 5–6-minute speech at the Brain Injury Advocacy Day was hosted by BIA-MA in the hall of flags at the state house.  I am still Proud and Humbled by the fact I received a standing ovation after the 15-minute-long address, I delivered.  It was off to the races from there for me and the BIA-MA.

From walks, to being at and taking part of every Brain Injury Advocacy Day, to presenting at their annual conference, to helping facilitate an all-male support group for the BIA-MA, I continue to try and do what I can to pay it forward.  I can’t stress enough how much the BIA-MA has helped mine and countless other individuals’ families across the state find the resources that they need and are available to them.  These are just some of the reasons why I have chosen to run the Falmouth Road Race as part of team BIA-MA

I was supposed to run last year, but due to a freak injury a week before the race I had to pull out.    To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.  That’s why I am looking forward to running this year’s race.  Because YES, I still have Plenty of things that can set me back due to my brain injury 10 years later.  But it is how I respond to those setbacks that have fueled my recovery.  Have I whined…Yup.  Complained…Yup done plenty of that too.  Given up….NOT ONCE, and I don’t intend to start now.  I am running this year to finish what I started.  To prove to myself that I may not be a “runner” and I may have balance problems and fall a lot…But that I can Run 7.2 miles.  I can still defy odds.  To show my kids that hard work and belief in yourself Does pay dividends. To celebrate 10 years of a second chance, and giving one finger on each hand to brain tumors and brain injuries.  And to help raise funds for an organization that has helped me and my family in countless ways.

I am trying to raise money a couple of different ways this year.  I have this fundraising page, and I am also hosting a Comedy show on 6/28 at 8pm at the Fiddler’s Green Pub in Worcester, Ma.  If your local, or even feel like taking a ride, come out and join for a night full of laughs, a silent auction and a 50/50 raffle.  Please check out my Facebook page on how to purchase tickets which are on pre-sale for $25 and admission will be $30 night of.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read a bit of my story.  Also, I thank you in advance for any donation that you are willing and able to make.  Please remember that every little bit helps.  Your contributions will not only go to helping countless brain injured people across the state, they will also be helping me and my family.  So from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.