Before Brain Injury:More On Before His Brain Injury

Before Brain Injury: Quinn Part Nine

Quinn elaborates more on who he was before brain injury and other things that he was able to do before his brain injury.

What did you like to do recreationally before brain injury?  I’m guessing hockey.

Yeah.  I played hockey for over 30 years.  Skiing, I loved to ski.  Since I’ve been in Florida, I’ve only been skiing twice but.

Where’d you go?

The Boston area, just south of Boston.

Why did you come to Florida?

My wife is allergic to snow.  She hates the cold.  She hates, you know, so I said I, I’d, I promised her I would give it a try for a year and see how it, it was and, you know, it turned out to be a beautiful area and beautiful all year round.

When was that?

About 11 or 12 years ago.

When she  finished school?

Yeah.

At the same time you got into commercial real estate before brain injury?

A couple of years after I got into real estate, I was managing properties first.  I came down here with a job and stayed in that job, stayed in that field for about a year or two before I ended up getting into sales.

Have you ever had a concussion playing hockey before brain injury?

Not that I know of.

Lots of hits but nothing that ever took you out of the game?

Correct.

Any other concussions before brain injury?

No, not that I’m ever aware of.  I mean, I grew up.  I’d take the helmet off after a hockey game and play on the pond or on the small rink without the helmet for hours and, you fall and get up, fall and get up, play, you know, and ride the bike without a helmet and now, life is different.  I really shouldn’t walk out of the house without a helmet.

Is refereeing because of the focus you have to have on everybody else a bit more dangerous for skating that playing the game?

No.  It should be safer because you’re not in the crowd fighting for the puck.  Sometimes you are by mistake.  If you’re positioned improperly or if you make a mistake but it happens.

How did you get into referring?

Free ice time.  I would play a game and then afterwards they’d say someone  want to referee the game and I’d be the first to say I’ll ref it and I was good at it.  They’d give me a referee shirt and a whistle and I didn’t even wear a helmet.  I didn’t know I could get paid to do that.  Years later, I learned, okay, if I get licensed, take the course, I get paid to referee a hockey game.  So, that’s how I ended up getting into it but I just looked at it as free ice.  I can stay on the ice.

Next Part Ten: Only Memories After TBI Are the  Emotionally Charged Experiences

By Attorney Gordon Johnson

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