John “Jay” Hrechun has invented a name for the manner in which his brain functions to think and process information: the “Jay Way.”
Hrechun, 58, of Sewickley, struggles with attention, making decisions and multi-tasking, and he has limited short-term memory. He works with a neurocognitive therapist and lives with a seizure-alert service dog named Jude who provides companionship and protection.
Hrechun's “Jay Way” title “really highlights how people with brain injuries have to learn — in their own unique way,” said Benjamin Vivio, the neurocognitive therapist from Main Line Rehabilitation Associates, Inc. who has worked with Hrechun for five years.
Hrechun, an Ambridge native, compares himself to the Mike Webster character in the recent movie “Concussion.” He has survived two traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) from two incidents that happened in two consecutive years. In 2004, while driving on Interstate 79, Hrechun's car hit a patch of ice, spun, collided with another vehicle and hit a guiderail. The force of his head banging back and forth cracked the headrest and caused a concussion with lasting brain damage.
“After the first one, in my mind, I was living in a fantasy,” Hrechun said. Relationships suffered, and he had to give up his two businesses — Custom Athletics and DirecTeam Merchandising, which promoted merchandise for teams including the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Giants.
A year later he was involved in a bike crash that did more damage. Though his memory is fuzzy on the details, Hrechun recalls riding his bike down a hill and hitting something the road. He bashed his skull during the collision and underwent a craniectomy and required the insertion of a plate in his head.
Hrechun hopes to one day raise awareness of brain injuries by establishing a foundation to help people with TBIs. He wants to connect with sports figures who have experienced TBIs and reach out to everyday patients to provide support services.
When an athlete gets a TBI, it becomes a sports headline. But there are thousands of people like Hrechun — and “you have nobody,” he said.
Social interaction can be difficult for people like Hrechun, who struggles with loneliness and sadness. Local family ties are scarce, and good friends are hard to find, though he does have a few, he said.
He looks forward to worship times at St. James Catholic Church in Sewickley and the support of church members.
“Some people who have a mental disability, they have no one,” Hrechun said.
Though Hrechun has no trouble remembering people and events before the accidents, he often forgets people he meets today and can't recall what they talked about when they did meet. This impairment has derailed some friendships.
“When I meet people they don't get it,” he said.
One might never know by looking at Hrechun, though, that he has survived two incidents. His impairments are cognitive. Hrechun physically is active and his only limitations are from joint issues unrelated to his brain injuries.
His ultimate goal is to become the “Jay” he was before, though it remains unknown if that's even possible.
His faith, however, brings him comfort.
“They say there's a reason,” he said. “I have God's attention.”
Kellie B. Gormly is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
