Hello, my name is Peter Lawryniuk. I'm 42 years old. I have a brain injury that I got when I was 7 years old. I was hit by a car while riding my bicycle and in a coma for 11 days. When I awoke, I needed to relearn everything over again. How to walk, talk, eat and use all my muscles again.
I had a lot of different therapies, speech, physio therapy, etc. I went back to school. I was in a small classroom and I had a special ed teacher that would work one on one with me at times. When I was 12 years old, another tragedy happened. My father passed away of a heart attack. That left my mother to raise three children on her own, with me being the youngest and with a brain injury, it was tough. Going through my teenage years was tough. I had some anger issues as a teenager, but for different reasons. One, my father passed away and two, I have a brain jury. I didn't know how to deal with certain situations. I was sent away a few times to get some help. First a rehabilitation Center in London. I was there for a year and then came back to Cambridge. I went to high school and then a few years later, I was sent to another rehabilitation Center in Hamilton to get more help. I was there for a year. I came back to Cambridge and finished my high school in Cambridge. It took me a bit longer but I did it. I graduated. Fast forward to when I was 26 years old, I moved out of my mothers house and into an apartment on my own. A year later, I started volunteering at a daycare called Peekaboo, one day a week for a few hours in the morning. Well, that one day a week turned to 2 days a week and then three days a week. Then I did two things in September of that year. 1, I got my G1 license. The second thing I did was, I signed up for early childhood education apprenticeship at Conestoga college. Going through college, I had my ups and downs the first 5 years as I needed to repeat some classes again because with my brain injury, it takes me longer to understand some things. Then another tradegy happened. First, my mothers dog passed away and then three days later, my mother passed away from complications after her surgery that she had. It was a very difficult time as now both of my parents were gone. I took a little break from college. I wrote, sang, recorded, videoed and put on YouTube three songs. Miracles which is about my accident and hospital stay. Life is like a storm which is about a storm that's coming and how my life was like a storm growing up with a brain injury. Olivia which is about my Goddaughter Olivia. She's in the video to.
My supervisor at the daycare told me I had to take a food handling course, because I help in the kitchen with the grocery shopping, etc. So, I did. I ended up passing that class as I studied long and hard. I passed and wanted to go back and finish what I started in the Early childhood education and apprenticeship program. Apparently, l found out that I only needed two more classes. I took them both, one after another. I worked hard, had a great teacher, same one for both classes and I passed. I graduated college.
I now volunteer and work in a day care called Bright Path Childcare, which used to be called Peekaboo Childcare. I help out in the classrooms and in the kitchen. I bring my guitar there and play and sing to the children there. I volunteer on Saturday mornings at the YMCA, stay and play. I also bring my guitar and play it and sing to the children there. I volunteer at a place called Michael Fleming Center and as well volunteer in my church. I work one day a week at a place called open space, which is a place with people of different disabilities can go and socialize, play games etc. It's part of the extend a family.
Some things I learned growing up is: Never give up, look forward in life, not backwards, think positive, not negative, take one day at a time and you can do anything you put your mind to.
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