Noah Weaver
When Noah suffered a traumatic brain injury, quick response from EMS and Research Medical Center care teams saved his life and his dreams.
On May 27, then 26-year-old Noah Weaver’s life forever changed when a car accident led to his car hitting a guardrail and flipping just outside of Butler, Mo. From this accident, he suffered a traumatic brain injury.
His life was saved after a truck driver found him in his car and called 911. An EMS crew transported him to a nearby hospital where he was then life flighted to Research Medical Center’s Level I Trauma Unit where the trauma care team provided life-saving care.
He vaguely remembers waking up and not being able to walk, talk or think of simple words or phrases; this wasn’t a good sign for Noah at first because he’s a poet, rapper and a wordsmith who used to frequent open mic nights and showcases in Kansas City.
“I specifically remember sitting in the chair in my room in the ICU staring out the window trying to remember the poems and raps that I have known in the past hoping that my memory would come back.”
His injury meant that he had to learn to speak again like he used to and form the simplest sentences. He also sustained nerve damage, a right hand that doesn’t function like it used to, and delayed responses. This meant that his ability to do things like driving again have been put on hold.
“Driving has always been a big part of who I was. I used to be a mover and an Uber driver; I’ve driven 100s of people throughout Kansas City. I’ve driven from Seattle to Florida,” he said. “Now, not being able to drive, that part of me was taken away.”
While his ability to drive isn’t yet possible, his speech and recollection of poems and raps have resurfaced.
“A big part of my therapy overall was speech therapy, including tongue twisters. My biggest personal project now is writing tongue twisters. I have written enough tongue twisters to make a book and a game.”
Because he still has a life to live and learn new skills again, Noah is grateful for the truck driver, the EMS crew, and the Research Medical Center trauma, ICU and therapy teams who collectively saved his life.
“I can’t thank them enough! It really helped me to have their positive energy come through during this tough time in my life. Everyone was very caring. Being with you at Research Medical Center really started me in the right direction on this path to getting better.”
He also says he couldn’t have recovered if it weren’t for the three main people who were there for him: his girlfriend, Arianna, and his mother and father. One of them was always with him so he wouldn’t feel alone.
After he was discharged from Research Medical Center, Noah completed the remainder of his outpatient intensive rehab program for brain injury at Madonna Rehabilitation Center in Nebraska. He now spends his time writing, playing simple games of catch in the backyard with his girlfriend to build his reflexes again, and playing baseball.
Noah reunited with his trauma and therapy care teams as well as his EMS crew during Research Medical Center's annual Thankful Families Celebration Event in November 2022.