Before Severe Brain Injury: Who He Was

Before Severe Brain Injury – Quinn Part Eight

Quinn talks about who is was before severe brain injury. What he did before he got hurt and what his life was like. The things he did before TBI.

Let’s talk about who you were before severe injury.  You were 39 years old?

Yes

What did you do for a living before severe brain injury?

Commercial real estate sales and about a year before the accident, I started a closed-circuit TV installation and sales company.  When I came home from the hospital, I have no recollection of how to work any of the equipment whatsoever.  I’ve had to take classes several times, repeatedly to learn how to operate my home system and learn the industry all over again.  Which is kind of frustrating because  that short-term memory, that learning how to do that all over again.  It still takes several times and several tries even when, after I’ve learned a system.  So, it, it’s weird how the memory doesn’t, doesn’t work.

Are you a college graduate?

No.

How many years were you in commercial real estate before severe brain injury?

Probably about 10 years.

Tell me about some of the transactions you did as a commercial real estate broker before severe brain injury.

It was, it, for the most part, it was just apartment buildings and for the most part, the deals that I did were smaller apartment buildings, you know, 15 units and under.  And they were all in Palm Beach County or Broward County.  So, I didn’t, you know, I didn’t travel.  I didn’t do a ton of out of, out-of-county work or out-of-state work or anything like that.

You were married before severe brain injury?

Yes.

How many years have you been married?

Ten years, now.

Do you have kids?

No.

What did you do before you went into commercial real estate before severe brain injury?

I managed apartment buildings.

Is that how you got into the   brokerage part?

Yeah.

Did you get out of commercial real estate because of the problems with the real estate market?

Yeah.  I never got out.  I’m still in it or I’m still licensed.  I still have the ability and the memory of how to do transactions and stuff like that is much better than the closed circuit TV stuff.

Let’s talk about that issue because it’s fascinating.  Your best memory of how to do things that you did significantly before severe brain injury.

Yeah.

The closer you get to the accident before severe brain injury, the poorer your recall of technical things you learned?

Yeah.

Can you explain that? Or give me some examples.

Facebook.  I’ve put my story on Facebook and friends who I haven’t talked to in 20 years, seen in 20 years or more, have sent me an email or message, saying oh my god, Brandon, how, you know, hopefully you’re doing okay.  Do you remember me?  I remember who they are.  I remember hanging out with them, doing stuff with them, being friends, so on and so forth.  Now, I started to learn how to fix and repair computers and do closed circuit TV stuff.  I couldn’t even, I couldn’t even figure out how to use my personal equipment at home.

You had been using a computer for decades.

Yeah.

Did you have the same problem figuring out how to use your computer or was it just more technical things that you would not have been doing 20 years ago?

I had difficulty learning how to use – I had difficulty using the computer and I, it, it came back a little easier, I think, because I’m guessing that it was stuff I had started 20 years ago or, or more.  But it was, it was difficult in the beginning, that I would, you know, have a problem and I’d look it and walk away from it because  I didn’t understand it whereas before I would look at it and try and resolve the issue.

Earlier his wife described his sense of humor before the accident.

Tell me about him, before he got hurt; other than describe his sense of humor.  What else can you tell me about him, before he got hurt?

He’s just a very nice, sweet man; very caring.  Overall, an animal lover, like I am. Ambitious, wanting to please; very generous, always wanting to help out with, you know, anybody that, that needed anything; he would always be there for them.

Next in Part Nine – More on Quinn Before his Severe TBI

By Attorney Gordon Johnson

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