Member since October 2025
Hi! I’m Mason’s mom!
I'm also known as Teresa, and I have three sons who are not Mason, but the majority of interactions I have had in the past 26 years start with, "Oh! You're Mason's mom!" The saying is that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and Mason is definitely my “squeaky wheel” whom I’ve spent 26 years lovingly greasing, so to speak.
I work in public safety because I thrive on helping others, but my true passion is educating audiences about brain injury and invisible disabilities. My commitment is rooted in deep personal trauma: on May 2, 2000, Mason sustained a severe brain injury in a vehicle-related accident at just nine months old.
Through our family’s journey, I’ve gained unique insight into the challenges that survivors and their loved ones face. As a speaker, I share our story to raise awareness, foster understanding, and inspire compassion in communities everywhere. My mission is to drive meaningful conversations around brain injury, highlight the realities of living with invisible disabilities, and empower others to be advocates and allies.
I am dedicated to elevating awareness of the lived experience of raising a child with a brain injury, and I advocate for improved services and programming to better support individuals and families impacted by brain injury. My passion includes educating others about rare medical conditions that Mason developed as a result of his traumatic brain injury, including Chiari malformation, syringomyelia, and non-typical (communicating) hydrocephalus. I share insights from our family's journey and from countless hours spent self-educating on these topics.
Additionally, I speak about best practices for supporting individuals who exhibit serious behavioral challenges, sharing strategies for effective de-escalation and collaboration during volatile moments. My goal is to foster greater understanding, compassion, and practical change in the way we approach invisible disabilities and complex medical needs.
Mason is both my hero and my life’s greatest teacher. Every day, he gives me opportunities to practice patience, strengthen my resilience, and refine the skills he’s taught me—negotiation, bartering, and really questioning myself to see if my requests are fair. I have countless stories, many of which seemed far from funny in the moment but have since become treasured family lore.
For example, Mason once burst into our room at 2:30 AM, flinging the door open and excitedly shouting, “Hey Mom and Dad! It’s still dark out!” Another time, after picking open a surgical incision, his exasperated surgeon announced, “In almost 30 years of practice, I have never had something like this happen!” Mason cheekily smirked and replied happily, “That’s because you’ve never had a Mason before!”
Through moments of humor, shock, and amazement, Mason has brought our family just as much laughter as he has worry, heartbreak, and frustration. Sharing our journey, I hope to illustrate both the challenges and the unexpected joys of raising a child with complex needs—and to remind others that compassion and a sense of humor can carry us through even the toughest times.
Mason, was born healthy—an enthusiastic, strong-willed infant who embraced life from the start. At just nine months old, everything changed when Mason was critically injured in an accident and sustained a life-altering brain injury. While his recovery was nothing short of miraculous, we learned important truths: “Once a brain injury, always a brain injury,” and perhaps even more profoundly, “If you’ve met one person with a brain injury, you’ve met one person with a brain injury.”
Driven by a thirst for information, I’ve spent the past 25 years exploring every avenue to understand and support Mason. Despite the severity of his injury, Mason is high functioning, but daily life and “adulting” remain difficult challenges. He has endured over 30 surgeries and countless medical procedures, with a ripple effect of health issues that rarely let up. Yet, Mason’s relentless determination and spirit inspire me daily to be strong and to advocate on his behalf. There is no quit in Mason—and, as his mom and his champion, I take courage from him and follow his lead in staying the course because I want the world to be a better place for him and others like him.
Mason is both my hero and my life’s greatest teacher. Every day, he gives me opportunities to practice patience, strengthen my resilience, and refine the skills he’s taught me—negotiation, bartering, and really questioning myself to see if my requests are fair. I have countless stories, many of which seemed far from funny in the moment but have since become treasured family lore.
For example, Mason once burst into our room at 2:30 AM, flinging the door open and excitedly shouting, “Hey Mom and Dad! It’s still dark out!” Another time, after picking open a surgical incision, his exasperated surgeon announced, “In almost 30 years of practice, I have never had something like this happen!” Mason cheekily smirked and replied happily, “That’s because you’ve never had a Mason before!”
Through moments of humor, shock, and amazement, Mason has brought our family just as much laughter as he has worry, heartbreak, and frustration. Sharing our journey, I hope to illustrate both the challenges and the unexpected joys of raising a child with complex needs—and to remind others that compassion and a sense of humor can carry us through even the toughest times.
Mason, was born healthy—an enthusiastic, strong-willed infant who embraced life from the start. At just nine months old, everything changed when Mason was critically injured in an accident and sustained a life-altering brain injury. While his recovery was nothing short of miraculous, we learned important truths: “Once a brain injury, always a brain injury,” and perhaps even more profoundly, “If you’ve met one person with a brain injury, you’ve met one person with a brain injury.”
Driven by a thirst for information, I’ve spent the past 25 years exploring every avenue to understand and support Mason. Despite the severity of his injury, Mason is high functioning, but daily life and “adulting” remain difficult challenges. He has endured over 30 surgeries and countless medical procedures, with a ripple effect of health issues that rarely let up. Yet, Mason’s relentless determination and spirit inspire me daily to be strong and to advocate on his behalf. There is no quit in Mason—and, as his mom and his champion, I take courage from him and follow his lead in staying the course because I want the world to be a better place for him and others like him.