Meet After ABI’s new Board of Directors!

L to R: Elizabeth Sherk, Steve Gregory, Carolyn Heath, Duff McLaren
at a recent Board Meeting (photo taken by Steve Taylor).

Steve Gregory
As time passed after Steve’s own rehabilitation and subsequent settlement he realized that there was a big need for a survivor perspective to be made more prevalent in the world of rehabilitation. Steve floundered around for a few years until it was decided upon to start a not-for-profit with the writing he had done on rehab at the fore of the way forward.

Steve is a survivor through and through being dysarthic, ataxic and diplopic, however his executive has been restored to its previous function levels. Steve with the help of a couple of friends that have met him after the accident have decided to explore the vision that Steve has for how rehab can be performed so that it is more accessible and easy to understand.

Carolyn Heath
I met Steve Gregory approximately 21 years ago. Elizabeth Sherk, who is a mutual friend asked if I would consider being part of the Board of After ABI Rehab and I agreed without hesitation. I retired from the City of Toronto in 2016 after being a caseworker for more than 32 years. I believe that everyone can benefit from learning about Steve’s experience with brain injury and am therefore eager to support Steve’s initiative to share his knowledge with others.

Duff McLaren
I met Steve through Achilles Canada. Achilles is a running club that helps anyone with a disability to keep active through running. Most of my experience with Achilles has been as a running guide for blind or partially blind runners.

I have known Steve for over 15 years, helped him move twice. We share pints
occasionally. Steve and I have run together, and I have noticed some physical changes
in Steve over the years. but his intellect is still the same. I really like Steve; he is a good guy with a “warped” sense of humour.
He asked me to join the board and I accepted.

His approach to after ABI Rehab is a unique idea, so hopefully I, as an able bodied
person, can help to promote this goal. I will do what I can. From an everyday individual’s point of view maybe Steve’s ABI is a bit different than what most people would perceive a brain injury to be.

According to Steve, he is not getting very much support from the doctors with his After ABI approach. Steve has tried to launch his After ABI Rehab for about two years. I believe his approach is a just cause.

Elizabeth Sherk
Inspired by Jean Vanier, Henri Nouwen and Oliver Sacks, I am happy to serve on the Board of After ABI Rehab. I look forward to helping this become a productive online support group for people living with ABI.

Steve Taylor
I joined the board of After ABI Rehab as a result of an invitation from Elizabeth, which coincided with my having just recently retired from full-time employment as a computer programmer which I had done for 38 years. With the prospect of more free time ahead of me, and having previously had some interest in the area of how the brain works (I had read two books by Norman Doidge: “The Brain’s Way of Healing” & “The Brain that Changes Itself”) I thought it might be a good thing for me to engage with this group. It is still early days for me in my own new stage of life (semi-retirement) and in this organization, but I can see that Steve has positive, hopeful, useful information to pass along from his own experience with brain injury and with his recovery path where others could find insight and ideas to help them on their journey. So I am vounteering to support this work.